Karen Scharf is an Indianapolis marketing consultant who helps small business owners attract and retain more clients. Karen coaches and trains website owners on various tricks and techniques that have been proven to increase website conversion. She offers coaching programs and a Marketing Makeover to turn your ineffective advertising into a profit-pulling system. Grab your FREE checklists, whitepapers and reports at http://www.ModernImage.com - and learn the professional secrets to successful web site marketing at http://www.SuccessfulSiteSecrets.com
Web site sales not as high as you'd like? Here are 7 quick fixes you can easily implement on your site in one single afternoon:
1. Ask for the sale!
Don't be shy about asking your customers to make a purchase. There's no need to wait until the very bottom of the page before you include an "Add To Cart" button. Your site visit might be ready to make a purchase after reading only one paragraph of your sales letter. Add multiple buy buttons to each page.
2. Help the shopper make a decision.
With so many e-commerce sites and so many products to choose from, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Help your site visitors choose a gift by breaking your merchandise into categories. Can you create a "Gifts For Men" directory, a "Products for the Office" directory, an "Items Under $10" directory, etc?
3. Include options for visitors not yet ready to buy.
Maybe your site visitor is in a "just browsing" mode, or is comparing several different merchants. What kind of compelling offer can you make to grab this visitor's contact information? He will probably be ready to buy sometime in the near future.
4. Beef up your guarantee.
Guarantees are most effective when they are completely spelled out. Don't leave your visitor guessing. What exactly does "Satisfaction Guaranteed" mean? Who will pay for return shipping? How does a shopper request a refund? Include a link to additional information about your return policy and your complete guarantee agreement.
5. Make everything clickable.
Studies show that web site visitors click a lot more often than webmasters expect. If you have a graphic or an image, make sure it's clickable. Make sure headlines are clickable and include text links in addition to buttons.
6. Take advantage of your Thank You pages.
Believe it or not, after a buyer has made a purchase, he is most likely to buy again. Maximize this opportunity by including complimentary items on your order confirmation pages.
7. Take advantage of your transactional emails.
Studies have also shown that transactional emails are opened nearly 75% of the time. This is another awesome opportunity to present complimentary items and increase your sales volume.
Time to implement: Each of these 7 fixes can be applied in less than an hour or two. Take a day, or spend the weekend, reviewing your site and implementing these suggestions. You're sure to see an increase in your e-commerce sales in no time.