Are you looking for e-commerce tools to create or improve your e-commerce but you don’t have the right IT skills? No problem! Nowadays you can find a number of tools and services that allow you to develop your website without ever having to write a line of code. The trick is to choose the right services that will make your shop an online reference.
Optimising your website, developing customer relations, choosing your delivery methods… Discover our list of 8 essential tools that will help manage your online shop succesfully.
E-commerce tools for a pleasant browsing experience
1) CMS
CMS platforms (Content Management System) allow you to create and manage your online shop easily and without any technical skills. These new e-commerce tools are used more and more by developers that want a fresh and modern style thanks to high-performance tools. The most common CMS in France today are PrestaShop, Magento or WooCommerce.
2) Click-to-chat
Click-to-chat allows online customers to directly interact, in real time with a member of your team. Click-to-chat is being used more and more on e-commerce sites to help consumers make their choice. This service is highly appreciated by online shoppers who see it as a practical way to get information quickly. Zendesk and Watcheezy are among some of the most popular chat service providers.
E-commerce tools for communicating with your customers
3) Text message marketing
With an opening rate of 95%, text messaging is a powerful tool for generating quality traffic. Popular service providers such as Twilio or Mobyt SMS will help you to acquire customers and keep them hooked.
On average, it takes 3 minutes to read a text message after reception, so make sure it’s short, simple and straight to the point. We recommend sending messages between 11.30 and 12.30 in the morning or between 5.30 and 6.30 in the afternoon.
4) Newsletter
The newsletter is an essential communication tool that helps build customer loyalty and increase the repurchase rate.
It’s important to design a newsletter in line with your brand and to publish it on a regular basis. SendinBlue is a great service provider that will help you launch your first newsletter campagin in just a few minutes. SendinBlue offers a complete catalogue with a number templates available!
E-commerce tools to improve online shopping experience
5) Comments and feedback
Comments are an excellent way to find out what your customers think of your products. Google attracts over 95% of online traffic in France and has shown us that product sheets featuring customer reviews have a 17% higher click rate! In addition to collecting feedback, customer reviews are also reassuring and encourage users to believe in the reliability of your site and the quality of your products. E-commerce tools such as Trustpilot, Ekomi or Verified Reviews allow you to certify customer reviews and display a mention when the review is submitted by a customer who has actually purchased the product.
6) Delivery
Delivery is a key element in the order process as expectations in terms of delivery are becoming increasingly important. Today, 91% of online shoppers want to be regularly informed about the status of their package (Ifop 2016 survey). Boxia allows you to send automatic and customisable messages at each stage of the delivery. This online tool is very useful for keeping directly in contact with your customers and informing them in real time. The delivery experience is very much appreciated by customers who no longer need to worry and will therefore reward you with positive comments. As an added bonus you will also reduce the number of calls and e-mails received regarding delivery issues and can focus this time and energy on your business growth!
E-commerce tools to increase online traffic
7) Performance analysis of your website
When you generate sufficient traffic to your online shop, it becomes essential to understand, through encrypted information, the behaviour of your customers and the way they interact with your site.
Here are 2 tools to analyse the performance of your site and learn about your customers:
- Alexa is a free online tool that allows you to discover the queries most used by Internet users on search engines that lead to your site. It also offers a demographic presentation of your visitors (age, level of education, location, etc.).
- Piwik is not an online tool but a free open source software to download and install on your computer. It provides real-time and detailed reports on your website visitors (keywords, most popular pages, …).
8) Website loading optimisation
The speed at which a page loads is important for a satisfying customer experience. In fact, after more than 3 seconds of waiting nearly 40% of e-buyers leave a website. Since a visitor’s patience threshold is 6 to 7 seconds, optimising your website is crucial in order to capture your customer’s full attention. To make your site more readable and enjoyable, start by testing the loading speed of your page by entering the URL of your site on Google PageSpeed. In just a few seconds, Google PageSpeed will give a score out of 100 to the URL entered, as well as the errors to be corrected!
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Boxia is a tool that allows online retailers to inform their customers in real-time throughout the delivery process and therefore reduce the number of calls and e-mails to their after-sales service by up to 40%. Boost your customer satisfaction with a unique and effortless delivery experience. Contact us now for more information or to see a live demo of our platform!
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