There’s no one right way to succeed in eCommerce, and brands are always looking for insights on how to push the limits on what they can do. So we recently asked the participants in our Yotpo Grow program, an accelerator for Black-owned brands: If you could ask an eCommerce expert anything, what would you want to know?
(Update: Yotpo Grow is now Yotpo RX!)
As it turns out, we have a group of experts to turn to whenever we have a burning question: eComm Insiders is our program of award-winning eCommerce agencies who have driven innovation and won huge results for the biggest brands in eCommerce.
So, Yotpo Grow asked — and eComm Insiders answered!
Here’s what Nathan Abbott, Head of Growth at full service, UK-based eComm agency Underwaterpistol, and Andrew Waite, Founder & Managing Director at Australian web design and development agency Convert Digital, have to say about returning customers, site conversion, and cult followings.
Yotpo Grow: “Do you have any tips on ensuring that your brand/product is set up in a way to encourage repeat purchases?”
Andrew Waite
“Creating unique and personalised experiences and value propositions is more important than ever. This stems from customer service right through to content, customer segmentation, and loyalty.
Consider how you’re communicating to customers and what’s important to them. It could be unique purchasing opportunities on latest product releases, through to rewards based purchase behavior.
This will be unique from brand to brand and should be a considered approach — there’s no silver bullet.”
Nathan Abbott
“Going into some tricky financial times, it’s more important than ever that brands embrace strategies that encourage repeat purchases and maximise the lifetime value of every customer. There are loads of different ways you can do this, including how you optimise your purchase flow.
This would include things like displaying reviews of your product front and centre, and making use of user-generated content to build trust in your brand. To help gather those reviews, make sure you’re asking and incentivise your customers to actually give them in the first place. Displaying reviews on your site is also great for SEO, so it’s a win-win.
As for retention, relevant and personalised email flows are a great way to attract your customers back to your site. Make sure you’re targeting the right people and utilise the data you already have to build tailored email flows for different groups and deliver relevant product recommendations.”
Yotpo Grow: “How can I create a ‘cult following’ and become the go-to brand for my customers?”
Andrew Waite
“Building a community, knowing your customer base, and tailoring messaging to resonate with your audience are key to building a strong, loyal following.”
Nathan Abbott
“Creating a cult following is the dream of basically every eCommerce brand. When you’re trying to do it, make sure you stay organic. People love getting to know a brand’s story, so be open about how and why your brand came about.
Are you sustainability-focused? Have you received medical or financial backing? Shout about what makes you unique across your website and your packaging, and do it in your own unique voice.
A big part of staying organic is prioritising editorial content over advertorial. Encourage your brand advocates to create UGC and showcase it to give your customers an authentic view into your product and brand.
Also, provide valuable content for your customers. If you’re a pet food brand, share helpful articles on how to train your dog or groom your cat to stay relevant and build trust.
This type of stripped back marketing approach will help you build a trustworthy and genuine reputation for your brand which will take you one step closer to developing that cult following.”
Yotpo Grow: “Do you have some examples of strategies that would entice your customers to tell their friends and the world about your products?”
Andrew Waite
“Reflecting on your own experiences in day-to-day life is a great place to start. Outside of having a great product, consider the incidentals:
- Incredible customer service. Ensure you’re nailing these touchpoints from considerations through to post purchase.
- Surprise and delight with things like free samples.
- Nail the fulfillment process.
People will always share positive experiences and reviews if the care and attention to detail is there.”
Nathan Abbott
“If you want your customers to tell the world about how great your products are, you should incentivise it. There are a few ways to do this, like by offering points, free gifts, or money off to the referrer and/or the referee. You can also run competitions that encourage people to tag their friends as part of their entry.
Ultimately, to get people to tell their friends about your brand, you need a fantastic product, great packaging, and a seamless buying process. You also need to alleviate customers’ pain points so they’ll actually want to share your product with others.”
Yotpo Grow: “How can I increase conversion rate of site visitors?”
Andrew Waite
“A high-converting onsite experience (for brands in particular) should more often than not start with great content, including product imagery.
Make your customers’ lives easier and provide clear navigation pathways through recommended products and upsells. Fulfillment messaging should be clear and, if possible, offer free shipping and a seamless returns policy.
We also recommend harnessing third-party apps to enhance the onsite experience, including smart search and merchandising, on-site personalisation, and reviews and UGC, while also collecting first-party data.”
Nathan Abbott
“There are so many different ways you can increase the conversion rate of your site – it’s one of the main things we do here at Underwaterpistol. Some of the most important ones include showcasing social proof across your site. Things like reviews, trust banners, and logos of news sources that have raved about your product will help you generate trust, which will in turn help you boost your conversions, too.
Something else that’s really important is displaying your value proposition front and centre on your site, ideally above the fold. Why should people buy from you? Why should they trust you? Your value proposition is your opportunity to showcase what makes your brand great, so it should be on display from the very beginning.
Being open and clear about the payment methods you accept is also really important, as brands can often see users drop off at the checkout because they don’t accept their chosen payment options. Accepting payments like Google Pay and Apple Pay will also help to boost your conversion rate because they make the checkout process much quicker and easier for the user.
Lastly, a great way to increase the conversion rate of your site is to keep your calls to action clear and concise. Effective conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is all about making the user journey as smooth, seamless, and easy for the user as possible. Utilising clear calls to action like ‘Buy now’ and ‘Find out more’ will help you do this.”
Now, it’s your turn!
Do you have any questions about eCommerce that you’d like an expert to answer? Submit them here and you might be featured in our next eComm Insiders Answer column!
And to learn more about our Yotpo Grow program, click here.
