Every business faces a slow patch. The way you react reflects your long-term success. Read the post below to find out a proven eCommerce checklist to improve your business when sales
slow down.

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There could be many reasons for the downfall. Either It could be the pandemic climate or something else. So to bring the level up, there are a large number of actions you may opt to
pave the path towards your business success.

So let’s cover a 5-points eCommerce checklist to boost your eCommerce sales when they take a dip.

See below these 5-points eCommerce checklist at a glance:

Now let’s check these points a bit briefly.

1) Your Ecommerce Website Analysis

Your website analysis is one of the vital points of your eCommerce checklist to drive sales. So
following are the two main broad aspects of any eCommerce website that makes it functional:

1. Front-end user experience
2. Back-end website control and monitoring

Front-end UX

Do you remember the last time you made a purchase online or actually used your website? You
must know the complete cycle if you have followed the defined set of actions at certain points
while making a purchase.

It often happens that front-end features and back-end functionality needs to be added over a
period of time. This makes things get fine-tuned and evolved.

However, along with the evolution, these things can get entangled as well if not handled with accuracy and balance. This may result in a bad user experience. So if the visitors get frustrated,
they tend to jump to another solution / eCommerce website.

Therefore, to avoid such issues, you must:

1. Visit and examine your website on both mobile and desktop devices.
2. Make a purchase through your website and monitor what a visitor can go through during this process.

Back-end website control and monitoring

Monitor your website’s backend. It is essential and beneficial for you to examine its administration, integrations, and each unit to make sure that it is working perfectly.

For integration concerns, answer and work on the following interrogatives:

What integrations does your website have?

• Are these integrations working?
• What do you get for your license fees/rates?
• Do they provide you with the support you need?
• Are they quick at fixing bugs?
• Is your administration streamlined or complexed after integrations?

You may consult expert advice for help.

Observe your extensions & apps:

• Firstly, figure out if your website actually needs an app/extension?
• If yes, what benefits do these two or either of the two brings for your website?
• Unlinking apps and/or extensions can not only save you subscription/license fees but is
  helping you with optimization and site speed!
• In replacement of integrated apps, find out if there’s any better alternative.

CAUTION: Always consult with your website support team prior to removing anything from your
website.

2) Competitor Websites Analysis

Analyzing your competitor’s website plays a key role to drive sales ultimately. You must keep this point in focus in your eCommerce checklist. So it’s comparatively easier to analyze your competitors through their marketing activities.

Thus, to analyze your competitors, you can:

• Follow them on social media.
• Subscribe to their newsletters.
• Make a purchase through their website as well.

If your eCommerce business stands in a saturated market then you must ensure to be unique especially when you are selling similar products.

Let’s quickly learn and analyze each stage of your purchase journey to analyze your competitor.

Competitor website checklist

Analyze user-experience extensively:

The important point is its available contact options

• Do they offer online chat facilities?
• Can you ask a question about a product via any specific means that can help the support person to locate your concerned product?
• Are their responses quick and helpful for you?
• Is the chatbot able to answer your question?

Reach the products section through the navigation and find your way back again. Was it smooth?

Find out if the relevant information is present on each page/section?

Analyze purchase procedure thoroughly:

• Do you have sufficient information available to complete the purchase process?
• Do you see any post-check-out options?
• If yes, are they necessary and relevant?
• What are the modes of payment?
• What shipping options do you see?
• Do they offer different billing address and delivery address options?
• Are you able to pick a day/time delivery slot?
• What email do they send you as part of your purchase trip?

Sign-up as a customer:

• Can you view your order history?
• Are you able to cancel your order?
• Is there any other beneficial feature? Like repurchase with one-click.

Check the delivery process:

• Did the order you placed arrive on time or not?
• Was it in a good condition?
• Did you put a signature while receiving the order? Or you find it simply on your doormat?
• Did you get exactly what you ordered?
• Analyze the packaging – did it contain the relevant order tracking info?

Return and refund:

• Can you return your order through your customer account?
• How do they assist returns physically?
• How much time did they take to refund your amount?

So these points can definitely turn the table as customers’ satisfaction is a vital point of your eCommerce checklist to drive sales.

3) Data Accuracy

You must know that data accuracy, especially in Google Analytics, stands out as a vital point in
the eCommerce checklist to boost sales subsequently. Examine that the data being reported
should be accurate to its maximum level.

Therefore, follow the following instructions for validating data accuracy:

• Make sure if all the transactions are being recorded.
• Double-check to ensure transaction by cross-referencing transaction IDs with your website.
• Make sure to ensure if the traffic sources are being recorded accurately.
• Validate if the data recorded matches your website as much as possible.
• Ensure that your GTM tags are giving the correct information to GA.

More instructions for Google Analytics management:

• Try a ready-made dashboard for easier management of the recent data.
• Don’t forget to enable demographics settings.
• Categorize dashboards according to your most frequently reviewed metrics.
• Create custom weekly/monthly reports and schedule them to be sent to your inbox.

Seek help from your website technical team to handle the complexities of the data layer requirements for eCommerce!

4) Filter Traffic Channels

The new sellers usually overlook their traffic channels in the eCommerce checklist to boost sales. They then get complaints about slow sales. Therefore, you should monitor each of your main traffic channels and see how they can be improved.

Social media

• Make sure if your profile is on-brand.
• The profile image must be your logo that is clearly stating your business graphically.
• The cover image should be smart enough to work as your shop window where visitors can see products at a glance.
• Ensure your fully secured URL (HTTPS) – that takes visitors to your website when they hit the CTA button on your Facebook page cover.
• Do you sell your brand/products with the right features? Sometimes new features are updated, so you have to maintain the sync on each platform.

Email

Email the shoppers with the necessary information.

Transactional emails:

• Send all the necessary information regarding the order placed. There shouldn’t be anything left that the shopper has to make a new conversation to ask about.
• Provide contact information within these emails.
• Include social icons in email – they ensure your brand as well.

Abandoned cart emails:

• Set-up an abandoned cart email.
• Define a compact title and relevant email body that compels the visitor to complete the purchase.

Subscription email:

• Set-up a subscription email.
• State a welcome message proceeding with a subscription message.
• This email should ensure the visitor that they are on-brand and being sensibly asked to follow the subscription process for the first time.
• Find out any other automation that could be helpful.
• When sales are good in number, try automating this email messaging.

Analyze other organic mediums

• Compare your visibility with your competitors.
• Track your domain against your competitors using 3rd party software.
• Perform keyword analysis in terms of their ranking.
• Add relevant keywords in your on-page text to capture search queries.
• Optimize metadata elements.
• Analyze your landing pages.
• Build your community through blogs

Referrals

Find out which sites are referring traffic to your website and converting them to sales importantly.

• Find out which sites are referring traffic to your website and converting them to sales importantly.
• Collaborate with any other site to drive sales.
• Contact the webmaster and request to remove the unwanted elements, if any.

5) Forward Planning

Being in the uncertain environment of this eCommerce world, planning ahead is something that is always difficult to do. Yet it’s still possible.

Plan

• Datewise planning – Plan in the phases to empower your eCommerce business. Keep in focus your business starting date. Start planning quite earlier.
• Begin with your brand’s individual properties. For instance, if you have retail functionalities in different locations, take them into account when planning in phases.
• You can write content prior to publication. This can save time. Once the publication dates are confirmed, schedule the content publishing according to your plan.

Communicate

• Communication is key. This acts as a vital point for any business to boost sales.
• Announce your plans for your existing audience.
• Inform them that they are safe if any change occurs in-store and your team is processing
  their online orders.
• Stick the important posts on top of your profiles, where applicable.
• Request feedback from your customers. Ask them for any improvement they need.

Final words in a nutshell

We can see two types of retailers online around us. One of them is driving sales smoothly while others are struggling. The former one’s success is a result of regular follow-up on a comprehensive eCommerce checklist.

Whereas, the latter can use this as an opportunity to brace themselves. Use this checklist to strengthen all your eCommerce foundations to be in the best position possible.