Here's why your online store needs a personal touch
Back Posted on 29 Mar 2016
Customers are more likely to buy from a small online store if it offers great advice.
To make sure it's you they buy from share your knowledge, find ways to surprise them and create your own photos.
Ecommerce entrepreneur Anthony Baksys recently wrote about the importance of creating a story around your brand:
Customers are more likely to buy from a "small" store that gives advice, a personal touch, personal offers and makes sure your product is carefully selected and dispatched even if it costs more than at giants like Amazon.
Anthony's first two stores generated turnover in excess of half a million dollars from 320, 000 visitors each month. Now he has 25 online stores so by now he knows a few things about what makes a website successful.
There is a powerful truth in this unassuming quote that generates serious results.
Successful websites offer a personal touch.
If you don’t put a little extra effort into your product categories and descriptions why would anyone buy from you when they can get the same thing cheaper from Amazon, guaranteed next day?
This is not just for ecommerce websites either. The same applies to every website. To rise above the competition you need to go beyond what others are willing to do.
Here are 3 examples of how you can add a personal touch to your website.
Share your knowledge
Nobody knows you’re amazing at what you do unless you tell them. Take your product descriptions for example. Do you copy and paste them from the manufacturer's website the same as all your competitors?
Your customers will appreciate if you build your expertise into your descriptions to help them make the right choice.
For example, many car manufacturers share parts. It makes sense, economies of scale and all. But say you need a thermostat for a 2005 2.2TDi Saab. You could buy it from Saab for £53 but if you knew the exact same part is used in the Vectra C you could save £41 by buying it from Vauxhall!
This is the kind of knowledge that impresses customers and generates sales.
Surprise and delight your customers
Everyone loves surprises. Retailers like ASOS sometimes include a surprise thank you gift with orders like a mini pack of Haribo sweets. The gesture feels like it’s worth much more than the 10p price on the packet. And you’ll probably go out of your way to tell a friend how nice that company is.
Or a postcard expressing sincere thanks for choosing to buy from a family business.
Sure this takes money and time but it improves customer retention which adds to your bottom line.
According to Bain & Co. and the Harvard Business Schoo, increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%[1]
Use your own photos
Everybody has seen the manufacturer’s photos already so when you use them your website looks the same as your competitors.
Multiple photos showing different angles can be helpful and focusing in on specific details can help potential customers make the decision to buy.
Existing customers are often happy to send a photo of their purchase in use. If you’re into social media ask them to post the photo on their page and tag you. That way you get your photo and your customers friends are introduced to your brand.
Other ways to add a personal touch include
- Add fitting advice, even if it’s as simple as flat head screwdriver required
- Link products to related items eg. if you sell torches include a link to suitable batteries. Better, create a product bundle of torch and suitable batteries
- Demonstrate what product specification means in reality eg. no normal person knows the colour difference between a 3000k light bulb and a 6000k light bulb so include a picture to demonstrate
Many of these suggestions can be done ad hoc. So if you find yourself giving a customer advice that would be useful to others take a few minutes and add that advice to your website.
It’s these small improvements that add up and make you clearly better than your competitors.
Bonus tip
All of this applies to ebay listings as well. Using these principles I've sold used items for more than the purchase price. In one case doubling what I paid.