Let’s look at the 5 main steps of the purchase process on an ecommerce site. The store must be effective in these areas in order to efficiently attract customers.

4.2. Persuasion

If a potential customer has selected one of your products, all you have to do is persuade them that the product really is for them and really meets their needs. They shouldn’t hesitate, or leave your site saying “I’ll get it next time”, there may not be a next time! You must persuade your potential customers to make their purchase immediately.

Persuasion is primarily the task of the product page, and that is where you have the greatest chance of increasing the average transaction value!

4.4. Building trust

The fourth step of the process is building trust, which actually happens continuously in parallel with the other steps.

Internet sales generally meet with two major obstacles: lack of information, and lack of trust. Even in offline stores a lack of trust can be a serious hindrance, but trust is more important than anything else on the Internet, so it must be established consciously.

It’s important to remember that when an online shopper doesn’t understand something or needs more information about a product, and especially if they don’t trust your site or your products, they will not make a purchase.

Basically, the customer's hesitation may be due to three things, so you must build their trust in these three areas: the company, the service, and the product. Building trust is a continuous process that you must pay attention to throughout the entire website; it cannot be narrowed down to just one specific “trust building” page.

4.5. Lead nurturing – Give and don’t take

One of the best ways to build trust, acquire customers, and retain the customers you have is known as lead nurturing. This is the process of improving your relationship with potential and existing customers by giving them a reason to stay in touch, make a purchase, and hopefully, buy from your store again.

Lead nurturing has a lot to do with knowing your customers. What can you provide them of value? Is it a review of the existing solutions in your industry, or the latest news on a new solution?

Much of this varies based on the products you carry. One thing remains true, give your customers more than you take and they will reward you. You might not make a sale to every visitor, but when you provide helpful information for free on a particular topic, you encourage people to “stay tuned” for what’s next.

We are going to handle each of these stages in separate Ultimate Guides – stay tuned!

Summary

In its simplest terms, customer acquisition is the process of convincing people to buy your product or service so that they become a customer. For an online store, this means making the best use of technology, but not relying on it completely.

Tools like onsite retargeting can help you acquire more customers, but they are only tools. The end goal should be to get to know your customers better by seeing which messages work, and by offering your customers something in return, and sometimes maybe a little more.

Understanding the process of the “sales funnel” and how micro-conversions result in your macro-conversion rate will help you find the steps in your customer acquisition process that need work.

The great thing about customer acquisition is that many of the same tools can be used for customer retention. Of course, once you have a customer, you want to keep them, learning what works best for your site now can also help you learn more about what will work for your customers in the future!