Here’s a sobering fact that every Internet marketer should be concerned about: as many as 50% of your customers will abandon their shopping cart on your site without bothering to complete their purchase. Sometimes it’s because they went off to do comparison shopping elsewhere. Sometimes it’s because they wanted to search for a coupon code and sometimes they suddenly decided that it was just too darn expensive to purchase whatever it is that you have for sale right now. Here are five strategies for getting more of those customers with abandonment issues (and no, we’re not talking about childhood trauma) to make a purchase:
Don’t Make Then Hunt for a Coupon Code
Everyone loves a good deal. So why not just build that into your marketing? Offer coupon codes for first time buyers or to buyers who have purchased a certain minimum from you in the past. You can even offer them the coupon code right there on the site and fill it in for them. Mind you, some people will still go hunting for coupon codes elsewhere anyway but more of your customers will be satisfied when they see that unexpected extra discount show up all of a sudden in their cart (of course, you need to figure that discount into your cost of doing business).
Tell Your Customers You Offer a Refund
Make it very easy for your customers to find out what your refund policy is and you’ll close more sales. People may be reluctant to make a purchase if they don’t know they can get a refund if they feel the product is not for them. However, when you do offer a refund, very few people will actually take you up on the offer — it’s just a bit of human psychology. People like to feel that they have a backup plan in case the purchase doesn’t work out but few people take advantage of them.
Show Live Inventory
Nothing creates the urgency to make a purchase right now like showing a live inventory. This can either mean simply listing how many of a particular product is available or you can even use the old dime sale method where there are a limited number available at a particular price before the price goes up.
Do Comparison Shopping for Them
Finally, many people will leave your site to look at prices elsewhere before they actually make a purchase. You can help them by doing their comparison shopping for them and show them that you do have the cheapest prices. Or, if you don’t have the cheapest prices, remind them that you have other things to offer your customer which makes it worth their while to make a purchase from you as opposed to someone else.
Keep Their Shopping Cart Intact
Finally, take a page from Amazon.com and keep your customer’s shopping cart intact for them when they return. Often, they will come back after they’ve done whatever comparison shopping they needed to do. By keeping a copy of their shopping cart (done using a cookie or by having customers sign in), you’re more likely to have them make the full purchase they intended to make.