July 14, 2009
By the ZippyCart Shopping Carts Content Team
Owning and operating an ecommerce store has a variety of moving pieces that you need to pay attention to if you want to be successful. First you need to build a brand, storefront, and shopping cart experience. Once you are up and running you need to get the right visitors to your site that will want to make a purchase. Not all customers are created equal and therefore many of them will need a little help to make it through the buying process. Designing a “cool looking” store does not mean that it is easy to navigate or to make a purchase. If you do not have a strong and visible “Add to Cart” button, then you may be missing out on sales from the people you worked so hard on getting to your store.
Vancouver-based firm WiderFunnel Marketing was hired by SAP Business Objects to improve the performance of a free-trial software download page. The redesigned landing page they created used direct marketing tactics like a strong call to action and highlighted the benefits. The real game changer in the redesign was the “BOB,” otherwise known as the big orange button that boldly stated “Download Now.” In comparison to a subtle blue text link that the control group had the BOB out shined it by a mile. In the A/B split test, that was documented in a Marketing Sherpa case study, the redesign generated an amazing 32.5% more downloads than the control group. This goes to show that constant testing and designing from a user perspective can make a huge difference in your sales. So if you have not been testing different buttons on your site now is the time to give it a shot. Go with bold colors, big 3d style buttons, with a clear call to action so that customers know how to buy your product. You might not see a 32.5% increase, as was reported in the previous study, but every small gain you make will result in more revenue for your bottom line.
Amy is the co-founder of ZippyCart. She went to school for film in Cleveland, Ohio and ended up working in the field of viral video marketing, which eventually led her to her real profession: SEO. When she's not writing for ZippyCart, she can be found out and about Seattle, WA.
