Spending money online is getting easier and easier, and so more and more online stores are opening.
In an age of online shopping, you need to make sure you’re standing out. That’s why your data is so important. If you take the time to measure your website data, you can learn a lot and make changes that really make a difference. Here’s what to look for, and what to do with that data.
What to monitor
If you start digging into your website data, you’ll find more numbers than you’ll ever know what to do with. You’ll need to look for the following data before you start making changes to your online store:
- Visitor numbers vs. customer numbers: Out of all the people who visit your site, how many come away having made a purchase? The more customers, the better. If there’s a wide gap, that’s something you’re going to need to investigate. Why are people leaving without buying?
- Where shopping baskets are abandoned: There’s a real problem with customers putting items in their cart, but never buying them. Where did they give up? If your data is showing the same page over and over, you may need to make changes.
- Customer registration numbers: If you offer guest checkout, then you’ll want to see how many people are choosing to register with you. Are there any ways to increase the numbers you have?
- As well as these, you’ll need to monitor what your competitors are doing too. By comparing your data to theirs, you’ll be able to see where you’re beating them, and where you’ll need to make improvements.
- Competitors’ prices: This is an easy piece of data to track, but you shouldn’t ignore it. If they’re undercutting you, you’ll need to work to bring your customers back.
- Top selling products: What are your competitors selling, and how do their top products compare to yours? Are they offering something you currently can’t?
- Supplier special offers: Your competitors will always have offers on, just as you do. What do they have on offer? How long for? Can you compete with what they’re offering?
“One final piece of data you’ll need to track is social trends online. The internet moves fast, and it’s only got faster still since social media became popular. What’s popular online? Can you use it to your advantage?,” suggests Patricia Burchfield from Assignment Writing Service.
How to use your data
Now you have your data, you need to adapt your online store to really get the conversion you need. Here are some pointers to get you the results you want.
- Adapt to your customer’s needs: Your data will have shown you where your customers leave your site, where they abandon their carts, and to some extent, why they’re not buying from you. That means that you need to adapt. Make the changes that need changing. Make your checkout process shorter, for example, if customers are leaving halfway through. If you’re paying attention to what your customers need, they will notice.
- Plan for change now: Start thinking about what you want to achieve with your data. Do you need to improve sales? Become a major player on social media? Get more people on your mailing list? If you know what your goals are, you can use your data with it in mind.
- Avoid fraud and scams: Everyone online is at risk of being scammed, even online stores like yours. Your data can show you patterns where fraud has likely occurred. You can see who’s perpetrating the fraud, and how often they’re doing it. This can help you take action against them. You could simply bar them from buying with you, or even take your data to the authorities.
- Make your pricing competitive: Now you know how much your competitors are charging for similar products, you’ll need to make sure your pricing can compete with theirs. You may not be able to go lower than them, but you can offer other benefits. For example, you can offer 15% off a related item, when they buy the product in question.
- Better product selection: When you’re collecting data you’ll see what your customers are searching for. If you pay attention to what they want, you can make sure you have it in stock. A better product selection means that you’ll be keeping your customers away from the competitors, and showing them that you pay attention to what they want from you.
- Make better marketing moves: As you keep collecting data, you’ll be able to make better marketing decisions. You can keep track of what your customers want, and keep them coming back with a store that caters to their needs. You can also make a splash on social media, as you’ll know what your followers like to see.
Best e-commerce tools
Now you know how to get the data you need to make decisions and can confidently make those decisions, you’ll need tools to help you implement them. Give these tools a try. They’re all highly useful in creating good content and improving e-commerce.
- Easy Word Count: This tool will give you an accurate word count of any content you create. It’s perfect if you’re trying to optimise page lengths.
- Boom Essays & Do My Assignment: Use the writers from this service to improve your content conversion rates.
- Assignment Help: This service will help you proofread your website content and ensure its polished before publication.
- Rejoiner: Convert customers easily, with this service that creates custom emails just for your company.
- Best Essay Services: This service can help you with data research, and understanding what your data is telling you.
Data is a powerful tool in ensuring your online store is a success. Don’t neglect to examine it often, and look for the patterns and trends. With that data, you can keep yourself ahead of the pack.
Mary Walton is an online business writer. She works as a resume editor at Resumention, and creates successful business presentations and online courses at Paper Fellows. Mary has a blog – Simple Grad, there you can check latest tips for students on how to improve education and college life.
If, like many business owners, you don’t have the time or resources to gather and analyse all the data required using the services of a company specialised in Data Extraction and Analysis can be the most efficient way to ensure you have the information needed to make smart business decisions. For more information on how this works contact Industry Compete today