Boost Online Sales: 10 Tips
 By Lee S. Shaffer

Maybe you use a Web site as a sales channel for your brick-and-mortar store. Or perhaps you sell only online. Either way, you need to take advantage of every e-commerce sales opportunity.

Try these 10 tips to boost your online sales.

1. Maintain the basics
Customers want the shopping experience to be easy. If your site has faulty links or clunky, hard-to-follow navigation, consumers will balk, and you’ll lose sales.

Continually check each link on your site for reliability. Make sure every click leads customers directly to where they want to go.

2. Keep it simple
Flashy graphics look cool. But it’s text that leads Web search engines to your home page.

Graphics can also slow down your site. And buyers aren’t patient. If they can’t get into your site and start shopping within about four seconds, they’ll click to your competitors.

3. Help shoppers shop
Be sure to offer a site-wide search function. Some customers will arrive at your site already knowing exactly which product they want. Don’t make them sift through pages to find it. Let them search with a product name or keyword.

4. Display your products proudly
Provide color photographs and detailed descriptions of your products. Be specific about size, color, weight, package quantities, guarantees and more.

Be honest about your products. If you’re reselling items online, point out any chips, dents or dings on the product.

5. Help shoppers buy
Make it easy for shoppers to add items to their carts, change quantities and get updated checkout amounts.

Make it easy for shoppers to find and choose shipping options. Be sure you prominently display shipping costs.

Don’t make shoppers fill out a lengthy registration form before they check out. Some consumers want to make a one-time purchase from your site. Let them do so without requiring anything but the most necessary personal information.

6. Offer easy returns
Provide as generous a return policy as you can. And post it clearly on your Web site. Make it easy to read and easy to understand. Then honor it.

7. Keep buyers informed
Develop ways to let customers know when their orders are packed and shipped. Create communications that tell them when they can expect their orders to arrive.

You can let customers log on to your site for order tracking. Or you can send them e-mails at every step along the way.

8. Make it personal
Consumers like to do business with people they know and trust. Give your customers the opportunity to know you and to trust your business.

Post an “About Us” page. Give the history of your small business. Tell them about your background. Let them meet your employees virtually.

Include your company’s name, business location and telephone numbers on all of your Web pages.

9. Promote your Web site offline
Big companies promote their Web sites with slick mail-order catalogs. The catalog offerings drive people to the Web sites.

You can do the same on a smaller budget. Some ideas:

• Mail postcards to customers with a coupon code they can use to get a small discount when they purchase from your Web site

• Print your Web address on all shipping boxes, packing slips and packing materials

• Print your Web address on your business cards, letterhead, envelopes, brochures, flyers, sales letters and invoices

10. Be available
Customers will have questions about products. Or they’ll have a problem with an order. And when they do, they’ll want to contact you. Make sure you’re ready.

Always provide an e-mail address for customer contacts. Answer e-mails immediately, even if that means setting up an auto-responder that will tell customers you received their e-mail. Promise to respond to their inquiry within 24 hours.

Always provide a phone number for customer contacts. If customers must leave a voice mail, respond as soon as possible.


(Posted February 2007)

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