Lily Of The Valley Designs

You know when you leave something in the refrigerator for too long it gets stale. It’s not a pretty site or

smell for that matter. Websites are similar to food they can get out-dated easily. It is very important to continually update your website or users will become disillusioned. Does your copyright date still say 2005? Continually freshen up your home page, it is the window to your website and needs to reflect current graphics and text.

“Web Design is a continuous process.”

I have implemented a quick questionnaire on the checkout page that asks how we could improve our services (optional of course).

Questionnaire on Checkout page

We got great responses: from great service, to it was hard to find an accessory for a product. We also got some real funny responses like;

“Send me a check for $40,00 and we can get started right away”

“A little salt pepper and a dash of oregano”

But overall we got a chance to give the customer a voice and they frequently used this tool to speak their mind. And it helped us to improve our e-commerce website.

Other ways to listen to your customer:

1. Read emails from customers see what they are frequently complaining about.

2. Create a text box on checkout page like mentioned above.

3. Enable product reviews. Customers love to see what other customers have said.

4. Ask customer representatives what customers are frequently saying on the phone when they call in.

5. Send out a survey via email. Give customers a good reason to fill out survey. If not you may get any responce.

6. Get potential customer to review your site.

7. Implement what you learn from your customers and measure results. Then do it again.

How many dropped carts did you receive today? What is chasing customers away once they add an item to cart? Here are a couple of reasons why.

1. Shipping Prices are Too High - Is your shipping prices padded? Is the shipping cost more than the product itself. Take a look at your shipping costs and compare with other sites. Look into other shipping options such as USPS this could be much cheaper for the customer.

2. You are forced to register with company just to purchase - Please don’t make me register just to do business with you. I may just want to try your services out before I become a raging fan. You can try to convince the customer to register with your company by showing the benefits of doing so.

3. Not sure if page is secured - The page looks secure I see the lock symbol but how do I trust you. Are you using a third party to verify checkout is secure. You should if you want to convince me it is ok to give you my valuable information and I just met you.

4. No sign of a 800# - If I get too nervous can I call you? Give your customers a phone order option. Some customers feel more comfortable placing there order with a real live human.

5. Not enough payment methods - Are you still only using PayPal as your payment method? Not everyone feels the same way about Paypal as you do. Give customers more ways to pay. There are many options to choose from: Credit Cards, E-Check, PayPal, Bill Me Later, Googlecheckout….

6. Checkout page too complicated or tedious - How many pages do I have to sit here and fill out before I am done placing this order for a $5.00 book? Is it worth the time and energy.

7. Want to much information- Why do you want my birthday and my Cat’s name? Just take my payment information and shipping info and lets get it over with.

Can You think of any more reasons?