Did you know that 97% of the visitors who come to your site aren’t even ready to buy yet? That means you need to do a fair amount of convincing to convert those visitors successfully into customers.
This is where even the best innovative marketing experts can go terribly, terribly wrong…with some seemingly innocuous conversion killing mistakes that you might otherwise think wouldn’t make any difference one way or the other…but they can. And, oh, how they do.
So, let’s learn to avoid some of these innovative marketing mistakes, shall we?
Conversion Killer #1: No call-to-action under product images. Give tentative shoppers the opportunity to “learn more” instead of pushing for an instant sale or an “add to cart”.
Conversion Killer #2: Not mentioning yours is a secure site. A lot of shoppers are reluctant to buy online because they’re not certain that sharing their bank information is safe, at least on your site. So tell them flat out with the “https” right at the top and the words “Secure Checkout” clearly written. And, if you don’t share their information with third parties, tell them that as well.
Conversion Killer #3: Not telling shoppers that shipping is free. If you offer free shipping or free shipping with a minimum purchase, that prompts shoppers tentative to overspend on shipping items that they’ll save by shopping with you (versus visiting a brick and mortar store).
Conversion Killer #4: Not confirming that shipping is free. If there’s nothing more true in this world, it’s that very little that portends to be free is free. So, if your shipping actually IS free, make sure you point out at the beginning of (and throughout) the checkout process that the shopper’s order qualifies for free shipping.
Conversion Killer #5: Not showing great reviews on the product page. If you offer customers the opportunity to review merchandise, you’d better display those reviews front and center throughout the shopping process. Otherwise, something looks fishy.
Conversion Killer #6: Ignoring the abandoned cart. 75% of shoppers who add something to their shopping cart leave before completing a purchase. Pop-up window reminders are innovative marketing tools that give you a second chance to close the deal. And, if the shopper is a repeat one and is signed in to an account when they abandon their cart, you can send an email reminder – perhaps with a compelling discount to close the deal. But use this judiciously. Smart shoppers will know to abandon their carts to get a discount over time.
Conversion Killer #7: Making it hard to search your site. Maybe one item drew a shopper in but then they realized they’d prefer to purchase something else. Make it easy to jump around and search for specific merchandise and you’ll see your conversion rates jump too.
Bottom line, turning tentative prospects into customers really boils down to telling them and showing them what they want to know every step of the way. Make your site user-friendly and put key information front-and-center (even repeating it to really drive those salient points home) and you’ll see less abandoned carts, a closing gap between visits and conversions – and, best of all, increasing revenues.