I am usually not picky when it comes to fashion, as long as it’s something that I think would look good on me, and I usually have a good eye for these things, I wouldn’t mind wearing them as long as it’s not too much trouble. However, I would never wear any of these two things; a shirt with two pockets on each side and anything with an elbow patch. These two pet peeves of mine are borderline irrational but I’m sure most of you who are reading this know exactly what I’m talking about.
We all have things that we’re somewhat unreasonably disgusted by or attracted to. You might think that these feelings are unique but really, none of us are ever truly one-of-a-kind and we definitely share these traits with a group of people. Some weird fetishes are probably limited to a very small group of people but there are certain things that I’m willing to bet are probably common to the majority of people. This is also true in web development and there are certain elements and traits that businesses can use to try and boost their websites’ conversion rates.
Traffic isn’t the goal, conversion is
Getting people to check your business is out is actually rather easy but getting them to go that extra mile and commit to your business? Now that’s tough. Every time I listen to one of Spotify’s discovery playlists, I’m exposed to music that I rather enjoy like, 90% of the time. But the chance of me hearing a song that I enjoy enough for me to save that particular song in my library is probably around 25% or so. There’s a dividing line between music I don’t mind listening to and music that I actually want to listen to.
Thanks to the plethora of shopping options that are now available online, I now spend at least few minutes a day browsing online for things online but never actually buying them. The other day I was scrolling through my Instagram feed when I stumbled across an ad for a local shoe brand. They look interesting and when I checked their website, it turns out they have some really good selection and a price point I’m definitely comfortable with. And yet, I left the website with absolutely nothing on my shopping cart.
It’s true that I have enough shoes at home but it’s not like I don’t have room for one more and when I Googled that particular brand, the reviews are mostly positives. So why then I ended up leaving without making any financial commitment? The simple truth is that I don’t feel compelled enough to do so. To be compelling, you need a lot more than just an objectively good product and a spiffy website, you need some extra panache and these website elements could go a long way in helping you get that panache.
A unique value proposition
Still revolving around shoes, there’s this small, local shoe brand near where I live that does something interesting with their pricing. Instead of just presenting customers with a single number, they instead of provide a detailed breakdown on how much money is for the cost of the material, for the cost of labor, for the cost of the packaging and how much goes for R&D, operational costs and profit. I don’t necessarily know whether they’re telling the truth or not but this transparency was something that I was immediately attracted to.
Time and time again, I’m presented with products that while are indeed good, aren’t exactly unique. Even if your products and/or services might be similar to others in your industry, try to find an angle where you can set yourself apart from others. It could simply be in how you present your products, how your products are made or even from your company’s mission statement. Using a unique value proposition is one way of making your company more compelling to potential customers.
Use detailed social proof
Far too often I’m faced with something that looks good in isolation but when worn or used, isn’t up to standards and by including photos of your product actually being used or worn, you can sidestep around this issue. For professional services, try to do a detailed breakdown of how your work managed to help your clients. Pepper these breakdown with actual numbers and statistics to give potential customers even more compelling reason why they should work with your company.
Add a time-sensitive element to your products and/or services
Even if you already have a good product, a unique value proposition and positive testimonials, there’s still a pretty good chance your conversion won’t see an uptick because procrastination are something we all definitely share. This is especially true if your products and/or services are considered ancillary. To sidestep this, include a time sensitive element to your website to give potential customers a compelling reason to act now. Keep a tight lid on your production run if you’re dealing with tangible products and use limited offers if you’re a service company.
Keep your website simple
If you have a page that exists solely for the purpose conversion, make sure that every element on that webpage is there to drive conversion. Strip away any elements that might be considered distracting and include only contents that could help with conversion, such as the three things mentioned above. Other than being known procrastinators, people are known to be easily distracted and by keeping a razor-sharp focus on conversion, you should find it easy to turn mere visitors into paying customers.