These days businesses have so many different balls to juggle at once, it’s inevitable that something is going to slip past at some point. Most commonly, it’s the website that it forgotten about – but really, this should be a top priority for everyone.
Your website is effectively your ‘shop window’ – it’s what attracts possible customers into your business and gives you the opportunity to sell to them. An unkempt shop displaying signs for offers that have long expired or still have the Christmas lights hanging outside isn’t going to draw in many visitors.
Here are some of the most common mistakes we see online, all of which can be resolved with some simple housekeeping:
Offers
Take a look at your website, are you displaying any offers which have now expired? Do your product listings still say ‘SALE’? Clear these out straight away, as it can be infuriating to a customer that thinks they’re going to be getting a great bargain, only to find out at the checkout it’s no longer available. Replace these with relevant offers and make a note to review these on a regular basis. Keep changing them to entice new customers and to reflect the changing seasons or new products you have in stock.
Notifications
A website is a great way of letting your customers know of any important events or information that they should be aware of, for example if your telephone lines are currently down or if your shop will be shut for a certain date. However, we often see businesses still displaying these months after the situation has been resolved or the date passed. This can be confusing to a visitor and it doesn’t give off a good impression of your business – if you can’t maintain a website, how will you be able to offer them a decent service? Show customers and prospects how efficient you are by keeping your website up to date.
Out of Stock
When was the last time you reviewed your product list? Most websites have a stock functionality available which automatically reduces the stock available to purchase online which makes it easier for business owners to control what they have available, but what if you’ve sold things offline? Have you manually amended this on your website? Take some time to sit down and review what is on your website. If a product isn’t available anymore or if you aren’t going to be getting any new stock in for a long time, hide it from the site. Customers are only interested in what they can purchase now, not what you used to have in stock.
Contact Details
Having an active online presence is essential, but you also need to make sure there’s clear ways for people to get in contact with you offline. Ensure that your website has the most recent contact details for your business; phone number, email address and geographical address are the most important.
Competitors
Look at your competitors; how do their websites look? If your website is out of date and filled with irrelevant data, customers are simply going to move onto a competitor who has taken the time to maintain their website. Think of it like a high street, customers are more likely to go into an appealing shop that is advertising the best offers, with stock available and has a relevant, up to date display.