Paradigm Blog

Put yourself in the shoes of your customer who is shopping online. You come upon two sites which both sell a product at the same price.

Which site would you buy from?

The first description is vague, cold and impersonal. Immediately you wonder:

• What is this product?
• What am I getting?
• How can I use this product?
• How is it packaged?
• What if this isn’t the product I was looking for?

The second site however is informative and friendly. All of our questions are answered:

• What is this product? Fishing rod made for use with Bait Lures.
• What am I getting? A 6′10″ medium-heavy fishing rod.
• How can I use this product? Best used with the listed baits and jigs.
• How is it packaged? Bubble wrapped in PVC tube.
• What if this isn’t the product I was looking for? No hassle warranty with satisfaction guaranteed.

Clearly the second site provides the better description and, based on description alone, it is far more likely you would buy the product from them.

So the next time you are getting your products together to sell online, or considering what you can do to sell more of your products online, consider taking a second look at your product descriptions and ask yourself: Am I really answering my customers questions about this product before they ask them?

More about product descriptions:

• Second description is from our client Kistler Rods
• Jakob Nielsen plugs the benefits of Informative Product Pages
• See our site for e-commerce services
• Need help on your site descriptions? Let us know.

One way to improve your web site (ahem … increase sales) is provide better product photos. This may sound obvious, but it really goes overlooked. Consider the following listings for a men’s watch on one of our client’s site:

Which would you buy?

Before: A single watch photo appearing on the site which zooms to 400 x 300 pixels.

After: Four different views of the item. Main photo is larger and clearer. Even at this reduced view, small item details can be seen. Photos two and three show product functionality and use. Finally the fourth view shows the item individually packaged. All images zoom to 800 maximum pixel width … double the size of the original photo.

The main idea is to help your visitor understand your product:

• Professional photographs show product in best light.
• Large “zoom” views spotlight details of product quality
• Multiple views show how customer can use the product and/or dimensional qualities of product.

Help your customer understand what this product is, what it does, and how they can use it.

In the case of our client, who sells wholesale lots online, it is important to show each product is a quality item even with an inexpensive price and that each product in the lot is individually packaged. Photos quickly communicate these principles.

Ultimately they help your customer decide if they can trust you and buy the item with confidence.

More about product photos:

• Product example from our client Closeout Services.
• Nielsen says High-Quality Photography is a key to profits.
• See our site for product photography
• Need help on your product photos? Contact us today.