Sarah Benoit Director of Training & Lead Instructor JB Media Institute
Learn to Navigate the Complex World of Selling Online
jbmediagroupllc.com/snagnext2016
Introductions Please share the following: What is your name? What is your business/work? Do you currently have an online store? What is your #1 goal for today in this session?
2016 Trends In 2016, emarketer estimates that 37.5 million people in the U.S. (19% of smartphone users) will transact with their phones at the point of sale, which equates to an approximate 61% year-over-year increase. By the end of 2016, mobile payments are expected to exceed $27 billion. http://www.pfsweb.com/blog/5-key-2016-ecommerce-trends/
2016 Trends Gartner predicts that, by 2017, U.S. mobile commerce will have increased so much in popularity that it will account for 50% of U.S. total digital commerce revenue. In 2015 there was huge growth in e-commerce with close to $350 billion in online retail sales by the end of the year, according to Forrester Research. http://www.pfsweb.com/blog/5-key-2016-ecommerce-trends/
2016 Trends E-commerce sales are expected to grow to $400 billion+ in the next several years, with Forrester Research estimating $414.0 billion in sales in 2018 and emarketer estimating $491.5 billion in 2018. By 2015 the online share of total retail sales reached 10.6% excluding fuel and auto sales and restaurants and bars. This represents a 75.8% increase in online sales from $194.3 billion in 2011 to $341.7 billion in 2015. https://www.internetretailer.com/commentary/
Ecommerce Platforms Shopping Portals Store Builders Ebay Amazon Rakuten (formerly buy.com) ArtFire.com ArtfulHome.com (juried) Bonanza Shopify Big Cartel Store Envy Etsy XCart BigCommerce Magento Website Platforms w/ Shopping Carts WordPress Joomla Drupal
Payment Gateways Paypal, Square, Wepay, Google Wallet, ProPay Authorize.net, 2CheckOut, GoPayment from Intuit, Click2Sell Choose the payment gateway that: benefits you the most from a cost perspective works with your shopping cart (if applicable) provides fraud protection is mobile friendly and easy to use has additional functions you may need
Shipping K.I.S.S. Choose the payment gateway that: benefits you the most from a cost perspective works with your shopping cart (if applicable) provides fraud protection is mobile friendly and easy to use has additional functions you may need
Discussion Please share the following: What kind of store are you using? What do you like about it? What do you think could be improved? How do you handle shipping? What payment gateway are you using?
Site Architecture Product Organization Customer Resources categories product listings related products featured products product reviews shipping info privacy policies terms & conditions faqs Educational/News Information blog posts articles press releases product announcements videos
Site Architecture Customer Resources Complete keyword research to confirm how people search for your products and services-use this knowledge to make your site more customer-focused Google Keyword Planner adwords.google. com/keywordplanner Moz.com Keyword Tool www.moz.com/keyword-explorer Keyword Tool keywordtool.io
Ecommerce Usability 1. Create simple, intuitive navigation within the shopping cart. 2. Make easy, fast, secure checkout systems 3. Use emails as usernames and let them log in with social accounts if possible. 4. Provide guest checkout as a default option and create an account as a secondary option. 5. If a step in a process is not completed make the alert obvious so the visitor knows what they missed.
Ecommerce Usability 6. Always be very clear and transparent about pricing and shipping costs. 7. Place add to cart and buy buttons higher up on the page. 8. Feature excellent photos and product galleries that load fast. 9. If you have reviews display a summary, like a star rating, prominently. 10. Use buttons for important calls to action not text links.
Mobile Behaviors According to Econsultancy, visitors are anywhere from 64 to 85% more likely to make a purchase after watching a video. Source: https://econsultancy.com/blog/65387-how-to-boost-conversion-rates-and-kick-cart-abandonment-to-the-curb Tablet users spend over 50% more per purchase with online retailers than smartphone visitors and 20% more than laptop and desktop visitors. Google states in an Our Mobile Planet report from 2012 that 20% of smartphone users in the US make a purchase on their device daily and 14% weekly.
How to Design a Call to Action Brighter colors have higher conversion rates. Consider using less popular colors to attract eyes to your call to action. Make the color of the call to action contrast the background colors and other colors used on the page. Use graphics and text to motivate people and communicate clearly about what they should do. Use active language. Avoid too many competing calls to action on a single page.
Discussion Answer these questions: What are your top calls to action? What do you want people to do on your website? Are you tracking your conversions in any way?
Color Psychology Research from QuickSprout indicates 90% of all product assessments have to do with color. Neil Patel writes, Color is 85% of the reason you purchased a specific product.
Color Psychology Color psychology is the science of how color affects human behavior. Color psychology actually is a branch of the broader field of behavioral psychology.
Color Psychology Color creates emotion and emotion creates action. The shade of a color can change its impact, for example: Lavender can be considered whimsical and romantic, while dark purple indicates mystery and obscurity. Robin s egg blue is considered friendly and inviting while darker navy blues can seem somber and formal. Brighter warmer colors (red, orange, yellow) energize people and make them more alert. Darker cool shades (green, blue, purple) are more relaxing and tranquil. Color should have been part of the company or organization s initial brand development and the brand should be integrated into the design. Blue is a color preferred by all genders and it can be seen by people with color blindness.
Discussion Answer these questions: How are you promoting your website? Social media, SEO, advertising, word of mouth, etc? If you are not promoting the site how do you get new customers?
SEO search engine optimization or...the Art of Showing Up on Google 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Meta Data Video Earned Links Blogging/FAQs/Articles Google My Business
E-newsletters Consistency Subject lines List Building Drive Website Traffic (include calls to action) Provide Value and Be Relevant Consider MailChimp, icontact, AWeber, Constant Contact
Social Media
Social Media Don t talk at people, talk with them Follow the 30/30/30 rule Integrate social media into your website Social media sites are tools, treat them as such Engagement is what increases your exposure
Tracking & Reporting Tracking your efforts helps you identify and quantify your success. Online store stats - cash flow and user accounts Google Analytics - website behavior and traffic sources Google Search Console - site rankings, click throughs, indexing/crawl status, and security alerts Social media analytics - Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, Pinterest Analytics, Iconosquare E-newsletter stats - open rates, new subscribers, unsubscribes, click-through rates
Q&A
Sarah Benoit (828) 242.0277 sarah@jbmediagroupllc.com facebook.com/sarahdbenoit twitter.com/sarahdbenoit instagram.com/sarahdbenoit linkedin.com/in/sarahdbenoit google.com/+sarahbenoitavl