I’ve written quite a bit about conversion rates on this blog, but the fact is that most people that visit an e-commerce web site have no intention of buying. They are window shopping. Optimizing your web site to increase your conversion rate is very important, but you can’t forget about optimizing for the 70-80% of people or more that are “window shoppers.”
The mistake that a lot of online retailers make is to not engage the vast majority of their visitors — the ones that don’t intend to buy.
Yes, you can entice a small percentage of these window shoppers to buy with offers like “buy one, get one,” coupons and free shipping, but what about the remaining lot?
The answer is engagement. If you can engage window shoppers, you can get them to continually interact with your company, and when they are ready to buy, your site will be top-of mind.
So how to you engage window shoppers? Here’s how.
Make your e-mail newsletter signup more visible
If you don’t have an e-mail newsletter, you really need to start one. Next, make sure your e-mail signup form is visible.
Many web sites have e-mail signup forms at the bottom of their sites. While that’s an acceptable place for the form, why not duplicate the form and place it higher up on the page where people can see it right away? By making the form more visible and writing a good call to action (like “Get sales and exclusive tips by signing up for our e-newsletter”), you’ll increase your subscriber rate.
This probably goes without saying, but you need to publish your e-mail newsletter regularly and pack it full of good content. Remember, it’s about keeping prospective customers engaged.
Write a blog (regularly)
No matter what you’re selling, you should publish a blog with RSS feed. Other than product inventory and pricing, the typical e-commerce site is rather static. By adding a blog, you’ll freshen the site by regularly adding content that complements the products you’re selling.
The goal in blogging is twofold. First, you want to generate some credibility for your company (see the next section on social media for some promotional tips). Second, you’re giving prospective customers some good information and keeping your company top-of-mind. Also, good search engine optimization is often a by-product of a well-written blog.
Engage in social media
Admittedly, social media isn’t for everyone. But if you, your marketing manager or other staff in your company are already using Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, etc., then you need to get them involved.
I won’t go into all of the options that social media offers (I may go into that in a future post), but for starters, you can create a discussion group on a Facebook Fan page. You can tweet latest blog posts, new products and sales on Twitter. You can make how-to videos for a You Tube channel and embed them in your blog. There are many more opportunities, so be creative.
In conclusion
Here are some questions for consideration within your company:
- How can my company test positioning of newsletter signup forms?
- Can I offer people in my company the opportunity to write blog posts to distribute the workload?
- Who in my organization can I tap to help brainstorm customer engagement ideas? (Don’t be afraid to ask entry-level employees for their advice!)
- How could I make a blog more visible?
- How can my company use social media in ways my competitors are not?
March 1st, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Win Clark says:
Great article – makes you think about wholistic marketing- serving regardless of sales those that may one day be ready to buy. Engage, Add Value, Invite them back.
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:06 am
Marvin Taylor says:
Unfortunately you are rehashing points already published through reputable research institutions like Forrester/Jupiter/others. There are better and more clever tactics to increase engagement that do not revert to email techniques and social media. The average mom and pop store does not have time to write a blog so your points may only work for certain institutions.
I suggest before promoting your blog, you offer up something fresh, new, and prgmatic, instead of “building yourself” as a knowledgeable expert. Let’s see if you are real by publishing my comment and not filtering it. But like all other talking heads you won’t. You’ll try to solicit/promote yourself through rewriting other people’s comments and making it your own.
- Marvin
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:48 am
Rick Whittington says:
Marvin,
Thank you for your comment. The point of this article is to get businesses thinking about optimizing their sites for those that have no intention of buying, while most optimization occurs around those that do have intentions of purchasing. Given that, it seems that I’m taking the road less traveled.
That said, I invite you to offer up your own ideas here and share them with everyone else. You mention that mom and pops don’t have time to blog or promote, and I contend that’s the reason that they remain mom and pops. When companies are serious about growth, they find time for promotional activities.
March 5th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Kevin Alvarez says:
Nice summary. One small conflict I see…you say “No matter what you‚Äôre selling, you should publish a blog with RSS feed.” I can not find the RSS Feed anywhere on your site and I wanted to subscribe. Sure I see your email newsletter but what if I don’t want to leave my email address and just want to subscribe to your feed.
I understand the value in acquiring email addresses but if the point of the blog is to maintain a relationship with prospective customers, doesn’t it make more sense to allow people to subscribe to your blog without providing their email address?
Just my two cents…no right or wrong answer but I think it’s worth discussing.
March 5th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Rick Whittington says:
Hi Kevin,
Thank you for your feedback! My blog does in fact have an RSS feed (http://www.rickwhittington.com/blog/feed/) and the RSS icon should appear in the browser bar.
You’ve brought to my attention though that I may have made the wrong assumption that I didn’t need a link to the RSS feed somewhere on the page. Thanks for the tip!