Greetings from inside the SEOigloo!
We have recently taken a poll over on the stores’ message board at eBay. Because eBay store owners are not only vendors, but also consumers, this seemed like an ideal demographic to glean this survey from. If you are a small web business owner, knowing what your customers want most is vital, in order to maximize your sales. Here, then, are the results of our poll:
1) 16.2% Cheapest Price
2) 16.2% Site’s look appeals to you
3) 13.9% Previous good experience with site
4) 11.6% Easy to navigate
5) 6.9% Fast Shipping
6) 6.9% Quality of product
7) 6.9% Reputation of the business
8) 4.6% Wide variety of products
9) 2.3% Site run by large well-known company
10)2.3% Product availability
11)2.3% Good return policy
12)2.3% Good Customer service
13)2.3% Low shipping costs
14)2.3% Security of site
15)2.3% Free Shipping
It came as no surprise to me that most Internet shoppers are looking for the best deal. After all, one of the great things e-commerce offers is the chance to shop around at dozens, hundreds or thousands of e-commerce websites, looking for a great deal on whatever you want to buy. Indeed, quality of product is given a lower priority than cheapness according to the data we’ve gathered. No wonder Wal-mart continues to do so well in the brick-and-mortar world.
One thing about this poll that did interest us is that the security of the shopping process has such a low priority to people. Some years ago, one heard a great deal of talk about whether it was really safe to be giving out your credit card information online. In just a few years, people have come to trust, perhaps even unthinkingly, the security of doing so. Security continues to be an issue people need to be aware of, as glitches and mistakes in this area prove terribly costly to those affected.
We are glad to see that loyalty figures well in the poll. Give your customers a good shopping experience and they are likely to shop with you again. We know for a fact that small web businesses that go out of their way to offer a really super, memorable, personable shopping experience are doing a lot to secure repeat shoppers. Enclosing thank you notes, coupons, or little extras in a package can make a warm impression on the receiving end and create a good feeling about your business.
As a small web business owner, do you agree with the results of this poll?