Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Greetings SUN Forum,

Our site is intended to be the main source of revenue for our company.

We are managing to get good traffic, but are seeking tips to convert more of the traffic to sales, while keeping the overall feel to the sight.

A little about us:

If you’re into great food, you already know that the best restaurants are known for sourcing and showcasing fresh local ingredients in their menu. I am a Chef, Chocolatier and Co-Founder of the only company that has truly taken this concept and applied it to fine artisan chocolate. Surrounded by vineyards, farm stands and fresh ocean beaches we call the East End of Long Island NY, home.

We produce our chocolates from the finest cacao in the world, representing single origins, organic producers, and simply the best covertures. Producing in small batches allows us to accentuate our chocolates by pairing flavor combinations with the inherent attributes of a given chocolate. You will discover “local-to-us” produced wines and herbs, fresh all natural cream and dairy in our hand made confections.

We use and recommend S.U.N. to all our friends looking to start their own business. The information available here is invaluable, and has helped us get organized giving us the confidence to expand and grow. Check out our site, we would love any feedback the community is willing to give.

http://www.chokolajchocolate.com

 

Thank You,

 

Daniel Kennedy

Chokola`j LLC

dk@chokolajchocolate.com

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Inspired artisan chocolates-www.chokolajchocolate.com

Daniel,

Amazing site! It truly reflects the artisan approach to what you do, and your photos are very high quality.  I would just suggest applying the same design to Crazookie - it`s just text right now, but I`m sure that once people can see them, they`ll buy them.

I`d maybe suggest bolding the navigation a bit to match the font of the `celebrate saint patrick`s day` below, but it`s a very nice look as it is. Also, the Menu should be interactive with the Purchasing. It would be nice to see the menu and just order from there without having to go to the purchase tab.

The only place I`ve confused is the menu. Are those just seasonal items? How do you order something on the menu from the purchase tab? I only see a few things available for purchase there.  In other words, I know how to order the 12-piece collection, but what about the lemon verbena thing?

Thanks for the feedback,

 

I understand the confusion; the menu is actually what is included in our assortments. We are happy to fill special orders for specific chocolates but generally people want the total experience. We will have to rethink the name of that page, or describe its purpose better. Thanks for the insight.

 

-Daniel

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Inspired artisan chocolates-www.chokolajchocolate.com

Hi Daniel,

A Gorgeous Site! YUM! The lavender flower looks amazing. Well they ALL look amazing. I saved your site to my favorites and plan to order soon. Great Job, Great Business, Clean and Classy site! A great Web Site example for others in Ecommerce! YUM, YUM, YUM!

 

Erin

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Our Goal Is Your Success!
Founder Girls with Goals

Thanks Erin!

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Inspired artisan chocolates-www.chokolajchocolate.com

LOL! I didn`t even see this before posting the "Just Looking" thread!! And so, here we are again... How do we close the sale!

I am trying to figure out what it is about the design that isn`t working for me. There is no call to action here.

On the front page, I got the impression that it was a wholesale site, not a purchase direct site. I can`t put a finger on what would make me describe it that way. But when I log in, I only see the box and half chocolates ... the pieces themselves are a click down. And then the menu items, they don`t seem to be geared towards shopping through your site. When I see "Purchase", I think "Where to purchase" not that you`re going to take me to the catalog.

If your main purpose is to drive sales, put those links at the bottom of the page and put catalog links at the top ... dark chocolate, milk chocolate, fruit filings, nuts, whatever you can think of for categories.

Also, if the idea is to buy, do you want the biggest picture to be a box instead of the chocolates? I love the pictures ... but I`m just keeping with your goals to sell more.

I`m not sure how to rework the site. I think you should go to the thread where we talking about making a marketing plan and then a site plan and then a site map ... and start there. What is your goal ... to sell boxes?

Pretty site by the way...but unfortunately, pretty doesn`t always close the sale though

Without spending too much time writing details, I`ll just provide you with some great links to model.

This would be an excellent example for a layout for your site being that you offer a bunch of different stuff:

http://www.godiva.com/catalog/default.aspx

click on the different collections and perhaps this will provide you with an idea as to setting up your order pages.

Godiva has spent millions trying to make their presence strong online; take advantage of the millions of dollars they spent and apply some of their stuff to your existing layout and I`m sure conversions will go thru the roof!

Excellent first start though.

Cartess

I`d change the "Purchase" tab, to "Products." I visited the site, and wanted to look at your products, assuming the St. Patrick`s day package taking up so much room on the front was just an enticement. I couldn`t figure out where the rest of your store was.

I wasn`t yet ready to purchase anything, so didn`t think I`d click that tab. Only later did I figure...what the hell, I`m critiquing, not buying, so I`ll try each tab.

The enticement picture is too big. I have a 19" LCD and the two actual for sale items were STILL below the fold---had to scroll to see them.

I don`t like having different candy on `purchase,` and `menu.` That doesn`t make sense. Nor does the "Events" tab. I don`t get it at all. I sort of understand the Corporate Gifts, but I`d like to see some actual giift baskets, or boxes, or something that makes a distinction between "public retail" and these corporate gifts.

The site looks nice, but as Nikole said, I can`t figure out what I`m supposed to be buying, how to do it, and so forth. There`s little in the way of visual or text-based enticement as the site`s currently laid out. I guess I expected it to look more like a store. This is more like a designer showcase for an interior design shop, custom tailoring shop, or maybe custom draperies. Y`know?

In those, you walk in and there`s nothing. It`s nicely decorated, nice furniture, and someone comes over to ask if you need help. Only after you`re sitting at a desk do you see some books with fabric patterns, layouts, or whatever. You can`t just go to a cashier and buy something in those types of shops.

To reiterate, there is no call to action. The site seems like a billboard,
simply advertising chocolate, not selling. The home page photo is really
nice but use it as a supporting element to sales. Currently, you are
practically relying on it to make sales.

There`s something not working about Purchase and Menu being two
different categories. The content should be rolled into one place to
browse and buy. It seems you offer collections you decide on as well as
the customer`s choices. What if there were a way for people to build their
own collection on the site, simply picking individual pieces for their box?
All online. The photos and the descriptions of each piece are very
enticing, more than any other section of the site. I think you should
harness that as the springboard for purchasing. Like an "add to cart"
button, how about "add to box"? And start that process on your home
page as well. Get people into it right away!