May 2021 Vitamins and Supplements Orange Report

May 2021 Vitamins and Supplements Orange Report

May 25, 2021 | News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins, Past Newsletters, Technology

May 2021 ORANGE REPORT

The May 2021 Orange Report features our best & most recent blogs and guides on Magento, Big Commerce, eCommerce, and Digital Marketing from the world of Vitamins and Supplements.

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Everything you need to know about eCommerce, digital marketing, and Magento.

Supplements & Vitamins Checklist: Pages your eCommerce site MUST have

Your customers must be engaged & informed on your website. Which pages are vital — and what best practices should you be implementing for these pages?

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What Vitamins, Supplements and Nutraceuticals Brands Must Know About Establishing A Loyalty Program

This blog was a hit with our Automotive audience but it has some excellent research lessons that extend to other industries too. Check it out. 

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Subject Line Tactics Proven to Get Your Emails Opened & Read

When sent to your existing audience, emails can increase exposure, brand loyalty and sales. But how can you ensure these emails actually get opened?

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Dropshipping Primer and How Shopify and BigCommerce Perform

Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method that uses a third-party supplier to ship goods sold by a retailer, avoiding the costs associated with a warehouse and a brick and mortar storefront. But how does it work on Shopify and Big Commerce?

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Supplements & Vitamins Checklist: Pages your eCommerce site MUST have

Supplements & Vitamins Checklist: Pages your eCommerce site MUST have

Apr 26, 2021 | News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins, Site Development

As the owner of a pharmaceutical or supplements eCommerce store, you want to keep your customers engaged and informed on your website. One of the first steps to do this is to make sure that your website’s pages give your customers a holistic view of your company and allow for transparency. But which pages are most vital — and what best practices should you be implementing for these pages? 

Keep reading to learn what your most important pages must include to keep up with the competition and keep your audience satisfied.

Homepage

Imagine your homepage as the storefront of your business. It’s an essential element of your site,, as it’s what invites people in and gives them a little glimpse into what they’ll find throughout your site. This is also the place to tout your unique value proposition and any special offers or big sales. In addition, the homepage is the hub of the links to all internal pages on your site. 

Research has shown us that featuring your most popular, best-selling products on your homepage yields the most conversions. Clearly show the products that your existing consumers love, and you’ll soon get more and more new customers.

About Page

Your About page is where you should tell the story of your company, including when it started, why it’s in business and what exactly it does. This page can also feature bios of some employees. Keep it simple and you’ll keep it powerful. NatureMade has a great example of an About page.  

Category Page

This is the landing page for categories, such as, “Vitamins,” “Supplements,” “Nutraceuticals,” etc. Each of these pages then gives an overview of all products in a single category instead of listing every single product. Having a category page greatly simplifies site navigation for your audience. Head over to Nutraceutical to see what they have built.  

Product Page

This is a huge goal of your eCommerce site — to get people to check out the products. Each product page should include all product details, prices and a prominent “Add to cart” button. Tech-savvy companies also include reviews, similar products and social media sharing icons on their product pages.

Cart Page

On this page, your customer needs to see everything he or she has added to the cart while shopping. It’s vital to make any cart updates quick and simple. Allowing the user to update quantities from their cart leads to some of the highest interaction rates on an eCommerce site.

In addition, it’s a good idea to prioritize the placement of your checkout button. When this button is “above the fold,” eCommerce stores see a 3.5% lift in conversion. 

Finally, on this page, try to do some upselling. Show similar products and have an “Add to Cart” icon next to each one for quick and easy additions.

Log in / Create account pages

Once your audience is able to create an account on your site, you’re then able to capture tons of valuable information. This includes their name, email address, birthdate, preferences, order history and more. Once you have this information, you can begin to customize your messaging for each customer, increasing their loyalty to your brand.

Contact page

This is arguably the most important page on your site. If a potential customer wants to shop but needs to get in touch with you first, you have to make sure they’re able to do so quickly and easily so they can go on to make a purchase.

The Contact page should include many ways for a customer to get a hold of your company, including your email address, phone number and live chat. When customers can easily access your company this way, they’re much more likely to have a great experience that they remember and share.

Lucky Vitamin has a great Contact page.

 

FAQ page

Nowadays, most people don’t want to pick up the phone and call a company unless they absolutely have to. By having an FAQ page on your site, you can have all of the answers to your customers’ questions available 24/7.

At InteractOne, we recently wrote a blog post about what’s best to include on an FAQ page. Although this particular article was written with fashion eCommerce websites in mind, it can also apply to pharmaceutical eCommerce websites.

Supplement Fullfillment has built a great FAQ page.

 

Store Locator page

If your business is online only, then you can forget about this page. But if your business has an actual brick and mortar store (or more than one store), then it’s important to have a Store Locator page on your site so that customers can also order and/or pick up your products at an actual storefront. 

At InteractOne, we use the Magento 2 Store Locator extension for this, which is a module to manage store location. It helps customers find the nearest store location quickly and easily.

Conclusion

By following this page guide as you build your pharmaceutical eCommerce website, you’ll efficiently set up your company for success.

For help building the most essential pages of your pharmaceutical eCommerce website, don’t hesitate to contact us today.

    Get expert help today!

    An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

    Drop Us a Line At:

    Our Contact Form

    Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
    Phone (USA): (513) 469-3362

    4665 Cornell Rd. Suite 255
    Cincinnati, OH 45241

    Subject Line Tactics Proven to Get Your Emails Opened & Read

    Subject Line Tactics Proven to Get Your Emails Opened & Read

    Apr 20, 2021 | Digital Marketing, News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins

    Sending promotional emails for your online store is extremely valuable. When sent to your existing audience, emails can increase exposure, brand loyalty and sales. When sent to people who aren’t yet familiar with your brand (but who might have given their contact information for a similar brand or promotion), emails are a great opportunity to turn these people into new customers.

    But before any emails can have great results, they must be read. And before they can be read, they must be opened. It’s your job to create a subject line that is enticing enough to capture your recipient’s attention and convince them to choose to open the email. For this reason, subject lines are extremely important, but are oftentimes overlooked aspects of a brand’s marketing campaign. Keep reading to learn the top five best practices for email subject lines.

    Keep subject lines short and sweet.

    In general, keeping subject lines between 30 and 50 characters is ideal. This may not seem like a lot of space to work with, but it’s actually the only way to ensure that your entire subject line shows up, no matter what kind of device your recipient is using. There are numerous devices, browsers and email clients, all of which visibly show different subject line lengths. And, if your recipient is on a phone (which most people are these days), they’ll be able to see fewer characters in the subject line than if they were on a computer. That’s why subject lines should always be 50 characters max.

    Realize the power of personalization.

    Now more than ever, people want content tailored to them. They don’t want generic emails that could be for anyone. They want to feel that companies take time to get to know them and customize content for their specific needs.

    With this in mind, it makes sense that subject lines that are personalized with the recipient’s first name are opened significantly more often. People love seeing their unique name and feeling that the content has been created specifically for them. However, because not every subject line can be personalized with the recipient’s first name every time (or it would lose its effectiveness), other great ways to personalize a subject line are to add the recipient’s location or specialty in the subject line.

    When sending pretty much the same email to different groups of recipients, try being more specific in the subject line. For example, you can have the same subject line but start it with “Vitamin e-retailers” or “Nutraceutical sellers” to appeal more to these unique subgroups.

    Keep your emails out of the spam folder.

    Just as there are certain things to do when creating subject lines, there are also certain things to avoid. That’s because doing certain things with your subject lines sends them straight to your recipient’s spam folder.

    Using all caps, excessive punctuation or multiple exclamation points are surefire ways to get your emails sent straight to spam. In addition, if certain words — including “RE:,” “FW:,” “free,” “money,” “win,” “deal,” “help,” “reminder,” and “percent off” — are in your subject lines, it’s almost 100% certain that they’ll head straight to spam.

    Tell, don’t sell.

    You don’t have a lot of real estate in an effective subject line (see #1 above), so you really have to be direct and quick while also being powerful. Make sure that your subject line clearly conveys what your email contains and why the recipient should open it. Give an idea of what’s inside the email without giving everything away. Be direct — and don’t try to do too much in a single subject line.

    Test, test, test.

    Testing subject lines pays off in a big way. First, it’s important to use one or more of the very valuable subject line tools that are available. These include SubjectLine.com, Email Subject Line Grader and Email Subject Line Tester. Each of these services allows you to insert your subject line and receive feedback about what’s working well and what’s not — and then tailor accordingly.

    Once you’ve come up with some great subject lines based on these services, test your subject lines with sample audiences to determine which ones are the most effective before sending the emails to the bulk of your recipients. The more you test, the more you’ll learn your audience’s preferences — and the higher your open rates will become.

    Conclusion

    At InteractOne, crafting powerful emails for eCommerce stores is one of our specialties. To learn more about subject line best practices and how we can help you increase your email open rates, contact us.

      Get expert help today!

      An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

      Drop Us a Line At:

      Our Contact Form

      Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
      Phone (USA): (513) 469-3362

      4665 Cornell Rd. Suite 255
      Cincinnati, OH 45241

      April 2021 Vitamins and Supplements Orange Report

      April 2021 Vitamins and Supplements Orange Report

      Apr 20, 2021 | News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins, Past Newsletters

      April 2021 Vitamins and Supplements ORANGE REPORT

      The April 2021 Vitamins and Supplements Orange Report features our best & most recent blogs and guides on Magento, Big Commerce, eCommerce, and Digital Marketing.

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      Everything you need to know about eCommerce, digital marketing, and Magento.

      Open Source eCommerce: Weighing the Pros & Cons

      In Part 2 of our Saas & Open Source series we examine Open Source Platforms and how they are unique built to power your eCommerce business.

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      Smart Email Strategies to Increase Vitamin & Supplements Sales

      When it comes to selling vitamins and supplements, email is king. But how can you craft more effective emails that actually connect with your customers?

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      Slipping Sales: Six Steps to Fix your Cart and Reduce Abandonment

      First, identify why customers are abandoning their carts in the first place. Start by analyzing your web store’s checkout process…

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      A Primer for a Successful Digital Marketing Campaign

      Dropshipping is an order fulfillment method that uses a third-party supplier to ship goods sold by a retailer, avoiding the costs associated with a warehouse and a brick and mortar storefront. But how does it work on Shopify and Big Commerce?

      READ MORE
      Smart Email Strategies to Increase Vitamin & Supplements Sales

      Smart Email Strategies to Increase Vitamin & Supplements Sales

      Mar 12, 2021 | Digital Marketing, News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins

      When it comes to selling supplements, vitamins and nutraceuticals, email is king. In fact, when surveyed, most doctors across the country say that they prefer this type of communication over all other potential marketing channels. So why is email so popular in the supplements world, and how can you be sure that your emails are effective? Keep reading to learn all of this and more.

      What’s the benefit of email for healthcare professionals?

      You might be wondering why so many doctors prefer email over many other routes of communication. It all comes down to time. The benefit of email for healthcare professionals is that it can be done on their own time. Doctors are extraordinarily busy people, and making time to hear from a sales rep, download apps, or fetch their snail mail is unlikely to happen very often. However, emails can be opened quickly and easily when it’s convenient for them.

      What’s the benefit of email for pharma marketers?

      Sending a sales rep or snail mail can be sufficient in some cases, but these modes of communication make it hard to measure results and ROI. With email, however, getting results and measuring ROI is pretty simple and very effective.

      When supplements eCommerce retailers have a good CRM program in place and use it to send an email, they instantly know who opened the email (or didn’t open it), when they opened it and what actions they took from it. Open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates are readily available, which makes subsequent marketing efforts even easier. After a few emails, supplements marketers can reliably see what information is most important for the recipients and then create more effective emails going forward.

      An additional benefit of email is that the vast majority of your recipients will actually receive your message. Emails have a delivery rate of 90% or more, whereas even viral posts on social media typically only reach about 5% of your social audience.

      Top email marketing strategies

      A lot of research has been done about what’s best to do (and not do) with emails in order to increase pharma sales. Here are a few key takeaways.

      Make the emails mobile friendly. A whopping 80% of healthcare professionals say that they mostly read emails on their phones, not their computers. As a result, emails need to be adapted to various devices and screens in a mobile-friendly format.

      Make the emails personalized and targeted. Doing this creates a better experience for each recipient. After you discover which person clicks on which content, you can use that information to personalize subsequent email communications. Your recipients will feel heard and thus become more engaged with your company.

      Include tips and offers they don’t get elsewhere. Having unique tips in your emails is powerful for your audience. The most successful things to include in pharma emails include tips for remembering to take your medicine on time, as well as exclusive offers they can use when they order in your online store.

      Do subject line testing. Subject line testing has been shown to exponentially increase your open rates and customer loyalty. This may sound simple, but it’s vital! If your recipients don’t like or understand the subject line of your email, they won’t open it… and that ends the line of communication. Subject line testing is crucial, but studies show that most email campaigns don’t take advantage of A/B subject line testing. Missing out on this means missing out on a lot of potential engagement. In addition, it’s often a good idea to include a teaser for the tips that are included in the email in the subject line.

      Consider the frequency and timing of your emails. In general, it’s best to begin sending emails every other week and then increase it to once a week. Then, you can send them more frequently once someone is opening your emails and engaging with them. However, in terms of timing, things aren’t so cut and dry. Test the timing of your emails to see when your audience engages the most. Just like it’s important to A/B test subject lines, it’s also important to A/B test the best times to send emails. You’ll learn a lot from this and then be able to increase your open rates as a result.

      Tips for supplements-specific emails

      There are best practices for emails, and then there are best practices for supplement emails. The supplement space carries many unique limitations that must be considered when creating and sending emails.

      To start, a supplements email must be completely optimized before the medical and legal approval process can begin. Ignoring this rule limits your ability to make changes that can improve open rates, click-through rates, and ROI. In addition, making sure that your emails are optimized before submitting them to the medical and legal team has been shown to get the project done much faster.

      Another example of a supplements-specific email tip is to fill the email with pertinent, relevant, supplements-related information. The more specific the information, the more useful it is for the recipient—and the greater the chance that the recipient will engage with your brand. For example, if your company knows when each recipient should refill their prescriptions, you can send a timely email when it’s time to do so. Your recipients will appreciate your attention to detail and dedication to their unique needs.

      Conclusion

      With email on the rise, creating effective emails has never been more important. And with healthcare professionals relying more and more on email for most of their communications, it’s vital that pharma retailers optimize emails as much as possible. Employing certain strategies can pay off in a big way when it comes to customer loyalty and engagement.

      To find out how InteractOne can help with email marketing for your supplements eCommerce website, contact us today.

        Get expert help today!

        An InteractOne Senior Team Member will get back to you within a day.

        Drop Us a Line At:

        Our Contact Form

        Or, if you prefer an old-fashioned phone call:
        Phone (USA): (513) 469-3362

        4665 Cornell Rd. Suite 255
        Cincinnati, OH 45241

        March 2021 Vitamins and Supplements Orange Report

        March 2021 Vitamins and Supplements Orange Report

        Mar 12, 2021 | News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins

        March 2021 Vitamins and Supplements ORANGE REPORT

        The March 2021 Orange Report features our best & most recent blogs and guides on Magento, Big Commerce, eCommerce, and Digital Marketing from the world of Vitamins and Supplements. 

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        Everything you need to know about eCommerce, digital marketing, and Magento.

        SaaS eCommerce: Weighing the Pros & Cons

        In Part 1 of our Saas & Open Source series we examine Saas Platforms and how they are unique built to power your eCommerce business.

        READ MORE

        7 Simple A/B Tests to Improve Your Vitamins & Supplements eCommerce Site

        A/B Testing is vital to the improvement of your eCommerce site and your business. But what elements should you A/B test? Find out in our latest guide.

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        Unique eCommerce Challenges Facing the Supplements Industry

        The pharmaceutical industry faces unique legal challenges in eCommerce. Read on to discover the challenges you might face as you bring (or expand) your pharma business online.

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        Upsell Strategies for Vitamins & Supplements eCommerce

        In addition to bringing in extra revenue, upselling on a Vitamins and Supplements eCommerce site can also enhance patient care. Here’s what you need to know.

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        Standing Out in a Crowd: How to Market Your Pharmaceuticals

        Standing Out in a Crowd: How to Market Your Pharmaceuticals

        Feb 26, 2021 | eCommerce, News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins

        When marketing pharmaceuticals, doing so online is a great strategy. In fact, in 2020, pharma marketers will spent $3 billion on digital advertising alone. Simply put, pharma companies can no longer rely on brand name recognition and print advertising to drive their sales. They must pivot to create a remarkable presence online.

        However, with almost all pharma companies heading this direction—and with differentiation between existing products getting smaller—how do you ensure that your pharmaceuticals make an impact in the digital world? Keep reading to learn the top three most effective strategies for marketing your pharmaceuticals online—so they stand out from the competition.

        Tap in to the biggest trends in pharma marketing.

        The digital world is huge—and some pharma marketers aren’t sure where to start. Research tells us that the hottest current trends in pharma marketing strategies involve videos and social media. Posting videos on your website and on your social media channels is crucial for growing awareness of your product and therefore your sales.

        However, just posting frequently isn’t enough. Once the videos and social media campaigns have launched, it’s important to keep a close eye on interactions and conversions in order to keep people engaged with your pharma brand.

        Another growing trend to implement when marketing pharmaceuticals online is to go easy on the branded content. In fact, unbranded content is becoming even more powerful. For example, if you create a website about a specific condition—without even mentioning your products by name, but instead giving general information—consumers can relate to the story and facts you present on that site. Once they’re drawn in this way, pharma companies can then give a subtle nod to their product. This informs your audience about your product by pulling on their heartstrings, not shoving it in their faces.

        If you can combine all three of these ideas—videos, social media and unbranded content—you have a recipe for success online.

        Lead with the problem, finish with the solution.

        Many pharma companies begin their online marketing with their product name and what it does. Then, they end up back pedaling to get to the problem with which their customers are struggling. Along the way, it’s easy for customers to get lost and thus lose interest.

        One simple (but powerful) way to avoid this is to lead your online marketing with the problem. For example: “Does mild exercise cause you to have trouble breathing?” or “Do your legs feel tingly when you wake up?” That way, customers feel an instant connection and continue reading (or watching or clicking) to see what solution your product can offer.

        Especially when marketing online, where space is small and people have limited time and small attention spans, it’s important to pique your customer’s interest right away. This problem-first approach easily lends itself to many digital mediums—banner ads, e-newsletters, videos, websites, social media posts and more.

        Use specific analytics and keywords to come up first in search results.

        The pharma space online is congested, to say the least. Someone searching for a pharmaceutical solution to their specific problem is faced with countless pages of search results that are all promising a great solution.

        However, your pharma company can stand out simply by using a few keywords to position your solution at the top of search results. First, analyze existing search results to find commonly-searched keywords. Then, create digital content with those keywords included. Next, be sure that your unique content is published on websites that have high traffic and good reputations in the pharma world. Finally, optimize your content until search engines rank it on the first page.

        Conclusion

        With pharma marketers spending more and more on digital advertising each day, it’s never been more important to ensure that your pharmaceuticals stand out online. By following these top three tips, you’re on your way to successfully differentiating yourself from the competition—yielding unmatched results in your brand awareness, brand loyalty and profits.

        To learn more about how InteractOne can help you improve your pharmaceutical marketing online, contact us today.

        Get in Touch

        Connect with one of our experts today to discuss your eCommerce needs!

        Contact Us

        7 Simple A/B Tests to Improve Your Vitamins and Supplements eCommerce Site

        7 Simple A/B Tests to Improve Your Vitamins and Supplements eCommerce Site

        Feb 19, 2021 | News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins

        No matter how much time and resources you devote to building the most modern, most user-friendly vitamins and supplements eCommerce website, there are always going to be features that can be improved upon. That’s where A/B testing comes in. 

        A/B testing comes down to making small adjustments to your website until you find the combination that resonates most with your audience. This means that there are few “ah-ha!” moments; with A/B testing it’s all about baby steps. But be patient, let the testing data inform you, and you will reap serious rewards. 

        Whether this is your first attempt at A/B testing or you’re already on a never-ending quest for ways to improve your eCommerce site and increase sales conversions, here are seven simple A/B tests to try for your vitamins and supplements eCommerce site.

        Show Your Product Alone or In Context?

        Of course, you are going to feature your products with great, high-res images, but what’s the best way to display them? Do users want to see your products posed with a model or in some other dynamic setting, or do they simply want to see the products against a solid background? There’s a good chance the answer is both, and you could include both image types as Ritual does, but A/B testing will tell you if one product image type resonates with your audience more strongly than the other.

        Product Videos

        Every single bit of research and data shows that video is the future. Even the most crisp, beautiful high-res images have limitations. Video is as close as merchants can get to bringing their product to life, short of having customers physically hold the products in their hands. If you haven’t yet fully committed to product videos, start with a few for some select products and see how they perform. If you already have product videos, test out an auto-play option and add captions to make it accessible and to catch the eye of customers surfing your site with their sound off.

        List View vs Mosaic

        It’s the job of your website to make it as easy as possible for customers to find the right product. But, what’s the best way to organize your products visually? For some, a grid view is more successful. For others, a mosaic produces better results. Try A/B testing the visual layout of your product pages and compare the user engagement for a list view versus a mosaic view. You could also ultimately provide both view options via small buttons above the product results, as iHerb does if you find that your shoppers respond well to having the choice.

        BIGGER calls to action

        Customers should never have to search for what they’re looking for on your page. It should always be fairly obvious where they should go for what they need. If they can’t find where to check out or add to cart then your site is failing. Those are the two most important elements of your store and when it comes to those CTAs, bigger is better. But what design, color scheme, and wording on your buttons work best? Test it out.

        Feature Contact Information

        It may seem like something small, but adding your contact information can have a big impact on your conversions. Relationships are built on trust, and customer/merchant relationships are no different. Customers want to know how to get in touch with you if something goes awry. Try prominently listing your email address, phone number, and (if applicable) physical location across the top of your site and see if your conversions are boosted. iHerb has a link to “24/7 Support” in the top right corner of their site to ensure customer service is only a click away for their shoppers. 

        Static Image over Carousel

        Carousels have fallen out of favor in recent years. Testing has shown they can often be distracting to customers, causing them to overlook details that merchants are often trying to get noticed, such as sales and new products. Vitamins and supplements eCommerce customers also crave control, which auto-carousels remove. So if you’re using a carousel (banner slider) at the top of your pages, try swapping that out for a static hero image with a single, clear proposition, as Now Foods has done. You may find that one bold image and message resonates more than a flurry of images and options.

        Highlight a Price Reduction

        If you’ve recently reduced the price of an item, make sure your customers know about it by showing them visually. But what’s the most effective way to show them? That’s what you need to test. Perhaps it’s a ‘slashed’ price, different colored text like Now Foods uses on their website, or an icon on the product image. There’s only one way to find out which works best for your site: A/B test it.

        What to Prioritize With A/B Testing

        You can avoid costly mistakes with your A/B testing if you know what to prioritize. Here are some things to do and keep in mind as you begin.

        Test Your Most Profitable Pages First 

        Start where the money is. Begin testing on the pages that bring you the most traffic and the most money to build on that success. 

        Assign A/B Testing to a Single Person 

        Give one person on your team the responsibility of A/B testing management, implementation, monitoring and reporting. The term “too many cooks in the kitchen” definitely applies to A/B testing. Keep things simple and empower a single person to handle these aspects.

        Don’t Forget About Mobile 

        Perform A/B tests on both mobile and desktop. Results for mobile can be 180 degrees from results you see on the desktop. What works for one doesn’t necessarily work for the other.

        Start Big 

        Begin by testing the larger elements on your pages; hero images, purchase buttons, product descriptions. Don’t get bogged down with testing the smaller elements until you’ve tested the larger elements and improved those first.

        Test a Single Element at a Time 

        Select one element at a time to test, otherwise, your results are going to be skewed and you won’t be able to determine what elements that are being tested are affecting the page.

        Our team has a lot of experience in A/B testing to determine the most profitable outcome for vitamins and supplements eCommerce websites. If you’re ready to get the absolute most out of your website, contact us – and we’ll be happy to assist you.

        Get in Touch

        Connect with one of our experts today to discuss your eCommerce needs!

        Contact Us
        UPDATED: Unique eCommerce Challenges Facing the Supplements Industry

        UPDATED: Unique eCommerce Challenges Facing the Supplements Industry

        Feb 19, 2021 | eCommerce, News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins

        No matter how you slice it, eCommerce is everywhere. Every day, more companies are moving their business online. This comes with some perks and some challenges. The pharmaceutical industry is no different, but the challenges for this industry are unique. Read on to discover the challenges you might face as you bring (or expand) your pharma business online — and how you can have the best chance to succeed.

        Challenge 1: Heavy regulations aren’t so easy to implement online.

        In doctors’ offices, hospitals and pharmacies, the world of supplements and medications is heavily regulated. But with the rise of eCommerce, many over-the-counter supplements and prescription medications can now be sold online by anyone. In fact, studies show that 66% of countries around the world have no laws in place that regulate the online sales of medicine. In the United States, authorities do have many laws and regulations in place and try to step in to make sure that the public is receiving legitimate medications from legitimate sources. Unfortunately, however, this doesn’t always happen. As a result, each month, these US regulations shut down around 1,500 websites that sell medications to consumers without appropriate safeguards.

        As a retailer of supplements, vitamins or nutraceuticals, you have an obligation to stay-up-to-date with regulations and do your best to make sure your sales are legal and legitimate. If you don’t, regulatory authorities can then step in and produce a “buyers beware” message to help ensure that consumers are smart in their buying decisions. If your site runs counter to their message by selling any products with warnings attached to them you could lose credibility. 

        Challenge 2: With online sales, there’s too little involvement by a healthcare professional.

        Now that so many medications and supplements are available online, they’re easily accessed by anyone—whether or not there’s a doctor or pharmacist involved. This can lead to risky situations, with many people ordering supplements online without a diagnosis from a doctor or any idea of the right dosage from a pharmacist. This can easily cause supplements to be used in the wrong way or a patient taking too much of a certain supplement.

        Supplements eCommerce retailers should always sell only legitimate products in recommended amounts. Failing to do so can easily land you in legal hot water. In August 2020, the FDA sent a warning letter to RX Easy Meds because they were “misbranding” their products. Before selling any supplements, vitamins or nutraceuticals online, it’s vital to check the FDA’s website so you don’t find yourself in legal hot water too.

        Challenge 3: All pharma eCommerce companies must not violate HIPAA regulations.

        As a supplements, vitamins or nutraceuticals retailer with an online business, you’re subject to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations, so it’s important to be aware of how to comply with them. 

        HIPAA regulations can be extensive and complex. They ask companies to implement rules to protect patients’ health information, limit all sharing of confidential personal data and train all employees about security and confidentiality. As a result, you have to choose the right HIPAA-savvy eCommerce development partners so that your customers’ personal information is always secure and never exposed online or elsewhere. If you aren’t careful enough, hackers can breach your customers’ healthcare records, which can quickly send you down a road of unending legal troubles. Plus, customers are quick to abandon any company that makes them feel that their private information is at risk.

        Conclusion

        As your pharma company grows its eCommerce presence, you’re sure to face challenges along the way. It’s a great idea for online merchants to continually check in with legal counsel to make sure that all of their activity is above reproach. Failing to do so can quickly lead to items slipping through the cracks and then exposing a company to devastating losses. However, by knowing what’s coming and tackling those challenges in a smart way, your online sales are sure to be a success.

        To find out how InteractOne can help with your supplements, vitamins or nutraceuticals eCommerce business, contact us today.

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        Connect with one of our experts today to discuss your eCommerce needs!

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        UPDATED: Upsell Strategies for Vitamins & Supplements eCommerce

        UPDATED: Upsell Strategies for Vitamins & Supplements eCommerce

        Feb 18, 2021 | News, Nutraceuticals/Supplements/Vitamins

        Upselling is an extremely powerful tool for an eCommerce website, bringing in extra revenue and increasing brand loyalty in a whole new way. We recently wrote about the art of upselling apparel and accessories online, but how does upselling differ for supplements, vitamins or nutraceuticals eCommerce websites? Aside from increasing order value and bringing in extra revenue for merchants, it can improve the user experience and enhance customer care. With that in mind, why not try it? Here are three strategies for upselling on your supplements, vitamins or nutraceuticals eCommerce website.

        Use “You Also Might Like” algorithms.

        Most eCommerce websites use analytics all the time for a reason—because it works! When eCommerce sites use “You Might Also Like” algorithms, they’re simply analyzing the data about which products each customer views or purchases and then serving up similar items that the customer might also like to purchase.

        In terms of supplements or vitamins eCommerce stores, here are a couple of examples: If a patient views a joint health supplement on your website, it’s a good idea to automatically populate suggested related items for the “You Might Also Like” section. This could include multivitamins or calcium supplements. For customers with diabetes, you can—and should—recommend supplements that can help replenish lost nutrients, such as vitamin B12.

        A best practice for this tactic is to show these complementary items on the product page first, then on the shopping cart page, and finally on the order confirmation page. This provides three separate instances where you can work the magic of upselling. Your web programmer or development partner can easily add a “You Might Also Like” section that suggests certain products based on customer behavior and preferences.

        Tie-in Personalization

        Just as you can tailor product recommendations based on previous buying patterns, you can also tailor these recommendations with demographics-based personalization. For example, you can give certain recommendations based on age group, geographic location or family status. There are certain vitamins that are generally recommended for people in each age group, some vitamins can be more effective in certain parts of the country, and some vitamins are better for women, men, or a woman who is pregnant or breastfeeding. 

        By obtaining a little personal information about customers and implementing it into your messaging, your supplements eCommerce store can make tailored recommendations that make sense.

        In addition, because supplements should be consumed regularly (and they’re typically not just a one-off purchase), it’s a good idea to offer a discount for multiples. This not only increases your average sale, but also keeps your supply fresh.

        Focus on solutions, not sales.

        Yes, you’re in business to make money, but you won’t make much money at all if your customers don’t find your store useful. That’s why it’s important to keep sales in the back of your mind and make patient care your priority.

        When you consider your customers’ needs first and foremost, you’ll be able to make informed decisions on how to upsell. Don’t think about simply suggesting the most expensive products. Instead, think about what will increase the effectiveness of your customers’ vitamin and supplement regimen and truly improve their health. 

        When you suggest the right vitamins for each specific scenario, your customers receive better care. This inevitably leads to extra revenue for your eCommerce business.

        Conclusion

        When it’s done well, upselling can be a powerful tool to increase sales and overall profitability for your company, as well as introduce customers to new products. However, it can be difficult to build all of these upselling opportunities into a webstore or CRM system. That’s why we recommend working with a strong development team instead of trying to figure out and implement everything on your own.

        InteractOne has years of experience managing upsells. We are a team of eCommerce website development and solution specialists who can help you map out and implement a powerful upsell strategy. Contact us today so that we can begin working together.

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        Connect with one of our experts today to discuss your eCommerce needs!

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