Topic:
HubSpot,
Sales Tips
(4 Minute Read)
These seven immediately actionable tips for eCommerce managers are stripped straight from the Business as Unusual webinar with Luke Carthy back in March 2021. Luke Carthy is an eCommerce Consultant who has worked with brands such as Chemist Direct and Renault - he seriously knows his stuff.
You can watch the full 50 minute webinar here or keep reading for our pick of the best takeaways from his talk.
According to Luke, offering your customers free delivery is a great way to encourage a purchase. It doesn't even need to be "free" delivery - you can simply build it into the price. You've seen that Oprah Winfrey meme, right?
What Luke loves to do is promise delivery over three to five days and then ship out to customers much faster than that.
This way, you delight your customers and they're happy to leave you brilliant feedback because they're so pleased with how fast the item has shipped. This also gives you an opportunity to upsell to your next-day delivery!
A lot of websites have a delivery threshold, for example they'll have free delivery if you spend £50 on their site. Luke suggests what works really well is if your messaging and marketing says "spend £50 for free delivery" but you set it at £48 in your CMS. This way you're set to delight your customers at checkout!
Luke states that around a third of people who visit eCommerce sites will use site search. People are four to six times more likely to convert if they use site search than when they don't. He makes a good case for optimising your site search.
Got a product you're no longer selling? Luke suggests you keep it live in the index for so many months after it's been discontinued and then redirect it.
The point is, if anyone staggers across that URL from a back link somewhere such as from an email confirmation or social media, you have the opportunity to show recommendations or direct replacements.
No - not just product FAQs, global retailer FAQs. Luke is referring to those questions that anyone has who's buying from someone for the first time such as 'how long will it take me to get my order?'
These types of questions, Luke argues, belong on every single product page on the site, on their own independent tab. The beauty of having your global FAQs there is that people haven't got to leave the purchase funnel in order to look at those FAQs to buy. Nice.
We've all done it: scoured the internet in search of a cheeky free delivery code or 10% off. So, why don't you just give your customers what they want?
Create your own discount code page: it could offer free delivery, 5% off, or even a free gift (got any overstock you need rid of?) This way, you're not haemorrhaging margin through affiliate links and you can control the discount amounts. HURRAH. Everybody wins.
Events & Marketing Manager Claire writes about events, and, uh, marketing.
