E-Business
Tips to Increasing E-commerce Sales in 2014
Do you have an ecommerce or online retail store? Have you ever thought about how to increase sales? Are you ready to reach your potentials in 2014? If yes to all then this is a must read: Ecommerce is not about the beauty of the design only, but also ensuring that sales are generated. The first goal is to make potential customers build confidence and trust in buying from your online store.
Your next goal is to ensure that your ecommerce site is easy to navigate and easy to complete an order because customers that go on your site will want not only to get the item they’re looking for quickly, but they would want their purchase to be quick and painless as well.
Below are some tips on best practices to boost confidence, trust and speed up purchasing process that will increase your sales for 2014
Show your online customers you care: Offer customers tailored recommendations of their searches while shopping on your website and send them targeted messages about deals which may interest them according to their buying patterns on your website and also remind them about abandoned shopping carts to show they are noticed and valued.
Build a mobile responsive website: With majority of internet shoppers in Nigeria on their mobile to shop on the go and accessing the web, the fact is 61% of clients who visit a mobile unfriendly website are likely to quit and go to a competitor’s website.
Keep your website updated with Pictures, Image and detailed description of products: It is essential you keep your content updated regularly with appropriate video, image-led and written content of products although it might be time consuming but it is important to be able to run successfully an ecommerce site.
Updating regularly increases your website’s visibility and it makes your site resourceful for customers and keeps them coming back.
Make Important Info Public: Customers are more likely to buy products when they know exactly what they’re getting into; how much they’re paying, when it will arrive, and what to do if they’re unhappy with a purchase.
Easily informing them of information such as the estimated shipping costs, arrival times and return policy make them more at ease with making the purchase.
Provide them with this information early and often. Anything that applies to a particular item needs to be mentioned publicly and obviously on that item’s page. Anything that would boost sales, such as a free shipping discount should be mentioned early and repeated.
Target existing customers: It is tempting at the beginning to focus attention in getting more and more new customers, however, it is evidence that retention is key to business success.
New site visitors often spend less time on websites compare to returning site visitors that often look at more pages per visit on average and are more likely to make purchases as they have built a relationship and credibility with your ecommerce site and are more willing to refer you to more potential clients.
This simply means campaigns which targets existing customers can really pay off – so don’t forget them or assume their continued loyalty.
Use Call to action: Use easily visible and very clear call to action buttons or words that would direct customers to where they are going to purchase or view products on sales or add product to basket. An example of a call to action is “Buy now” or “Click here to checkout”.
A well designed call to action button leads the customer where they need to go and where you want them to go. Make sure to enhance the most important actions; buy button, check out button, and shopping cart button.
Think and Measure Conversion Rate: The rate at which visitors are converted to sales (or to some other key objective) is called the Conversion Rate.
A small change in the Conversion Rate can make a big difference to your return on investment and turnover.
There is much that can be done to improve your Conversation Rate and, when planning your ecommerce website, you should consider everything with Conversion Rates in mind.
Using enticing action buttons, suggestive copy and banners and text links all help you to direct site visitors around your website and to your enquiry forms.
Always ask yourself when planning your website: “Is this going to drive sales?”
It should also be noted that convincing a visitor to sign up to receive Email Newsletters should be a key conversion objective.
Finally, in the business world, your ecommerce website is your number one marketing tool and everything you do online must support this.
A website is the hub of all your online marketing activity, a facility to convert interest into sales.
Much of your other online and offline marketing activity will be encouraging people to visit your ecommerce site. Once you get them there you need to convert those people to tangible sales, or at the very least collect their contact information so you can continue to communicate directly with them.
Tobi Asehinde is the founder and chief executive officer of Vibe Web Solutions Limited, a company poised to providing web solutions to meet web related needs of businesses and helping businesses grow using ground-breaking web and marketing technologies.
We help to setup your ecommerce store from planning stage to implementation stage. Vibe Web Solutions Limited has clients based within and outside Nigeria servicing both business and governmental organisations. He can be contacted via: tobi.asehinde@vibewebsolutions.com
Employees may also use corporate emails to register for personal accounts on marketplaces and social media, increasing the risk of account theft and corporate security breaches, according to a study by Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence.
Kaspersky shares these findings and suggests key cybersecurity practices to mitigate the risks of credential leaks.
Kaspersky experts analysed compromised credentials leaked on the dark web between 2019 and 2024 for three popular entertainment platforms: Roblox, Discord and Netflix. The analysis revealed that, on average, 7% of users whose accounts were leaked had registered on these platforms using a corporate email address.
“Registering on various services for personal use with a work email is not best practice. First, you may lose access to these accounts if you change jobs. Second, it can pose security risks for both you and your company.
“If your passwords follow a predictable pattern across different services – for example, ‘Word2025!’, where ‘2025’ is a recurring part – it increases the likelihood of other accounts being compromised, including your work account, should your corporate email be exposed in a dark web leak,” explains Sergey Shcherbel, expert at Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence.
Kaspersky experts also found that bank employees most commonly registered their work email addresses on streaming services, marketplaces and social networks. In a few cases, corporate emails were also used as logins on gaming platforms and adult content websites.
Corporate email usage on entertainment platforms: statistics from a sample of 50 banking sector companies.
To conduct this study, experts compiled a sample of 50 banking sector companies and examined compromised credentials leaked on the dark web, identifying those linked to the corporate domains of these companies across five categories of popular platforms.
Learn more in the report. In light of this growing infostealer threat, Kaspersky has launched a dedicated landing page to raise awareness of the issue and provide strategies for mitigating associated risks.
If you encounter a data leak through infostealers, the following steps should be taken immediately:
- Change compromised account passwords and monitor for suspicious activity associated with those accounts.
- Run full security scans on all devices, removing any detected malware.
- Companies are recommended to monitor dark web markets proactively to detect compromised accounts before they pose risks to customers or employees. A detailed guide on setting up monitoring can be found here. Leverage Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence to track what cybercriminals know about your company’s assets, identify potential attack vectors, and implement protective measures in a timely manner.
- As an enterprise, implement a security awareness program for employees, including regular training and performance assessments. Enforce a strict password policy for all corporate resources to reduce the risks of encountering credential-related cyber threats.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mastercard to enhance data protection in Nigeria.
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, commissioner, NDPC and Derek Ho,deputy chief privacy officer, Mastercard
The agreement was sealed during a workshop where 150 Data Protection Officers (DPOs) were trained on Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs).
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, commissioner, NDPC, said the event kicks off activities for the 8th NADPA conference, highlighting government efforts to train more certified DPOs.
Olatunji also disclosed the Federal Government’s commitment to increasing the number of certified DPOs with the required skills to manage data protection.
He noted that Nigeria’s digital-savvy youth are key to driving this agenda.
“Human capital is really key to us, and the ecosystem we are regulating is very special. It is still new, still emerging, and we need all we can to build the capacity of officers.
“We want to build the capacity of our people so we can be able to deliver on our mandate and fully deepen privacy in Nigeria.
“We are targeting to build the capacity of 250,000 DPOs annually, and we are working with partners like Mastercard to achieve that,” he said.
Derek Ho,deputy chief privacy officer, Mastercard, also stressed the need for collaboration to build trust in the digital economy and urged participants to embrace training as data protection keeps evolving.
Central Securities Clearing System PLC (CSCS) has announced the launch of *7270#, its Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) code service, set to go live on May 8th, 2025.
The USSD code service is an innovative solution designed to enhance the ease and accessibility of investment services for all users.
Also, this service leverages the network capabilities of MTN Nigeria to bring unparalleled convenience to investors.
Driven by a relentless commitment to innovation, CSCS aims to revolutionize information access within the Nigerian capital market through this USSD code service.
As the Central Securities Depository (CSD), CSCS focuses on enhancing investor experiences and providing deeper market insights with unparalleled convenience.
The CSCS USSD code service offers seamless access to essential market information directly from mobile phones, eliminating the need for internet connectivity or specialized trading platforms.
Investors can now effortlessly retrieve Clearing House Number (CHN), check Direct Cash Settlement (DCS) status, view stock positions, account balances, and account status confirmations.
Haruna Jalo-Waziri, managing director/chief executive officer of CSCS, said ” We are excited to launch the *7270# USSD code service, a significant step in leveraging mobile technology to democratize access to account and portfolio information.
“This service empowers every investor, regardless of their location or resources, to stay informed about their investments. At CSCS, we believe that financial inclusivity is key to driving economic growth.
“Our partnership with MTN Nigeria on this project represents a significant leap toward a more inclusive financial landscape, leveraging the spread of the MTN network.
“This collaboration enhances the investing experience, reinforcing our shared commitment to empowering individuals with the tools they need to manage their financial futures effectively.” he added.
The CSCS USSD code service will initially be available to MTN users only. However, CSCS plans to expand this service to other networks soon.
This innovative service offers investors streamlined and secure access to critical market information at their fingertips.
Aisha Umar Mumuni, chief digital officer of MTN Nigeria, said, “This collaboration with CSCS on the *7270# USSD service underscores MTN’s commitment to harnessing the power of mobile technology to simplify complex processes for our users.
“By making critical investment information available at the touch of a button, we are helping to democratize access to the capital markets and, in the process, enhance investor engagement and market transparency,” she said.
CSCS continues to lead the way in technological advancements, reinforcing its position as a pivotal player in the Nigerian capital market ecosystem.
This initiative underscores our dedication to enhancing market efficiency and empowering investors with the tools they need for informed decision-making.
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