There’s an old retail adage that still holds true today “A confused mind never buys.”
While shoppers love selection, give them too many unstructured choices and they’ll quickly get overwhelmed which can lead them to putting off the buying decision.
Today with with millions of products, access to thousands of online stores and marketplaces and a plethora of worthy buying choices, making a buying decision has never been harder for the online consumer.
That’s why we’re seeing more and more tools like customer reviews and product rankings to help consumers make sense of it all.
Helping Shoppers Buy With Customized Gift Lists
When a visitor lands at your store or website, they may have an idea for a product purchase in mind. But once they arrive, viewing a variety of choices can easily leave them overwhelmed.
Without guidance, they can quickly leave your site, vowing to think about it and return later. Unfortunately there’s no guarantee that they will.
Fortunately, there is an easy way to encourage shoppers to stay at your site and purchase exactly the right item from you!
It works for any type of product. You can use it on your website, eBay custom store pages, a blog, even with your email marketing.
Successful retailers like Williams Sonoma, Amazon and Crate & Barrel do it. Independent online retailers of all types and sizes can use this marketing technique successfully too.
This marketing technique is creating customized Gift Lists.
Creating Customized Gift Lists
Customized Gift Lists are handpicked items from your inventory assembled into a list and labeled in a way that speaks directly to your target audience.
By taking the items in your store and grouping them together in a list that appeals to a specific shopper or a specific buying need, you easily point visitors to your site in the direction of the products best suited for them.
For example, Williams Sonoma creates several lists designed to funnel shoppers to products based price, season or recipient.
Keep in mind, Gift Lists aren’t just for gift giving purchases.
If you’re a cook, entertainer, wine lover or griller, you’ll benefit from the Williams Sonoma Gift Lists as well.
The more specific you can get when building these Gift Lists, the more you will attract exactly the right person to your products.
Just Jewlery’s Top Ten Holiday Gifts Under $12 appeals to buyers on a budget.
While Blue Nile goes for the extraordinary.
And while Gift Lists can be based on price, you should describe them in a way that will appeal to your targeted audience.
This Bodie and Fou gift list speaks to shoppers looking for uber Stylish Gifts for men.
If you’re looking for ideas for ways to group your gift lists, go over to Gifts.com. There you’ll find thousands of products grouped into very narrow Gift List categories.
The more specific you can get the better. Rather than Top 10 Gifts for Grads, look how this Gift List appeals to specific types of grads…
Lists or Images?
When creating Gift Lists, you can create either a list or create a list with images. Use images if possible, as good product images increase will conversion to sales.
As you can see below, an image list with links to product page information makes for a very visual guide.
But you can also use a category image with links to specific products or brands. The key is to success is your curated input into these lists.
Your expertise in creating these lists provides an added value to your customers. You’re providing a service to them by helping them make their buying decisions.
Even a simple graphic above a list of product names linked directly to your product pages will work!
Posting Gift Lists
One of the best places to post a Gift Lists is on the home page of your website. This will capture customer’s attention and draw them in immediately. People love “Best of”, “Top 10”, or “Top Rated” lists. These can be especially effective if you post a seasonal gift list like “Our Top 10 Holiday Finds!”
You can also posts Gift Lists on your eBay custom store pages, your blog, or include a list with your email marketing.
Amazon unfortunately does not let you create a custom Gift List for your Amazon storefront, but you can create a Listmania list to drive traffic to a particular product.
Creating a Gift List is a simple, easy, no-cost way to market your products that can produce big results!
Read All the March Marketing Madness! Posts
- Day 1 It’s March Marketing Madness!
- Day 2 Reaching New Customers with Signal Marketing
- Day 3 Content Marketing: The Secret Sauce for Your Online Business
- Day 4 Pinterest for Ecommerce
- Day 5 Helping Shoppers Buy with Customized Gift Lists
-Lisa
Trackbacks/Pingbacks