Let’s face it: owning your online business promises the dream of doing what you love and selling to customers that love your products. Full-time.

!! But it’s easy for your business to get lost in the tabs of window shoppers’ internet browsers isn't it?!

So let’s discuss the 5 easiest ways to turn shoppers into buyers and get you closer to your dreams of building your online empire..

1. Know Who You’re Trying To Convert Into Shoppers

Ever have a month with a decent amount of visitors, but really slow sales? Don’t fret, all of those views mean people are interested in your wares, but need that extra push to make the commitment to try your product. Usually, window shoppers fall into one of these four categories:

a) They’re thinking of buying what you sell, but not right away.

Since what you sell is unique, you can make a customer’s sense of urgency work for you. Most handmade products are part of a limited collection that you’re making at the moment but might change in the future. Even a simple “X left in stock” notice on the product page -- a trick you might not consider if you always make small batches of each product -- can trigger a shopper into buying now rather than waiting.

b) They’re ‘shopping around’ before making a purchase decision

What makes your products better than any of your competitors’? Why should they choose yours over someone else’s? It could be the materials, the craftsmanship, the bespoke nature of your products, even the story behind your brand and your product’s creation. There’s any number of things that can make customers choose you, and it’s your job to highlight them in a way that doesn’t seem like a sales pitch. Appealing to a customer’s desires, rather than the fact that they’re about to make a business transaction and should compare the competition, can really help convert views into sales.

c) They’re considering who they’ll buy from when they decide to buy

What makes you better than your competitors? Are you unique in the way you work with your suppliers, source your goods, or create your products?

Often, selling your products means selling yourself.

d) They’re a fan of yours, and they’re thinking “maybe someday.”

Remember to treat people who have shown interest in your online boutique with special interest, as they’re even closer to becoming a customer than your other visitors. If someone starts following you on Twitter, signs up for your mailing list, or emails a question about something they’re admiring, show them you care about their business. This could mean responding to their comments quickly, inquiring about what they might use a product for and coming back with suggestions, ensuring them they can customise an order, or even sending them discount codes for first-time buyers. A little special attention on your part can turn your aspirational products into a realistic option for shoppers that are already interested in your work.

2. Inspire Confidence In Your Brand Through Your Layout

Since your homepage is your storefront, it needs to inspire confidence in your brand and provide a user-friendly experience that makes it enjoyable to peruse through your collection.

SupaDupa store GFG Music, selling vintage electric guitars ooze an ultra cool edge to their branding with the clean and simplistic homepage.

Consider things like the ease of navigation and layout of your website. Services like SupaDupa provide shop themes that can make your website look professional with minimum effort, but remember that you don’t have to use every customisable feature! Less is usually more when it comes to front pages of online boutiques -- a short tagline, beautiful pictures of your products and catchy names or short descriptions is enough.

Inundating users with too much information or unbroken walls of text can make users quickly move on to more visually appealing, easy to use websites. Make sure that when customers come to your online storefront, they know what you’re selling and can get an idea of your brand in the first 5 seconds.

3. Inspire Confidence In Your Business By Making Customers Feel Secure

You might feel like a fledgling start-up, but you need to project the image of an established business to make customers feel secure. Think of the indicators you use to feel out whether or not a business is “legitimate.” Indicators of trust like credit card and paypal logos on your homepage, or logos from trade unions or business organisations that you’re a part of, can go a long way to building trust.

Also consider the things that big businesses that you trust have, like Terms and Conditions or Postage and Packaging and Returns policies. Even Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) pages inspire a sense of legitimacy while also cutting down your workload, as you can answer questions from customers before they pop up.

SupaDupa store Rings&Tings selling jewellery pieces, project real confidence in their brand by including thorough information on Returns Policy, International Shipping and Terms & Conditions. They've even gone that extra further and included media coverage, all of which are displayed discretely within the footer of the store. Great touch.

4. Add Testimonials

Nothing keeps online shoppers from turning into buyers like the anxiety that your products might not live up to their real-world expectations. A page for the press you’ve received can do a lot for easing this anxiety, but nothing inspires confidence like real-life testimonials. This can be as simple as re-tweeting a lovely thank you tweet from a customer, but can also include a page for testimonials or testimonials on each product page.

If your reviewers have websites or social media accounts that they wouldn’t mind promoting, especially if they have expertise or are known in your industry, you can add some credibility to the testimonials by including them. However, even just a first name and city of origin, or date that they purchased the item, can add credibility and build confidence in your products.
Aim for testimonials to describe the following:

• The product
• How the product was used
• How the product made a difference in the customer’s life
• The ways the product impressed
• Fears or anxieties the customer had before trying the product, and how they turned to joy when they received their item!
  

Be careful about adding a place to read reviews on each product page, however, as new businesses tend to have lots of products with no reviews at all. Having many pages with “this product has 0 reviews” stamped on them can backfire and make customers more hesitant about a product than they would if there were no review option.

SupaDupa store Cravat-Club execute testimonials beautifully. The review goes to town by fully explaining the customer's experience with the store, detailing everything from the product to packaging and even the superb customer service. Great work Cravat-Club!

Hot tip: Add an image of your customer with the product to add that touch of legitimacy to your review

5. Make each product page look beautiful and each description sound beautiful

While you don’t want too much information at your virtual store front, the pages for each individual product should have stellar product descriptions that really sell.

We’ve written before about How To Write Product Descriptions That Sell, and the short version is to ensure that each product page includes descriptions that

• Are engaging and appeal to your customers’ senses -- remember, they can’t physically see or touch your products!
• Convince your customer that your products have the features and benefits they need
• Answers any potential questions -- such as size, weight, durability -- or doubts that a customer might have
• Aren’t written in hard-to-read formats, including large blocks of text that can overwhelm casual shoppers

And, of course, make sure your product photos are high-quality and from multiple angles! Nothing converts window shoppers into buyers like photos that truly show off your product in the best light, and mimic the real-world shopping experience of able to turn a product over and look at it from all angles.

SupaDupa store Arhin Armah, selling home furnishing show a perfect example of a beautifully written product description. The attention to detail is what engages with the customers' senses.

Useful Resources

Kissmetrics
A website about analytics, marketing and testing

Mashable
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