1. SUPPORT THE CUSTOMER to boost your online sales

Visitors are generally looking to solve a problem or acquire a good or service. Your site should be designed to show them what you have to offer and make it easy for them to buy from you. But you can go further by using design techniques that act on visitors’ psychology to entice them to buy.

1. Social proof

Social proof is the idea that people follow the example of others. The endorsement of your products by customers, experts, celebrities or organizations gives visitors the feeling that they’re making a good choice by buying from you. Social proof can take the following forms:

> Testimonials ;

> Ratings and reviews (think Amazon);

> Certifications and quality labels ;

> Customer logos (for B2B companies) ;

> Number of users (the billions and billions of people served at McDonald’s) ;

Indicateurs de popularité dans les médias sociaux (abonnés ou partages, ou les deux).

2. Scarcity and loss aversion

Anyone who has ever been presented with a limited-time offer knows that it can have a powerful impact. By limiting product availability or the validity period of special offers, you can create a sense of urgency among potential customers.

Loss aversion is another closely related concept you can exploit to increase sales. For consumers, a loss has a greater psychological impact than an equivalent gain.

Think about how you can take advantage of this trend, for example by offering trials or subscriptions that expire after a certain period.

3. Anchoring and aversion to extremes

Consumers naturally tend to reject extremes and choose a middle ground. That’s why we often see e-commerce sites offering three or four choices, ranging from the cheapest to the most expensive, in the knowledge that most customers will opt for the middle ground.

Offering a limited number of options can also boost sales, as the more choices people have to consider, the more likely they are to abandon their shopping cart.

4. Peace of mind

People like to know that they can go back on a decision if they regret it. That’s why guarantees, free delivery, simple return policies and free trials/samples are so popular. To reassure customers, make the final purchasing phase as simple as possible by eliminating irritants and making them feel comfortable buying from you.

2. The 5 phases of care

• Attract: customers to look at your “shop window” rather than other (e-) marketing to generate traffic.
• Seduce: entice them to open the online store’s door (be well-stocked, present products well).

“(e-) Merchandising

• Convince: Encourage them to complete the transaction (simple checkout).

Prevent him from putting off his purchase

• Service: Leave a good impression so that the customer recommends the salesperson to friends and family, and is willing to come back.
• Loyalty: Encourage repeat business. Recognize the customer for subsequent orders.

3. Tips for attracting and retaining customers

Effective marketing techniques and good customer service will help you attract customers to your site and keep them there.

• Accept returns.
• Offer incentives and discounts to your online customers.
• Use online and offline marketing strategies to increase your online sales.
• Make sure you deliver what you ordered.
• Make sure products are shipped promptly.
• Respond quickly to customer requests for information.
• Make the shopping experience easy and pleasant for the customer.
• Whenever possible, use the same company name on your site and on transaction receipts. Alternatively, inform your customers of the name that will appear on their credit card statement.
• Send receipts online for all transactions.
• Clearly show total costs including shipping.
• Indicate stock availability and estimated delivery time.
• Indicate on your site the country in which the company operates, the transaction currency and any export conditions.
• Inform customers of all measures taken by the company to ensure the security and protection of personal information.
• Wherever possible, offer customers an alternative method of purchasing products online.
• Remind users of the products they’ve ordered when they check out.
• Make sure your site looks professional and that product information is easy to find.
• Make sure you offer good customer service. Customer service management software enables us to offer improved support and services to regular customers. This type of software also offers assistance to first-time buyers and can help build loyalty among occasional customers.
• Make sure that your site’s user-friendliness matches your customers’ expectations and capabilities.