When we think about conversion rates in eCommerce, it can be easy to jump straight to numbers, data and percentages.
Of course, these are vital to analyse, but we need to keep the user objectives as the priority. Each user is trying to solve a problem and we should help solve that problem as best as we can. This might be by selling products and services, but it might be by providing value by offering a quality newsletter or eBook for download.
If that person finds value in your brand they will become a loyal customer.
According to Nielsen Group the definition of ‘Conversion Rate’ is ‘the percentage of users who take a desired action.’ It’s natural that each business will have a different KPIs to define what they want to improve on, but a standard KPI is to look at the number of users that make a purchase.
If we want to improve the sales conversion rate, what is the best way to go about this? There are standard areas such as improving page speed, looking at merchandising techniques or even more commonly: making sure your website is mobile first.
The list of ways to improve sales conversion is truly endless, but there is a specific question that allows you to prioritise. It ultimately comes down to feedback:
What nearly stopped you from buying from us today?
The timing of this question is key. You’ll want to ask this question after they have completed their purchase. At this moment they will be most likely to give their honest thoughts because they will have just completed a purchase on your website.
The results of this question will be key to look over in detail. Asking ‘what almost stopped you from buying from us today?’ can indicate what problems other users will also face.
If a user went through the whole user journey they will know if there were any friction points. If one user encounters a problem it’s very likely that another one will also face it. Initially, there might be a clear pattern on areas that many customers find frustrating, it might be delivery costs, it might be site speed, it might be page links and layouts not working. Regardless of what the issues are, acting fast to solve them will be necessary to improve your conversion rates.
It's worth noting that this question is only asked to users who have purchased a product. A non-converter is not as focused and has not been qualified as a potential customer which would skew the answers and data.
If you’re not sure how to capture this information in the first place you can drop us a line and we’ll be able to help set this up, or find out how we work to help get an idea. Once you’re starting to receive feedback from your customers you will be able to see the requests and problems arising and take action.
Based on the hundreds of answers provided we have been able to create customer focused business cases. These have included the following:
New search engines (as customers wanted a more advanced solution)
Payment methods (as customers wanted new payment options such as PayPal and Klarna)
Delivery prices changes (as customers were uncertain of what the charges were)
Checkout flow revisions (as customers wanted a simple and clear checkout solution)
The flexibility that Magento offers (for both Open Source and Commerce) will allow you to develop solutions to action requests that your customers are asking. We’re only a quick call or email away to help with these, but more than that, we’ll bring plenty of more ideas to the table that will solve issues that your customers might not even report on.
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