Trying to get customers to purchase items from your e-commerce store can be rather tricky. Convincing them that they need what you have to offer is not as easy as it may sound. This does not mean that it cannot be done, however. There are a few effective ways of enticing people to click on the “Add to Cart” button. One of the best ways to do so is by using storytelling.
What is e-commerce storytelling?
Storytelling in e-commerce sites involves the building of a narrative around the individual products you are selling. It is also the process of creating a story around your business or company and why it is doing what it is doing. This strategy helps humanize your business and gives people a feeling that they know you and your store intimately. This strategy helps build customer loyalty and trust (which naturally also helps to reduce the number of long exhausting disputes with disappointed customers. Another way to handle these disputes is by using services such as Purchase Guard), since it makes them feel like they know you and your business, i.e., it helps make things a little more personal, so to speak.
How to Add Storytelling to Your E-commerce Site
Now that you know what e-commerce storytelling is in general, how do you utilize such a strategy for your online store? Here are some of the ways to boost e-commerce sales using storytelling:
- Talk about customer experiences– It doesn’t matter whether you are selling products or are offering services of some kind. When you talk about how people felt when they bought your product or used your service, you humanize your business. In other words, you give people an insight into how other people view what you have to offer and how they felt with your offerings. For this, you should use a conversational approach. Have the “customer” talk about the experience as if it were a real testimonial.
- Give your customers an inside look at who your company is –Yes, let them see who you are and not what you are. Humanizing your business or company helps customers connect better with it, giving it a more approachable feel. To do this, you can talk about how your business started, what made you create your online store, who your employees are, and what your main goals are in creating such kind of business. You can show employees talking about how much fun it is to work for your business or have your co-founders talk about when you decided to start your business. The trick is to give customers a “behind the scenes” look at the more personal side of your business.
- Show people you care – This can be done with the help of advocacies that you can talk about on your blog and your website’s About Us page. You can give people more reasons to purchase from you by stating that part of your sales are donated to one of the causes you believe in, for example. This helps create the story that you are not just an online store that is out to make money, and that’s about it. In other words, this makes people see that you care, and this can attract more potential customersto your store via word-to-mouth.
