Thursday, January 4, 2018

/// Don’t Flush Your Products, Your Obstruction Goes Much Deeper ///



Have you spent thousands of dollars on a dead website full of amazing products, yet your competitor moves crap faster than you can blink an eye? All it takes are 4 quick motions to reveal your problem.  

The first time I bought products online was from a dial-up bulletin board in the 90s. Today I buy so much crap online that I’ve experienced my fair share of plugged sales funnels. Please… someone take my money!

All it takes is for 1 roadblock on your site and you’ve got another abandoned shopping cart. Shouldn’t shopping be simple?

I buy a lot of stuff online. You should listen to my advice, as I’m your ideal customer. These nuggets are useful, whether you’re running a website, selling on e-Commerce sites, or on social media channels. 

You may think your products are shit as they aren’t moving, but chances are your problem lies much deeper than you think. 
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1. Let’s Go Shopping!

Visit that great site that’s getting all the conversions. Yes, you’ll cringe at some of their tacky products, yet they move them quickly. It may not even be pretty, but somehow, buying is much simpler there. 

Do yourself a favour, and choose a few products. Add them to the shopping cart and check out. 

Wasn’t that easy?

Compare how your site measures up to the competition. As we said earlier, it’s not the crap you’re selling but likely some other issue happening on your site. 

Most likely, it has to do with the checkout process. If your competitor has figured out a way to streamline their checkout process, you should too.
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2. Eliminate Extra Blockages!

If you have an endless checkout process on your own site, your customers are going to either become annoyed, or… look a squirrel!

That’s right, they’ll abandon their shopping carts. Their intentions may be good about returning at a later date to complete that purchase…look a squirrel!

The best place to eliminate blockages is to start at the beginning.

Let me just drop this item in my shopping cart. Good, now that’s done, how easy is it to find that shopping cart? 

Don’t make it a game! That shopping cart icon should be clearly at the top of the screen. 

When you’re ready to check out, it should be a simple process. Customers want their stuff and they want it yesterday. Don’t put them through a labour-intensive process. 
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3. Flush Those Details Away!

Remember that half your audience is checking out from a smart device. Have a simple system. If it’s a service you’re selling, you don’t need their home address or phone number. 

If it’s a product you’re selling, you don’t need a phone number either. If they’re like me, they’ll enter a phoney number anyway. 

If you don’t have shipping rates prominently posted, ensure they pop-up as soon as your customer enters their address. 

Don’t let them go through hoops to see how much shipping is. And remember that Canada is not a foreign country. 

Shipping fees should be reasonable. If you must include tracking costs, let them know up front there is a reason why shipping to Canada or the UK costs a bit more.

People won’t abandon their shopping cart when they understand the reasons for a higher shipping cost, but they will if you just toss a number at them. 
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4. Hire That Freakin’ Plumber, Errrr… Expert!

If your toilet was pouring water everywhere, you’d hire a plumber. If your dishwasher stopped working…you’d get the dog to lick the plates. 

If you are experiencing any form of roadblock on your website that prevents customers from completing their purchases, chances are that something is wrong. 

You can always ask potential customers what went wrong, if you can find them.

And if you can’t figure it out on your end, hire a freakin’ expert! 
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/// Flush Out Your Site’s Problems Now! ///

So that’s it folks.

I hope this has helped you on your journey to flushing out blockages on your own website.

Now go and spend time with your family this evening!