by Raynay Valles
What are the toughest problems facing online retailers in Problem # 1 Getting visitors The number one complaint of online retailers is they are Many choose to get visitors the same way their competitors Banners can cost as little as $1 per 1000 views. Email Problem # 2 Low conversion rates Turning visitors into customers is the second biggest Do you know the answers to this question: What percentage of your visitors become your customers? That percentage is your sales conversion rate. This number Websites can send visitors away in many ways, from Most ecommerce businesses are getting 1-2% sales conversion. Let's say you run your numbers and find that you have a 1% Once you get your sales conversion higher, your marketing While a small change in your sales conversion rate will Problem # 3 The proximity of the competition According to Nielsen/Netratings, February 2003, the average How many of your competitors are online? Find out now by Even if a visitor wants what you offer, he is tempted to
2003?
not getting enough visitors.
do. Online retailers try search engine placement,
pay-per-clicks, banner ads and other marketing tactics.
lists can be as inexpensive as $30 per 10,000 names.
Despite these low prices, retailers are finding that many
times these tactics don't deliver enough sales to justify
the cost.
problem that online retailers face. This becomes a greater
problem when retailers sell items that people prefer to see
and touch before buying, such as clothing.
is one of the most overlooked and most impactful numbers in
online marketing. It's overlooked because website owners
often think that more visitors is the route to more
customers. What if their marketing is bringing lots of
visitors but their website is sending them away?
frustratingly slow download times to poor sales copy.
Visitors in general complain of having to download plug-ins
to view the website and confusing navigation.
A small change in your conversion rate can have a big impact
on your bottom line.
conversion rate. Applying marketing know-how, you make some
changes to your website that makes customers more likely to
buy. Next week you test your sales conversion rate and
find that it's 2%. You've doubled your sales, without
spending more money marketing!
budget performs better. The same money that was bringing
you 1% sales conversion is now bringing 2% sales conversion.
have a great impact on revenues, most website owners are
unaware of this and are losing sales.
visitor spends only 55 seconds per webpage. In less than
a minute, your visitors decide whether to continue viewing
your pages or click away.
going to your favorite search engine and typing in keywords
prospective customers would use when looking for your
business. How many options do your potential customers
have?
comparison shop. It's very easy to click and go to another
site. Are you doing everything you can to get customers to
buy from you?
Problem # 4 Price-shopping If you sell something exclusive, price-shopping wouldn't However, if you sell products that other websites offer, Problem # 5 Shopping cart abandonment A visitor decides to buy from you. Somewhere between More than 60 percent of online shoppers abandon purchases Identifying the toughest problems facing online retailers About the Author
Raynay Valles, is an marketing specialist who helps
be a problem for you until competition shows up on the scene.
then you'll find intense pressure to lower your prices.
Search engines give prospective customers a list of options.
Plus, there are price comparison websites like Pricegrabber,
MySimon and Dealtime that make it easy for consumers to
price-shop. They give their users prices from several
websites.
placing items in the shopping cart and completing the
purchase they leave your website, usually for good.
before completing the credit card transaction, according
to Gartner Group, Inc. Which means if 40 people buy from
you, 100 started to buy from you. Imagine how many more
sales you'd have if you prevented some of these abandoned
carts.
is the first step in dealing effectively with them.
her clients sell dramatically more despite the problems
they face. Email her now at mailto:5toughest@jawdrop.com
or visit http://www.jawdrop.com for more information.