3 Obstacles to Conversions
So you have a new product or service on the market…and it’s a good one. You might even have a stellar professional sales team in your employ or you might be a one man army filling that role yourself. But then again, if you’re like millions of entrepreneurs across the globe, you have a website doing some or maybe even all of this work for you. Regardless of what role your website plays in your sales process, it only stands to reason that you’re going to need it to perform. But this is obvious, right?
Not really. As it turns out, the reality is that for every successful, income generating website out there, there are a dozen more virtually abandoned or flat out shut down and another hundred that are actually costing businesses – substantially. Think of it like a paid employee who just sits around the coffee pot and jabbers. Except it happens 24/7. Literally.
But, you know this already. You understand that increasing your conversion rates will increase your profit; it’s simple math. You’ve probably got adequate traffic right now and you’re just looking to turn that traffic into revenue. So if you’re not already A/B testing your site to maximize its effectiveness, you’re likely thinking about it. But even if you’re testing and making changes and then retesting, positive results might still elude you, in which case you must consider what changes you are making…and why you are making them.
Conversion is all about the visitor taking action, moving forward and ultimately becoming your customer. By visiting your site, the customer has already begun the journey. The ball is rolling, so to speak, and therefore carries a certain limited momentum. It makes sense not just to remove obstacles from the ball’s path, but to grease the crogs as well. And while you’re at it, slope them towards the checkout counter. The idea here is to eliminate obstacles, which can take several forms.
Physical Obstacles
Just like it says, think of blocking the checkout counter with a small army of angry badgers. Do you want to get paid…or do you want your customers to enter their email addresses twice and have to opt out of becoming a “member” of your site? Streamline the checkout process by eliminating all unnecessary steps and making your call to action buttons the most noticeable and pushable buttons ever.
Fear Obstacles
No one wants to shop at stores when they can expect to be mugged in the parking lot. Make customers feel safe by taking proactive steps to help protect them as well as their identities by ensuring your site is PCI compliant and presenting a trust seal from a reputable organization.
Multimedia Obstacles
Ever been bumped off someone’s site due to excessive advertising or timed out trying to load an immense amount of visual data? It can also be frustrating for potential customers when web designers depend heavily upon flash players that not everyone has. Keep it simple and keep it universal.
Remember, the customer only starts the ball rolling. It’s up to you to keep it moving, or at least keep the path clear.
