Can your customers find their way to the checkout?

We all put in great efforts trying to get traffic and then convince people to buy from us, but have you ever thought that you’re sabotaging your own efforts if people can’t work out how to buy from you? No matter how good your product or service is, if they can’t find out how to checkout or contact you quickly, you’ll lose the sale.

Firstly, check that people can find your contact or order form easily and quickly. Make sure that the system or form actually works, as unfortunately many have sat waiting for orders that can’t get through. You can also reduce the chance of losing a sale by having a prominent link to your order area on every other page of your site.

What payment options do you offer? Some may feel uncomfortable paying through Paypal, others might not have a credit card at all, or might want to send a money order. The more options you can offer, the better your chance of covering your customer’s desired method.

Can your customers trust your website? If you’re taking credit card payments, do you use SSL on your website? Are your exchange and refund policies easy to find? How about after sales support, can they find your contact details easily? Many times surveys have show having a mobile number rather than a landline can actually result in mis-trust of your business. You can get a VOIP (voice over IP) phone number very cheaply now, if you don’t have a phone line you want to use. If you have customer testimonials, these should definately also be on your website.

By taking some simple steps to elimiate problems when your customers go to pay, you can increase your sales and enquiries with no extra promotion or marketing efforts required.