In 2020, more individuals from the foreign trade industry are expected to join the cross-border e-commerce independent website sector. However, entering an industry does not guarantee results. This article shares the reasons for poor sales in cross-border e-commerce and how to increase sales.
Reasons for Poor Sales on Cross-border E-commerce Independent Websites
1. Targeting the Wrong Consumer Group
If youBuild your own e-commerce websiteand have some traffic, but no sales, it is likely because you have targeted the wrong sales audience.
People may not be interested in your product at all, or they may not be your target market. When marketing products, you must keep all these factors in mind.
2. Not Setting Up the Correct Sales Channels
Another reason that may hinder e-commerce sales is that you have not set up the sales funnel correctly. Most people who enter your website cannot find the product they want.
Typically, a user will go through the following steps:
- Visitor sees an advertisement / searches for a product
- Visits the website to find related products
- Searches for the product on the website and then checks its price
- Likes the product and places an order
However, if a visitor comes to your website and cannot find the desired product, they will definitely leave, so no sales are generated.
3. Customers Do Not Trust Your Website
If customers do not trust your website, they will not buy from you. This is a fact. Try to identify the reasons behind the distrust. To solve trust issues, you must consider:
- Add an SSL certificateto your website. An SSL certificate ensures your website is secure for transactions.
- Invite customers who have already purchased to promote and review for you on social platforms.
- Actively track user purchase feedback and resolve any issues promptly.
- Your pricing may be too high.
Most store owners find it difficult to understand that selling products at a higher price does not solve the problem. The issue is that people will only buy from websites that offer products at reasonable prices. If someone sells a product at a higher price than usual, people will not buy from that online store. Customers can use many price comparison websites to compare the prices of products available online. They do all their research before buying any product. Ensure the price tag on the product is correct.
4. The Website May Have Slow Loading Speeds or Unscientific Operations
If your website loads slowly or the operational steps are not reasonable enough, then users may also not purchase the product. According to a survey conducted by Sweor, 57% of internet users will not shop on websites with poor user experience.。
5. You Do Not Have an Email List
Marketing experts believe thatEmail Marketingis still one of the best methods to increase e-commerce sales. However, the problem is that most e-commerce store owners do not have an email list. They do not invest in leads and rely solely on organic or paid channels. According to an online finance magazine, email marketing yieldsthe highest investmentreturn rate (ROI).
6. Your After-sales System is Poor
Similar to negative reviews on Taobao, if your after-sales work is not done well, when a customer posts negative reviews about you online, it will indirectly affect your website's reputation. To find out your website's reputation, you can Google search for your brand plus words like 'review' to find it.
7. Delivery Times Are Too Long
Most people expect to receive their products within one or two days. However, most of us running Foreign Trade Independent Websites ship from China, so users may accept a delivery time of about a week. But the faster the product reaches the customer, the better the user experience.
Please ensure that all shipping details are clearly mentioned on the checkout page andproduct descriptionpage, so people know when they should receive the desired product.
Methods to Increase Sales on Cross-border E-commerce Independent Websites
Now that we have analyzed the possible reasons for poor sales on cross-border e-commerce independent websites, what aspects can we focus on to increase online sales?
1. Build Your Brand Trust
Look at some strategies that can be used to build trust in the brand among customers:
- Improve product quality. Ensure the products sold to customers are the same as those introduced on your website.
- Engage customers on your social media. For example, host some prize-winning activities on social media.
- Share user-generated content on your blog, social media, or website. These can be testimonials for your products or tweets from users who had a great experience shopping at your online store.
- Ask users to provide honest reviews of your services on review and rating websites.
2. Set an Appropriate Price
Now that you have established trust, people will visit your online store. It's time to set up the right offers so that these individuals can make purchases from your store.
- Refer to the selling prices of similar products on other websites; if there is a significant price difference, ensure there is a sufficient reason for it.
- If your wholesaler offers you prices higher than the market rate, you may need to switch suppliers.
- Appropriately offer promotions, such as free shipping on orders over a certain amount.
3. Establish a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
USP stands for „Unique Selling Proposition,“ which represents a unique selling proposition or „unique selling point.“ Ask yourself the following questions:
- What makes you stand out among other online stores?
- What are the prices of your products?
- How is the quality of your products?
- What type of customer service do you provide?
Now leverage these points.
Sometimes you may not even realize what your USP is. If that's the case, visit review websites to see what customers are writing about you and the keywords they use. These are the keywords that describe your services to your audience. Use them in your customer marketing materials because they are the customers' vocabulary.
4. Optimize and Conduct Split Testing on the Website
You only have 15 seconds to capture the user's attention. If you fail to do so, you lose. This is called thewebsite usability15-second rule. The second most important rule of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is the 3-click rule. It states that site users should be able to reach the checkout page with just three clicks. Ensure your website is optimized accordingly.
5. Provide Excellent Customer Service
People are more likely to purchase from companies that effectively address user complaints. That's why your store must provide effective customer service for clients. You have some tasks to do:
- Add a live chat option to your e-commerce store.
- Allow chatbots to answer most of the questions people ask. This will reduce the number of chats you have to respond to manually and increase the number of orders you receive.
- Send personalized emails to your customers and respond to them promptly when complaints arise.
- Use 24/7 phone support, as it can increase trust in your store.
6. Reduce Shipping Time
What if people do not receive their orders on time? They have a few options. They can cancel the order, request a credit card refund, or leave a negative review for the e-commerce store.
In e-commerce, shipping time plays a significant role in a store's rating. You must ensure orders are dispatched quickly. You can reduce the number of delayed deliveries by:
- Offering free shipping. Your customers should have the option to choose the type of shipping they want. If they want faster shipping, they should pay more for it. Otherwise, they can always opt for the free shipping option.
- UseThird-Party Logistics (3PL)handles the logistics and delivery operations for the store.
The above shares theHow to Increase Sales Orders on an Independent E-commerce Websiterelated content. If you want to build your own website, you can refer to the relevant tutorials on the Naibabiji website.