Let Me Tell You About the Time I Almost Threw My Laptop
It was 2008, a tiny office in Chicago, and I was committment-ed to making this ecommerce site work. I had no idea what I was doing. None. And honestly? Neither did half the so-called experts out there.
Fast forward 15 years, and I’m still shaking my head at the same mistakes. You’d think by now, people would get it. But no. So, let’s talk about it. And I’m not gonna hold back.
First Off, Stop Overcomplicating Things
Look, I get it. You wanna be fancy. You wanna have all the bells and whistles. But guess what? Your customers don’t care about half that stuff. They wanna find what they’re looking for, and they wanna check out fast.
I had a friend, let’s call him Marcus, who spent $27,000 on some custom theme for his online store. $27,000! For a theme. He thought it was gonna be this game-changer. (See? I used one of those AI words. I’m human, cut me some slack.)
So I asked him, “Marcus, how’s it working out?” And he said, “Well, it looks amazing, but sales are down 18% than last month.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.
And Speaking of Sales, Let’s Talk About Reviews
You know what’s more important than a pretty theme? Trust. And you know how you build trust? With honest, real reviews. Not those fake ones you’re tempted to buy. (Yes, I know you’re tempted. We all are.)
I swear, if I see one more “This product changed my life!!!” review, I’m gonna scream. Be real. People can spot a fake from a mile away. And if you’re not sure how to get real reviews, check out online store review customer rating services. They’ve got the scoop on how to do it right.
I had a colleague named Dave who swore by fake reviews. “They’re just placeholders,” he told me. “Until the real ones come in.” Yeah, Dave. And how’d that work out for you? Oh right, your store got flagged by Google. Oops.
Now, Let’s Talk About Shipping
You know what’s worse than a slow website? Slow shipping. And expensive shipping. And honestly, any shipping that’s not free. Look, I get it. Shipping’s expensive. But you know what’s more expensive? Losing customers.
I had this client, let’s call her Linda, who refused to budge on shipping costs. “It’s just the cost of doing business,” she told me. So I said, “Linda, your cart abandonment rate is 87%. That’s not just the cost of doing business. That’s the cost of being stubborn.”
She didn’t listen. And guess what? She’s out of business now. Coincidence? I think not.
A Quick Tangent: Why I Hate Pop-Ups
Okay, rant time. Pop-ups. I hate them. You hate them. Everybody hates them. And yet, they’re everywhere. “Sign up for our newsletter!” “Get 10% off!” “Wait, don’t leave!”
No. Just no. If I’m gonna sign up for your newsletter, I’ll sign up. If I want 10% off, I’ll take it. But don’t interrupt me. Don’t make me jump through hoops. And for the love of all that’s holy, don’t make me play some stupid game to get a discount.
I was at a conference in Austin last year, and some guy was pitching his new pop-up service. “It’s gonna double your conversions!” he said. I said, “It’s gonna double your unsubscribe rates, you mean.” He didn’t like that. But you know what? He wasn’t my client, so I didn’t care.
Back to Business: Mobile Matters
Look, I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that mobile is the future. It’s the present. It’s right now. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re losing money. Plain and simple.
I had a client who swore up and down that his customers weren’t mobile users. “They’re all on desktop,” he told me. “I know my customers.” So I said, “Let’s look at the data.” And guess what? 67% of his traffic was mobile. 67%. And he was losing all of them.
So yeah, mobile matters. Deal with it.
And Finally, A Word on Customer Service
You know what’s better than a fancy website? Good customer service. You know what’s better than good customer service? Amazing customer service.
I was shopping online last Tuesday, and I had a question about a product. So I sent a message through the site’s chat feature. And you know what happened? Nothing. No response. Not even a “We’ll get back to you soon.” Just… silence.
So I tweeted at them. And guess what? They responded within 10 minutes. “Sorry for the delay! How can we help?” Yeah, right. You couldn’t even bother to respond to a direct message, but you’ll jump on Twitter? Sure, Jan.
Look, I’m not saying you have to be available 24/7. But if you’re gonna offer a way to contact you, respond. It’s not that hard.
Anyway, that’s enough from me. I could go on, but I won’t. You get the point.
About the Author: Sarah “Salty” Davis has been in the ecommerce trenches since the dial-up days. She’s seen it all, and she’s not afraid to tell you when you’re wrong. When she’s not editing, you can find her yelling at her cat or tweeting about bad customer service. Follow her @salty_sarah_d.
