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In this week’s Surge Session, we will discuss eCommerce custom functionalities to improve user experience, conversions, and sales. You are probably an LLC, sole proprietorship, or partnership. That means that size-wise, you are David to the Goliaths on the Internet frontier. You must prepare to outwit the corporate giants. How do you do so? By leveraging the right functionalities for your own eCommerce operation. Our CEO, Duran Inci, is joined by our Director of Marketing, Joseph Hassun.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Why Your eCommerce Website Needs a Custom Functionality in 2019″ use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGb2duWnU3VmVKdU0lMjIlMjB0aXRsZSUzRCUyMllvdVR1YmUlMjB2aWRlbyUyMHBsYXllciUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93JTNEJTIyYWNjZWxlcm9tZXRlciUzQiUyMGF1dG9wbGF5JTNCJTIwY2xpcGJvYXJkLXdyaXRlJTNCJTIwZW5jcnlwdGVkLW1lZGlhJTNCJTIwZ3lyb3Njb3BlJTNCJTIwcGljdHVyZS1pbi1waWN0dXJlJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]
If you’re running any kind of eCommerce operation, it doesn’t matter if it’s a B2B or a B2C. You are competing with Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Jet, Home Depot, Wayfair, etc. These competitors are billion-dollar corporations.
How are you going to compete with Amazon? How fast can you move products or services? How can you reach customers on a regular basis? These are some of the things we’re going to speak about in this session.
When it comes to eCommerce, as we said last week, everything is now integrated into the Internet frontier and technology space. You cannot separate your eCommerce platform from your marketing strategy, content strategy, operation, CRM, or management system.
Everything is integrated. That’s why eCommerce functionality is important. You need to compete with giant brands with an efficient system.
Let’s take a sample size of eCommerce businesses earning between $250,000 and $50 million per year. They tend to have three essential functionalities:
1) Advanced search and filter
2) Pre-checkout upsell
3) Abandoned cart
[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Improve User Experience with Advanced Search and Filter” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGaGo5MFQyZWZ3ZVUlMjIlMjB0aXRsZSUzRCUyMllvdVR1YmUlMjB2aWRlbyUyMHBsYXllciUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93JTNEJTIyYWNjZWxlcm9tZXRlciUzQiUyMGF1dG9wbGF5JTNCJTIwY2xpcGJvYXJkLXdyaXRlJTNCJTIwZW5jcnlwdGVkLW1lZGlhJTNCJTIwZ3lyb3Njb3BlJTNCJTIwcGljdHVyZS1pbi1waWN0dXJlJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]Advanced search and filters allow users to filter by price, by category, by reviews, etc. This functionality is one of the key things that Amazon has. They’re one of the first companies that ever implemented advanced search and filter. You can filter for Prime, price, or category.
Why is this feature so important? An advanced search enhances the user experience. People can find specific products a lot faster. They are more likely to stay, as a result. That decreases the store’s bounce rate.
A lot of times, if a user struggles to find a specific product that they’re looking for, they’re going to search elsewhere. They’re going to leave and they’re going to find another site that gives them what they’re looking for a lot faster.
When you get somebody to your eCommerce site, you want them to find what they’re looking for and purchase as fast as possible. You can kill multiple birds with one stone. Then they convert faster. Your metrics on Google Analytics and Search Console look much better.
The user is now a satisfied customer because they’re not frustrated looking for stuff. Not to mention the fact that every user has only a six-second attention span during an Internet session. This is why you need an advanced search and filter.
Now, let’s say you get the advanced search and filter. Would you use a custom solution? It really depends on your business. Out-of-the-box solutions might not fit your business or your specific product offering.
Can users search by color? Product size? Or length and width dimensions? Do you have a custom product that requires different types of filters?
The more unique your product offering is, the larger the need for a custom solution for search and filter. We call it an advanced search and filter because it has to load in milliseconds and implement your filters. The page cannot reload every time you make a selection.
If you are a larger eCommerce business, you could add loyalty programs. Technology can help you design these programs or adapt existing ones. Amazon is doing a great job at it. Why couldn’t you?
If someone goes to your eCommerce site, how are you going to make their experience the same or better than Amazon? The only answer is functionalities.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Boost Your Average Order Value with Pre-Cart and Pre-Checkout Upsells” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGRTdLVkF2dzB5bVklMjIlMjB0aXRsZSUzRCUyMllvdVR1YmUlMjB2aWRlbyUyMHBsYXllciUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93JTNEJTIyYWNjZWxlcm9tZXRlciUzQiUyMGF1dG9wbGF5JTNCJTIwY2xpcGJvYXJkLXdyaXRlJTNCJTIwZW5jcnlwdGVkLW1lZGlhJTNCJTIwZ3lyb3Njb3BlJTNCJTIwcGljdHVyZS1pbi1waWN0dXJlJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]Pre-cart upsell is extremely important. You essentially use an algorithm to bundle similar items when your customer is browsing a product. This feature can increase your average order value and in turn generate more revenue. Amazon does a great job of using pre-cart upsells.
You see a pre-cart upsell whenever you’re looking at an individual product page and you scroll down to see “Customers also bought with.” Now you offer a package deal of related products that all can go together. In this way, you can easily add them to your cart.
For a small or a medium size eCommerce business, is this an expensive functionality? It can be, but it doesn’t always have to be. It depends on how intricate you want to make it.
Now, you also have pre-checkout upsells. Pre-checkout upsell stresses consumers and puts them on the spot at the moment of checkout. They don’t have to think, add it to cart, or remove from cart. The decision is right then and there.
For this reason, pre-checkout upsells can increase your average order volume. They can also boost your upsell conversion rates. We sell certain items with pre-checkout upsell, like insurance. Insurance is a big one as well as accessories and shipping insurance.
The pre-cart upsell is important because it allows you to bundle items together, frequently purchased together products, and add all to cart before getting to the checkout page. It allows you to increase your average order value potentially.
For systems out there like Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce, there are cookie-cutter solutions but they don’t look that good. That’s why custom functionality is key. Try to look at any functionality that creates recurring business for your eCommerce website.[/vc_column_text][vc_custom_heading text=”Using Abandoned Cart Functionality to Recapture Missed Conversions” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwd2lkdGglM0QlMjI1NjAlMjIlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0QlMjIzMTUlMjIlMjBzcmMlM0QlMjJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy55b3V0dWJlLmNvbSUyRmVtYmVkJTJGT3RvbmpRdnE4ekElMjIlMjB0aXRsZSUzRCUyMllvdVR1YmUlMjB2aWRlbyUyMHBsYXllciUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93JTNEJTIyYWNjZWxlcm9tZXRlciUzQiUyMGF1dG9wbGF5JTNCJTIwY2xpcGJvYXJkLXdyaXRlJTNCJTIwZW5jcnlwdGVkLW1lZGlhJTNCJTIwZ3lyb3Njb3BlJTNCJTIwcGljdHVyZS1pbi1waWN0dXJlJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text] What happens to these individuals that go to your cart, add an item to the cart and leave? Does that mean that their potential revenue is lost forever? No.
With an abandoned cart functionality, you can now go back and re-target these individuals. How do you do that? With their consent, you can send them an email and provide an incentive for them to buy. You can even have it into a drip marketing campaign where your incentives increase the longer it takes for them to come back.
We’ve seen that you can recapture these abandoned carts with this functionality and your conversion rates can almost double with an abandoned cart functionality.
New client acquisition is the most expensive thing in business. You’re bringing these people to your website. The average site conversion is 3% to 5%. That means that 95% to 97% of people that come to your site never buy from you and leave.
The abandoned cart gives you an opportunity to chase those people. Coupling the abandoned cart functionality with a retargeting plan is very important, and we do that in a dynamic manner. It needs to be targeted.
What you need to do is you need to speak to an expert or consultant that knows eCommerce, that knows development, that knows functionality, and ask them for advice. Have them look at your site and let you know what they think you should add, what you are missing.
What we do here at Optimum7 is we’ll look at your analytics, average order volume, and conversion rates. Then we’ll calculate your lifetime value to a customer. A lot of people don’t take these important steps.
We have six to seven hundred possible functionalities. It’s impossible for you to implement all of those and you honestly don’t need them. You only need a few key functionalities. They will make you more money, flood your bank account and pocket, and lighten the financial load.
Do you need help finding custom solutions for your eCommerce store? Want to learn more about the custom functionalities Optimum7 offers?
Contact us. We’re here to help.
SPEAK TO AN eCommerce EXPERT[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
