All businesses need to make money to survive so there is no shame in saying your business needs to hit a specific target to survive. Some eCommerce stores are killing it month to month and COVID-19 has only helped! On the flip side, some are not performing and are struggling to stay alive.
Something we hear at Preezie all too often; “I’ve been spending a lot of money on paid traffic, but my store’s conversion rate is not high enough to make this sustainable?”. “How can I maximise my return on digital marketing spend?” I am sure this has been a topic of discussion in your businesses at some point. Here we are going to show you what you’ve been doing incorrectly. It's all about understanding the fundamentals of eCommerce.
First, you need to understand the way eCommerce works by looking at this formula.
Sales/Revenue = Traffic * Conversion Rate * Average Order Value
To increase sales, either T, CR OR AOV should be increased. Simple right? But why is it hard for some stores to achieve their target?
We need to take a look at how eCommerce stores spend their marketing budget. Most stores are still stuck with the traditional 92:1 marketing ratio.
Did you know on average for every $92 spent in getting traffic, only $1 goes into converting that traffic? This spending imbalance is real, and eCommerce stores must do something about it. It is definitely important to drive traffic to your website, but is it effective?
Imagine walking to an electronic store that spends millions on marketing on TV, radio, billboards, geolocation and more but as soon as you enter the store you can’t find any sales assistants, products were not merchandised correctly, there was a messy store layout and a broken air conditioner inside, making the store unpleasant to stay in.
It is safe to say that this would be a terrible customer experience and it’s an example of what the experience would look like if a traditional retail store used a 92:1 marketing budget. Doesn’t make sense does it?
“How can I increase my conversion rate from the traffic that I already have?”
Rebalance your eCommerce formula!
Let’s balance out the marketing spending by spending less on capturing traffic and more on customer experiences.
BEFORE : 50,000 X 2% X $60 = $60,000
AFTER : 30,000 X 5% X $60= $90,000
We can assume that traffic will decrease while conversion rate would increase if marketing spending is balanced. In the above example this will result in a $30,000 increase in sales! That’s what matters right?
Importance of customer experience in an online store
On average, traditional retailers convert around 30% - 40% while online store converts around 1% - 2%. This shows that traditional retailers do convert much better than online stores.
You might have heard the news about how some traditional retailers are closing down because of the online shopping shift. But will traditional retail as a whole die eventually?
No, it won’t! Why?
Because the traditional shopping experience is an experience that our consumers enjoy and can’t be substituted yet by eCommerce
The main difference in consumer experience is the presence of a sales assistant that can understand your needs and recommend you the right products in seconds. The typical online store does not guide their customers to a product that is suitable for their needs, hence usually leaves them confused.
The average online store would usually provide filters to support website navigation for its customers. This will help, but not enough to recommend the right product for the customer and not enough support the customers to convert.
Looking and comparing the two customer experiences we can understand that the low conversion rate gap in eCommerce is caused by the absence of sales assistants, and brands must find a platform that can provide this service.
Preezie guided conversion platform
Preezie is a guided conversion platform. We integrate our technology to into retailers’ websites, to help their customers find the right products easily and quickly.
Our platform will guide your traffic through the sales process and recommend products that they actually need, turning your traffic from browsers to buyers.
Think of it like what a sales assistant does in-store, only online.
We have partnered up with businesses like YD, Nicks Wine, Bevilles and Porter Davis. On average, we were able to increase their conversion rate by 300-400%
The best ROI you will get on your marketing expense!
Read our Case Study here!
Interested for a demo?