ProductCart Tips and Tricks: Issue 1

Red Leaf Development wants to help your business increase sales, reach new customers and drive more traffic to your site. We are constantly trying to keep you up-to-date with changes to the eCommerce landscape. That is no easy task lately! Here are some industry trends that we have been following this year.

ProductCart already has some of these features built in while some of the additions require a minor customization; and still some require more advanced development. As always, contact Red Leaf to determine which will be easy, moderate or difficult to add to your site.

Personalize your site
Each shopper is unique, and several of the Internet Retailer Hot 100 e-Retailers tailor their sites to the individual. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Add cross-selling. Red Leaf has developed an "Automated" cross selling add on that links the product a customer is viewing to other products that customers have purchased. This functions exactly like the "Customers who bought this product also bought…" feature on Amazon.
• Add recommendations. Add a spot on your site where a group of recommended products can be displayed that is based on a customer's browsing history.
• Send targeted emails. When done well these campaigns are perceived as good service; customers accept and value these approaches. When delivered through email, recommendations, suggestions and relevant content gets very high open rates, and low unsubscribe rates. Add a coupon code to encourage a click-through and measure your results.

Facilitate buzz
More than eight in ten people say that their personal networks are among the two to three best sources for new information. "Social networking is ingrained in our corporate culture because it is ingrained in the lives of our customers," says Eric McCoy, founder and CEO of shoe e-Retailer Heels.com. The goal is to connect with your customer and get them to like and trust you. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Setup a Facebook page for your company (be sure to link to it from your website).
• Enable product ratings and reviews and be sure to feature a best seller list on your site.
• Add the "Share This!" or the Facebook "Like" button to your product pages.
• A blog allows you to engage your customers and listen to their feedback. It also will help boost your natural search engine rankings.

Convert and remarket
Let's face it - you can't call a site visitor a customer until they purchase from your site. Step back and look at your site, ask yourself "What would compel someone to buy from you?" The goal is to convert your visitors into customers and follow up with excellent customer service, every time. Ideally your customers will come back again and again to buy from you! Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Offer a simple email sign up on your homepage.
• Feature a 1-800 number prominently on your homepage.
• Offer more than one payment option - enable PayPal for example.
• Use the emails you have collected whenever possible - send targeted email based on browsing behavior or prior purchase information, for example, "As someone who has shown interest in you might also like..."
• Keep it simple and favor your existing customers by making it exceptionally easy for a returning customer to make purchases.
• Use tools to track drop-offs, conversions and ROI.

For a free consultation and quote, please contact our Sales Department today at 1-603-319-1922 x103 or at Sales@RedLeafDevelopment.com. For more information about our Social Commerce offerings, visit us online at www.redleafdevelopment.com/social_tools.