James Bond is one of the most legendary movie heroes of all times. He gets all the love, takes care of business, mesmerizes, has friends in the highest quarters and every time gains the upper hand. You might think James Bond has nothing to do with an ecommerce business. Hold on!
Following hours of grueling analysis – snacks, coffee and a notepad in the hand – here are 5 principles that ecommerce businesses can keep in mind.
Here we go.
#1. Your Mission is Your Customers
Bond’s priority is the ‘Queen and his Country’. Your priority is your customers.
This is where User Experience steps forward. And I’m not talking about design right now, I’m talking about functioning and interaction. Judge for yourself—what’s the point of your great design, if shoppers can’t easily navigate their way through your site or have to deal with the complicated checkout.
Here are some critical points you should take care first:
1. Search and navigation.
30% of shoppers use a site’s search function. Even more, 40% of those who use a site’s search box are more likely to convert. With irrelevant results and a weak search option, shoppers just get frustrated and leave.
- Filtering
When done right, filters help shoppers see only those products that match their interests. However, 34% of US websites have a poor filtering system that limit users’ ability to browse.
- Checkout
2 out of 3 shoppers abandon carts. 70% of users hate a tedious and complicated checkout process. What’s more, customers get annoyed by forced registration, hidden shipping costs, lack of payment methods, absence of trust seals, etc. This is where a smooth, simple and secure process wins.
#2. The First Impression
James Bond always looks impeccable. His fashion sense and killer charisma give him all the female attention.
A first impression takes 2 seconds. If shoppers see an old-fashioned design with a boring product presentation, they will leave.
As we know, a picture is worth a thousand words. And extensive research prove it; 92% of shoppers admit that visuals are the key factors affecting a purchase decision. So, make your homepage, categories and product pages stand out. Make them memorable.
2016 trends are not going anywhere in 2017.
- Card layouts, scrolling and parallax,
- Material design,
- Rich animations and high quality video backgrounds,
- Unusual colors and large typography.
So take care of your presentation and rock the ecommerce stage.
#3. Take Care of the Details
Bond’s suits fit him like a second skin, and he wears perfect gloves and watches. Little things, like stunning cuff-links, can tell so much about you.
The same goes with ecommerce. Your customers may not specifically notice how fast your pages load, or the absence of page reloads every time they add/remove the products, or a well-performed search process. But instinctively they will feel comfortable with you and more quickly progress from searching to the order confirmation page.
Besides the above listed points, pay attention to the following (often overlooked) things:
- Product options performance
First of all, there’s no need to create endless product pages with your offering variations (color, size, materials, etc.), just use the right tool for your ecommerce platform to arrange everything on a single page. And second, take care of page reloads. Because it really gets on people nerves when every time they change the color/size the page reloads.
- Attachments
Quite often, customers will need more detailed information about your products, such as user guides, warranties, price lists, etc. Make sure these files are not hidden in the middle of nowhere, but are placed in the right place on the product/category or CMS page. Depending on the platform, you can either use a third-part solution (like this Magento product attachments extension) or activate a built-in feature.
- Responsiveness
By the end of 2017, over 2 billion users will be surfing the web via laptops and mobiles. Which means responsiveness is not a whim, but a must. Even more, according to Google, if a website is difficult to use on a mobile device, there’s a 61% chance visitors will leave. Whilst, 67% of shoppers say they are more likely to purchase from mobile/ laptop-friendly stores.
#4. Take Advantage of Tech Innovations
James Bond is always equipped with the latest gadgets and gear, like mobile phones with sophisticated options, microchip implants, tracking devices, explosive keychains and many more.
Like James Bond, you must know and follow the latest tech trends. For example, what do you know about conversational commerce? Meanwhile, bots and messaging apps have eclipsed the network. Chat companies are now actively partnering with brands to make shopping for customers more simple, personalised and fast.
Uber, Burberry, Taco Bell, IcelandAir, Hi Poncho already use chatbots to inspire purchases. Why not to try?
#5. Brand Yourself
‘Bond. James Bond.’ I bet this phrase speaks for itself, because you immediately know what to expect further. The same with your business. Branding your company is a serious task that requires time, money and effort. In the long run, an effective branding strategy will help you stand out from the competition and gain customers’ love.
- Show your core selling proposition
Uncovering your unique product offer (with a highlighted story, philosophy and mission) will give the customers a reason to purchase from you.
For example, Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club, Chubbies and many others have one thing in common: a unique selling proposition.
Warby Parker offers designer eyewear at an affordable price. DollarShaveClub sell world-
class razors for a reasonable price. Chubbies was birthed from the idea to bring customers the best weekend shorts ever.
- Increase the perceived value
Online shopping deprives shoppers the possibility to feel, touch or try out the product. Which means, visitors will judge only by their first impression. If you can increase the perceived value of your products, you will enhance customers’ demand.
Invest in high quality product photography, catchy descriptions and engaging videos.
- Bring trust
Make your customers feel comfortable with you. Do not bombard shoppers with irrelevant pop-ups, frequent emails, overly promotional social media content and poor customer service. Remember, a compelling customer experience generates increased word-of-mouth recommendations for your brand.
- Stay consistent
Success doesn’t happen overnight. Do you know how fashion bloggers get their long-awaited popularity? They create fresh content every day and post it no matter how many people follow them. Only with consistency you can achieve results.
Deliver a high quality experience, provide a great product presentation, interest your customers with new marketing strategies and long live your brand!
Bottom Line:
Are there any other of Bond’s principles ecommerce businesses can implement? Let us know in the comments below.
