Since more and more online users feel the obligation to buy something for them or their loved ones when the season holiday is approaching, it would be wise to consider their ever-changing behavior and requirements for maximizing customer satisfaction and increase the profitability of your business. Last holidays, online merchants have tried to keep up with the user demand of mobile optimized sites, speedier shipping, and tech-optimized offline presence.
This season things have not exactly changed but user demands have become even more specific. Therefore consider applying these tips if you want to reach your maximum sales potential during the holidays:
1.)Maximize mobile optimization. Efficient mobile optimization will virtually increase your selling potential by up to 40%–since the vast majority of online users switches from one mobile platform to another, they expect to get have their needs and wants met with ease and with no issues. More specifically, in this regard you should consider applying the following:
- Hassle-free Mobile Payment Options. Much promising applications like Apple pay haven’t shown us their true potential yet, but what remains the same no matter what is having Secure Mobile Payment options for your buyers that make the whole process of paying easy, speedy, and most importantly safe.
- Optimized Mobile online browsing. There is no explanation for this—the vast majority of online buyers access the net (and search for goodies and services) from a mobile platform so you better use that to your advantage by offering a true mobile-friendly experience.
- Offer flexible interface. Your website’s layout and appearance should be optimized for all the most popular platforms online users use.
2.)Make the most of social media market. Social media market has shown vast growing potential over the last few years—in the U.S alone sales of tangible merchandise have reached 14 billions dollars and the number is expected to remain that high or even multiply during the holiday season. This is no surprise as the millions of users of social media have the power to influence or get influenced by other users and buy something (even though they didn’t notice it at first). A good and efficient social media marketing strategy for driving more customers and increasing sales should include:
- Study of analytics/customer data. These should serve as a basic tool for gaining insight into consumer behavior and what works (or what doesn’t) when it comes to online marketing strategies. Besides this, you can gain insight on customer’s wish lists from Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest especially and see what they specifically like so you get to offer it to them.
- Make sure your web-design is responsive. Users like to interact with the website and personalize their browsing experience according to their likes so keep in this mind when launching or updating your website.
3.)While offering customized and mobile savvy user experience is essential, cart compliance can either make or break your business –and we have found that this is an area where many online merchants lack. Therefore, it would be wise to consider these tips:
- Maximize PCI DSS security. Imagine the damage hackers and leaked customer data would do to your business if you cart and payment system does not adhere to the latest PCL standards. We are talking about millions being at stake and at the mercy of hackers and security failure. Thus, make sure that internal auditing is according to the highest standards of security.
- Ensure cart/checkout accuracy. One of the reasons online customers will fail to complete their payments is cart and payment inaccuracies or hidden info. Customers need to know exactly what they are purchasing in the exact total price plus shipping costs before they place a payment otherwise they might get their business elsewhere. The whole process should also include estimating and applying additional taxes visible by the buyer before they proceed with the payment of their order. You can do this with a special software/program that automatically applies taxes like VAT before the completion of the checkout process.
Remember that you have to constantly analyze consumer behavior and adjust accordingly if you want to succeed—as online users use a wide range of mobile platforms and tools or websites looking for the best deals and value for money offers, you better not let yourself out of the game and let the competition beat you. Consider applying these as investment for maximizing your sales potential and standing out from the rest of your competitors…
