In the busy world of e-commerce, success depends on the ability to navigate and optimise the conversion funnel. This complex journey, with its various stages from customer acquisition to customer retention, is the lifeline of any online business. By dissecting and refining each stage of the funnel, e-commerce businesses can unlock unexploited potential and generate sustainable growth. Here, we've decided to summarise our Top 10 KPIs to track in e-commerce in an infographic to visualise the customer journey in a tangible way.
Acquiring customers for an e-commerce site is essential. Customer acquisition starts with attracting visitors and involves various online strategies and levers, such as email marketing, content marketing, social media, SEO and paid advertising.
The funnel starts with awareness. At this stage, your aim is to increase awareness of your brand among your target audience and generate potential customers. Concentrate on a broad audience interested in your brand or products, even if they don't yet have a clear intention to buy.
Once potential customers have arrived on your site, they have probably shown some interest. It's at this stage that you need to maintain their interest to avoid a high bounce rate. Provide them with quality content, engage with them and show them personalised recommendations based on their preferences (e.g. displaying additional products consulted by other visitors).
Finally, the aim is to convert these prospects into paying customers. Optimise your website for a seamless buying experience, create compelling product descriptions and implement effective calls to action. Metrics such as cart abandonment rate and bounce rate provide valuable feedback on the efficacy of the checkout process and website design. Don't forget that customer acquisition is an ongoing process, and that understanding each customer's cost of acquisition (CAC) and lifetime value (LTV) is essential for sustainable growth.
Once a visitor has gone through the entire conversion funnel up to the point of purchase without abandoning their cart, the issue of loyalty and repeat purchases arises. Concentrating on retaining existing customers can have a significant impact on your results, and to do this you need to work on your brand image.
There's no escaping the age of personalisation. Your prospects want to feel unique. So tailor your communications and offers to individual preferences. You can also set up loyalty programmes that reward repeat purchases (exclusive discounts, early access to sales, etc.). To strengthen attachment to your brand, you should also consider customer service. Satisfied customers are more likely to come back and recommend your brand.
Finally, stay in touch after a sale. Send order confirmations, shipping updates and ask for feedback. You can also ask for an NPS, so that you create a sense of community around your brand. Metrics like repeat rate and NPS offer insights into customer satisfaction and brand advocacy. By delivering good post-purchase experiences and soliciting feedback, e-commerce businesses can cultivate a loyal customer base and drive organic growth through word-of-mouth referrals.
By analysing the impact of seasonality on sales and refining strategies based on performance indicators, e-commerce companies can iteratively optimise the conversion funnel and unlock new growth. That is why, in the quest for growth, it is essential to maintain a balanced ratio between customer lifetime value (LTV) and customer acquisition cost (CAC). This measure acts as a barometer of the viability of the business, indicating whether the value derived from customers is greater than the cost of acquiring them.
By striving to achieve an optimal CLV/CAC ratio, e-commerce businesses can ensure an efficient allocation of resources and maximise their long-term profitability. Thanks to ScaleX Invest's scoring scales, you can understand whether or not your ratio is satisfactory and how it stands in relation to the average.
In a word, optimising the e-commerce conversion funnel is not a strategic choice, but an imperative. By refining each stage of the funnel and leveraging KPIs, e-commerce businesses can improve their online presence and pave the way for sustainable profitability and growth.