Increasing Engagement For Your eCommerce Store

Increasing your engagement should always be one of your primary goals. Online stores like Ecwid offer a marketplace for you to start selling. More engagement means more customers to your online store. It also means that your brand awareness increases which can lead to even more customers down the line.

Engagement methods can change often, and it’s important to try and keep on top of trends. There are many ways for increasing your engagement, some being more effective than others. So what are some effective ways to increase your engagement?

Research Shopper Behaviour

Having a firm understanding of shopper behaviour is a crucial step to having a successful eCommerce store. Everything from the layout of your pages, to the ease of purchase, can have a serious effect on the customer lifecycle. If a purchase is too convoluted to make, or a page is too confusing, then you risk losing customers. Research other eCommerce stores and see how they handle their page layouts and purchase options. Make sure it’s simple and easy to follow.

It is also good to find out which options are more popular when it comes to purchases. Certain purchases are more common and sought after than others, so details and information leading to those pages should be more prevalent.

First Impressions Are Everything

One of the key components to retaining customers is with their first impressions of your website. With new customers, there’s no reason to stay, and bounce rates may be high. They may prefer other sites, or the big eCommerce sellers may be more enticing. You need to be able to draw people in and have them stay with you.

This is an opportunity to gain new customers and hopefully retain them. Make sure that your website appears professional and friendly, to entice customers to stay. A straightforward process should also be used to make sure customers can easily find exactly what they are looking for. Remember that the main goal with any new customer is to retain them and turn them loyal to your brand. Loyal customers are more likely to tell others about your service and further increase engagements for you.

Follow The Basics

Engagement techniques need to follow the basic needs of the shopper. If you try and make something engaging in a way that doesn’t meet the desires of the customer, then it is bound to fail. Constant pop-ups can be annoying, especially if the customer has only just landed on your page. Asking how a customer feels about your store should be kept to the end of the purchase cycle, not at the start. Properly implementing engagement techniques requires practice and planning.

Taking customers interactions into consideration is important. You want to drive them towards a sale, but their interest will usually differ. Finding the right amount of push and restraint is important for gaining and retaining customers. Make sure you engage customers in ways that aren’t intrusive and don’t interrupt their shopping experience.

Personalisation

In an increasingly competitive market, personalisation has always been crucial for the customer experience. Targeted ads are an example of this, offering a customer something they have previously shown interest in. Post-sales customer service or recommendations can help engage the customer, and more importantly, keep them engaged with your site. Each customer needs an individualised experience that makes them feel catered to. Customers have come to expect some level of personalisation.

Cross-device is a Must

In the same line of making sure your engagements are engaging and personalised, you need to consider the devices your customer uses. Mobile and PC have two different layouts, and both need to be fully optimised. Many customers may prefer using mobile over PC, or the other way around. They may also start a purchase on PC and finish it on mobile. If you want to increase engagements with your customers, then you need to ensure your eCommerce site is cross-platform and cross-device.