11 ways to improve an online shop

Smashing Magazine recently posted an article discussing 15 common mistakes in ecommerce design, and that got us thinking. This is a subject close to our hearts – we have helped many of our clients increase their online sales – and we think we’re quite well placed to talk about making improvements.

There isn’t really a “One size fits all” approach to increasing online conversion. We always recommend our client establish detailed web analytics that allow them to see exactly what users do at each stage of the buying process and employ methods for gathering insight into why they behave the way they do (e.g. user testing, focus groups, online surveys).

We also recommend a “suck it and see” approach; we encourage our clients to make incremental changes and to use techniques like MVT and A/B testing to monitor the effectiveness of each change.

That said, we thought we’d have a bash at our own top tips on how to improve the user experience and bottom line…

Does UX blind us to creative thinking?

Unsurprisingly, as a user experience consultant, I spend a lot of time talking about users. I tell my clients that they should think about who their users are, what they do, what they think and what they want.

But I am concerned that “customer-centric” thinking is giving businesses licence to forget about creativity. I am worried if we doggedly focus on where the journey takes a user, we don’t allow them to enjoy the trip.

Lazy content can ruin your online conversion

I recently read this personal profile that someone had posted online and I feel compelled to share my chagrin:

An individual who is passionate about continuous improvement and someone who can influence equally and effectively upwards as well as through their team members. With strong business acumen and vision to strategise and chart new territories to create new business opportunities. A bright, articulate, commercially aware individual used to working to tight deadlines, under pressure and using their own initiative. Coming from a proactive sales background, can work independently or within a team.

Google+ lacks the important connections

I have subscribed to Google+, I have tinkered with it and started to form an opinion. I think it has some great features but offers nothing spectacularly new. I will no doubt find useful in the future but, right now, I have no particular need for it.

Five tips for creating your CRM and social media strategy

A proper CRM and social media strategy needs serious head scratching and furious scribbling. We normally discuss this sort of thing in a big room with a white board, a stack of post its and an endless supply of tea and biscuits.

Not the sort of thing you can really cover in a blog post then?

No, but I thought I’d give it a go anyway…

Multichannel marketing = choosing the right tool for the job

In answer to Craig’s post about Cadbury’s Creme Egg I thought I would add another dimension to the debate.

Historical facts

In early 2002, marketers, who had been picked up and carried off by the wave of excitement created by early web developments, suddenly realised that instead of the millions of people they expected to ‘hit’ their websites they had in fact signed up 4 users. The magical hits promised by the agencies of the time did not appear and this led to the dot.com crash and burn that we all saw.

Don’t overegg the social media pudding!

Two posts in a row nay-saying social media? I’m going to get myself a reputation if I’m not careful.

Clearly I love social media – I am blogging after all – but I don’t think it fixes everything. In particular, I don’t think it is necessarily the most effective or efficient way of getting your users to engage with your brand.

“Huh, are you mental?” I hear you say. Let me give you an industry example and three reasons to support my point.

Are we in a social media bubble?

Tom Albrighton recently posted an article that asks that question on the Econsultancy website:

http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7457-are-we-in-a-social-media-bubble

I’m not sure if we are in a bubble but do I agree that social media is overhyped and oversold.

Good copy takes time

Joe Pelissier recently posted an arcticle on the Econsultancy website in which he discusses some of the key considerations for writing for the web:

http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7232-copywriting-for-digital-mindsets

He makes some interesting points and references. I especially like the Nicholas Carr quote about how the internet has affected the way we absorb information:

“Once I was a scuba diver in a sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski.”

User Experience is not just a strapline

I find it encouraging to see the amount of interest UX is receiving and I’m particularly pleased that many businesses now see the benefit of understanding what their users think, do, and want.

More and more clients seem to grasp that we’re not trying to be altruistic; they know that listening to their audience’s demands improves their business.

But as UX enters the mainstream and the forefront of our client’s minds are we losing sight of its purpose?