We’ve Got IT !

Online Shopping takes out the most critical part of making the purchase decision – the hands-on, touchy-feely part. Colorful & Descriptive Prose in the Description can replace some of that. But the biggest contributor to the decision can be the photo.

The Photo can make or break the sale.

Taking a wander through various auction listings on eBay can show the continuum of quality. They can be instructive all by them selves.

Some photos serve only as proof of life. The photo is ultra-blurry, poorly lighted, and generally occupying less than 3% of the total area available. There is “something” there, so we must presume it is the real thing, so this can’t be a fake…

Most others are of average quality, reasonably focused, well-cropped, and lighted to actually show a true color, if not some of the finer features of the item.

The rare photo appears professionally shot and prepared. The lighting and background enhance the viewing without distracting. The item is tightly cropped to show as little of the background as possible. There might be some sort of size indicator in the frame if the item is particularly small. The focus is sharp as razors. Finally, the entire photo size is large enough for details to be clearly seen.

One of the most disappointing aspects, though, is when the photo is a pretty good thumbnail with a “Click Here for Larger Image” link. Then, when you click the link, a new, pop-up window appears with the enlarged photo. Except that the new photo is barely bigger than the original thumbnail.

What are they thinking!?! The whole purpose of the photo is to help close the sale by providing visual information that descriptions just can’t match. So then, make that photo as professionally good as possible.

Then, if you are using thumbnails, make that enlargement worth the click. You save the bandwidth and speed the page load by using a thumbnail. Now that the buyer is interested enough to ask for more, give then as much as their browser can display. Give them a BIG enlargement.

Clarity. Size. Detail. Lighting. Those are the keys to that photo that sells rather than repels.

John

There’s this sorta-clear photo of the widget you’ve searched for, but it doesn’t grow any larger when you click the “Larger Image” link. (This is a whole other topic.) So, you click the “More Information” link hoping to actually find out More Information so you can decide whether to make the purchase, or not.

There is this vague sentence that barely tells you that the widget is even a widget. GREEEAAAT!

You hit BACK and head to your Google search to try the next match.

So, if as a Seller my goal is to get you to buy, buy, buy, and then buy some more, why, then, do many Sellers, most of whom should know better, actually drive away hard-won traffic by shorting the descriptions on products?

Part of the reason can be traced to the notion that there is only a short time-window in which the Buyer will stay on a web-page. It is thought that too much text on the page will drive the Buyer away, so keep it to the minimum — certainly stay “above the fold” with all descriptive text.

But, this tactic contradicts the true facts about the Buyer. At this stage, the Buyer is actually looking for MORE information, not less. If there isn’t enough information, then, true to the expectation, Poof! They bolt.

If actual Features and Benefits are being offered in the form of text or charts or lists, or photos, the Buyer will stay as long as it takes to digest and decide whether to proceed to Checkout or not.

So, the fundamental rule for Product Descriptions is to start with PLENTY of text, lists, charts, features, benefits, testimonials, and persuasive narrative. START with Far More than will end up being used.

The other Part of the Reason for poor descriptive text is lack of copy-writing ability. It takes a special writing flair to turn pedestrian descriptions into persuasive narratives. It takes a Story-Teller to tell the story of this product in such a way that it is:

1. Read
2. Understood
and
3. Persuasive.

So, in the descriptive text, we need to tell the story of what this product is, how it is made and works, and how it will make your life so much better if only you added it to your Basket. The old AIDA formula still works.

Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

I’ll explore these in a later post. For now, however, I need to review each of our product listings, and test for the Story. If it is lacking, I get to add it back in. If it is there, how can I revise it to tell it even better?

Describe It so People Will Buy It. The Key to keeping traffic interested.

JLL

You make a purchase, and when it arrives, it is crushed. You are crushed — And Steamed. How did this happen?

We’ve all heard stories about how airline baggage handlers look for the “Fragile” signs on luggage to indicates which ones to use in testing the Gravity Resistance Factor of various suitcases. Well, sometimes it seems that the various shipping entities don’t need the label, they seem to test them all.

I had a customer tell me that a cross-town shipment arrived mangled and looking like they tried their worst to deprive her of her joy. Inside, the item was, remarkably, undamaged. How did any of this happen?

There aren’t too many Sellers who deliberately try to get their merchandise broken or bent during shipping. It just costs too much in replacement goods, not to mention goodwill, to make deliberate damage a part of their shipping Policy. It sure isn’t part of ours.

It is NOT part of any Shipping Company’s policies, Either!

Sellers and Shippers need to work together to insure that your product arrives unharmed.

I know, for example, that packages will get tossed around, will get piled up and piled on, and get handled by mechanical devices where they might get stuck or ground to a nubbin. I know that there are handlers out there who don’t care very much what’s inside a package – they’re putting in their 8 hours. I know that things happen in spite of all our best intentions.

I can’t prevent any of that handling activity. I simply have to prepare for it.

But, I also have to keep my eye on that bottom line. If I spend too much on packaging and protection, I end up not being profitable, or I end up having to raise prices – of the item or for shipping – to the point where the items are priced out of their affordability or value. So, there are compromises made every day in packaging decisions.

In order to prevent damage, I could package an item inside bubble-wrap, inside a box, inside a metal container, inside…. you get the picture. But the added costs for that protection make it prohibitive for all but the most expensive or delicate items.

Most products get along fine in their original packaging inside some sort of package material that prevents scratches or dings to the original box. Manufacturers have done fine things with shape-molded styrene forms.

So, as a Seller, I try to get your product to you in good shape, without costing either one of us too much in the process. I shoot for a very high, but not perfect success-rate, so that 99+% of my customers are happy with the condition their products arrive in. The other 1% will probably get crushed regardless of my preparation, so I’m ready to replace any damage if it should occur.

As a Buyer, you have a right to expect your purchase to arrive at your doorstep undamaged. As a Seller, I have a responsibility to get it to you in that condition. I do what I can to live up to that responsibility.

John