How to surf your way to a successful Marine D2C Website

Smarter search to help customers

As your product catalogue can be massive, it's important to have a really good search functionality for your customers. Having a good search feature works well for customers who know exactly what they want and those who have no idea. 

A good way to test if your search functionality is up to scratch is to search for a product with alternative spellings, which should have the same outcome, for example, tee shirt, t-shirt and tee. 

There are tons out there on the market, and if your search isn't pulling its weight, get in touch, and we'll help you switch out for something smarter. 

Allow customers to search for what they care about

Let shoppers find products that fit their needs in their way. This can be a helpful filter in the right place, or putting products into multiple categories so customers can find it through your navigation or search.

Consumers are becoming increasingly more aware of the impact of fast fashion brands, and there has been a noticeable shift in consumers looking for alternative ways to enjoy the hobbies and lifestyle they live, by making more ethical choices about what they buy. 

For example, consumers are becoming more aware of the materials used in manufacturing and the impact on the planet. For these customers, having a 'Vegan Materials' or 'Recycled Materials' section can let them find products that meet their needs, while others might go to your 'T-Shirt' section and filter by the materials that suit them.

Understandably, not every brand can or aspires to the B Corp gold standard status, but if you are a fashion brand incorporating better sustainable options into your more global product range by using vegan or recycled materials, then making dedicated product categories is great for SEO and helps guide your customers to make more mindful purchases if they wish to. 

Be part of the solution

Surfers and watersport customers in general are very conscious about the planet and environmental concerns. They will have the unique opportunity of witnessing first-hand the damage that can be caused to their coastlines and waterways by pollution and littering. 

There are numerous charities out there that work with marine brands such as Surfers Against Sewage and The Wave Project. If you have any association with charities like these, this should be highlighted on your website. Likewise, if you have a local base and community, conducting any local environmental cleanups, like beach cleans, don’t forget to put it on your site, and invite your customers along. 

Bring the personal shopping experience online

Many marine brands have teams of experts ready to help who are actively using the products they are selling online, but quite often this valuable knowledge and insight isn’t communicated to consumers. 

Marine products can be difficult for customers to pick, such as the complex sizing around surfboards or kayaks, so this knowledge becomes invaluable and can really help you differentiate yourself from other retailers. 

Recording videos of useful how-tos and tips can really help show off your expertise and give reassurance to customers. Think about what you would want to know about if you were buying that product, as a lover of marine activities.

Providing customers with an easy way to get in touch if they need to, so they can access your experts on the phone or by email, reassures customers that you know your trade and helps build trust in you and your brand.

When you ask customers to get in touch via a form, be sure to get the right details from them early on to avoid too much unnecessary back and forth.

For Shore Watersports, each of their key categories has its own contact form to guide customers for the right details and decrease friction: https://www.shore.co.uk/shore_contact/kayak

Differentiate your brand

Building sites uniquely tailored to the user's needs is critical to getting customers to trust and purchase from your online store. 

It doesn’t always have to mean huge, remarkable differences to differentiate your brand. For example, for a Watersports brand, which owns both a FlipFlop Shop and a Sandal Shop website with different markets, it came down to colour. 

For FlipFlop Shop, we utilised the colours of summer to evoke the messaging of warm summer holidays and to give customers the feeling of sunshine. For Sandal Shop, we used a warmer, more natural palette to evoke the feeling of adventure and the outdoors for customers who enjoy outdoor leisure pursuits. 

These differences help distinguish between two similar brands and make them both stand out individually.

Share your love of the water 

Shore Watersports was started by a lover of watersports back in 1982 and has been run and staffed by watersport lovers ever since. Their most visited and loved page on their website is their surf checker, a live webcam feed from the beach at their store location in Wittering.

The Shore Watersports staff love nothing more than getting out on the sea, so on their lunch breaks you’ll often find them surfing. They share that passion with their customers through a live webcam so everyone can see when it's the best time to get out on the sea.

https://www.shore.co.uk/surf-check.html

Design for your customers

Building sites that are uniquely tailored to the user's needs is critical to getting customers to trust and purchase from your online store. Thinking about how a consumer actually shops in real life can drastically help improve your website.

For shoes such as flip-flops and sandals, especially for customers purchasing online, the size and style of the sole and heel are equally important to customers, as well as how the shoe looks from the top.

For FlipFlop Shop, we implemented side views on the Product Lister Pages for all shoes to show the customers both a front and side view of the shoes, enabling them a faster journey towards purchasing.

Be on the right platform for your brand

There are lots of platforms out there, each with its own merits and quirks. 

But one size doesn’t fit all, and finding the one that suits your business is a personal choice; however, we are always happy to help and provide impartial advice as to whether you are on the right platform for your business.