Localised websites are a milestone in Russia’s ecommerce, but they may not offer enough to convert visitors into buyers. Here are five features that are essential to increase sales and drive conversion.
Pop-up overlay
A clever pop-up overlay might help you to win customers and build loyalty. Even if your landing page seems to be well-structured and easy to navigate, customers might struggle to complete the registration form or find a subscription button. A thoroughly developed overlay is a compelling way to demonstrate to your customers an excellent service and your unique selling points. So what makes a pop-up efficient?
First and foremost, develop the message. Russian customers have shifted from impulsive purchasing, to bargain online shopping, due to currency instability. A pop-up has to contain value propositions that capture immediate attention, so treat your clients to discounts and gifts. If you intend to expand your email database, try to entice visitors with unique newsletter promotions for subscribers. It is important to carefully shape your tone of voice and make sure that the message is not pushy. In addition, work on design and impression frequency. Annoying full page pop-ups are likely to seriously damage brand reputation, while optimised overlays with cookie integration will minimise the notorious spammy effect.
Call back and online chat
Struggling with declining purchasing power of rouble, Russian consumers have become increasingly price-conscious and take more time to make a purchase decision. However, you can still win some customers by supporting their order completion. This is why online customer service tools such as call back and live chat are especially important. If a customer feels uncomfortable or uncertain about an online payment, live chat or a call from a sales person is likely to get them back on track. Be fast and make sure that customer receives a reply or a call back within a few minutes. This small trick might decrease bounce rate significantly and drive sales.
Trigger emailing
Trigger emails are a great way of cultivating customer retention and loyalty. As opposed to traditional mass emailing, trigger emails are tailored to specific actions of customers. Russian consumers highly value a personalised approach which makes trigger email campaigns an absolute must-have tool.
The strategy of trigger emailing varies depending on the type of ecommerce. These can include ‘welcome’ letters, cross-selling after purchases and abandoned cart emails. An engaging welcome letter including a value proposition will help to establish a relationship with consumers. After a purchase, a confirmation email is a further step to build loyalty and drive cross-selling. Thank your customers for a transaction and offer relevant supplementary goods. If a purchase was not completed, you can still win a customer by sending a reminder email within a few hours after a client bounced. A kind reminder is likely to persuade a customer to check out.
Retargeting
Of Russia’s biggest online retailers, less than half run regular retargeting campaigns. Those who do not use this tool are definitely missing out since retargeting is another great way to boost conversion. It gives you a second chance to appeal to customers that have already visited your website, but did not complete the targeted action, and is also effective for cross-selling. While developing a strategy, consider local retargeting platforms, such as VK, which is the biggest social media platform in Russia.
SEO and PPC
Despite the increasing power of social media, a huge proportion of quality and relevant traffic to ecommerce websites comes from organic and paid search. Those two channels are fundamental for any online business, therefore prior to focusing on the features stated above, it is crucial to optimise the website for both Yandex and Google and tailor paid search activities to each search engine. The language and tone of voice is important to Russian consumers, and therefore the strategy for each search marketing campaign has to be carefully localised and adjusted to specific targets.
Insights
