Having a site that looks good and gets high traffic can only take you so far. Many companies struggle with how to convert visitors into sales. Here are 10 tips to help you bring your site from an information desk to a sales machine.
Updated Content
Nothing turns away customers like stale content. Your users want to experience the life in your company. If you don’t have the time to update the content on your site, bring someone in who will keep things fresh and continue the conversations with clients.
Reaching Customers Who Want to Purchase
Ready to weed out the tire kickers of online traffic? It’s time to pinpoint your primary target market. Invest time in learning about your top two customers. What does their purchase process look like? What questions do they ask most frequently? What are their hobbies? What is there greatest need from your business? Having trouble getting that data, check out your most successful competitor’s messaging and online activity. The best ideas are often borrowed.
Call to Action
You don’t get what you don’t ask for. Many companies miss out on the opportunities tied to a specific Call to Action. Without direction, your visitors can navigate away and spend their time and money with your competitor. To determine the effectiveness of your call to action buttons, try changing colors and size to see what works best. Keep it simple and avoid making the users make difficult decisions.
Easy Ordering Process
Once your Call to Action brings the user to the right place, your sales process should be quick and painless. Many ordering processes can become overcomplicated and force users to find somewhere else to shop. Your cart or checkout area needs to be clean of all distractions. The only clear option should be to process the order.
Social Media
For businesses these days, it’s less about what you say and more about what others are saying about you. Word-of-mouth and customer testimonials hold the most weight on social media. You need a social media presence, a strategic plan and a person to oversee what is being said online. Timely response to good and bad reviews will tell a great story.
The Trust Aspect
Users are skeptical, especially when it comes to the Internet. Understand if your online messaging is clear and upfront or causing doubt. If you have an expensive item, don’t shy away from the price – show the value of the product and encourage users to ask questions. When asking users for personal information, be clear that the date collected is confidential and secure. Having the ability to quickly identify what is causing user hesitation can help you make corrections and address those needs.
Expressing your Value
In most business deals, you need to address the “What’s In It For Me” for your customers. Once the users sees the value in his own life, establishing a relationship and converting that customer will be easy. Ensure your site fully explains what the brand can do for the user. Create a positive vibe around your messaging that allows engagement and understanding.
Responsive
Being mobile friendly increases the odds of a purchase. Our customers are starting to search more and more with their mobile device. Without a responsive, mobile site, you are likely to lose the business. Make sure the most important parts of your site are easily accessible on desktop and mobile versions of your site.
Testimonials
Build trust and increase sales by sharing feedback from real satisfied customers. Create a virtual sideline where people can say great things about your products, customer service and value without ever leaving their device. Collect a few testimonials from customers and get permission to provide their full name. Just a first name or initials can lower trust.