As website operators, our website conversion techniques often focus primarily on the nuts and bolts of web design—should I make the button bigger, does the site function as it should, is the shopping cart intuitive?
We forget that conversions aren’t just actions performed in cyberspace: they’re people.
Every conversion represents a person who made a cognitive decision to accept your proposition because they wanted what you had to offer.
In that sense, conversion happens before your CTA receives the click. It happens in the mind of the consumer when he makes the decision to surrender his money or information.
What does that mean for your website conversion techniques? Well, it means that no matter how you approach the conversion process, your goal is to persuade.
Computers have a tendency to remove the human element from the sales process, making it harder to connect with your customers.
But by implementing some targeted techniques, you can restore the emotional connection and convince your visitors to click.
- Promote Interaction—Help the user become a participant rather than just an observer by encouraging him to “play” on your site. Product surveys, build-your-own tools for customization, chat functions, and forums all promote emotional investment in your product or website.
- Encourage Group Think—Most people rely at least partially on the opinions of others when it comes to decision-making. Provide customer reviews, testimonials, and product ratings to showcase how other people view your product or service, and encourage current customers to contribute their two cents.
- Build Trust—Make it easy for customers to trust you with their information. Showcase security reassurances and highlight low-risk policies such as a money-back guarantee or free shipping for returns.
- Be Responsive—When customers contact you, whether by email, phone, or web comment, make sure you respond in a timely fashion. Don’t make them wait a week to hear from you. By that time, they’ll have already made the purchase somewhere else.
- Be Likeable—People tend to buy from companies they like. Showcase ways you give back to the community, causes you support, and likeable policies such as efforts to go green. In addition, be up-front and honest about sales tactics. Never “trick” a customer into doing something he didn’t intend to do.
As you hone your website conversion techniques, never forget that you’re communicating with real people who have real needs. Connect with them on an emotional level with the goal of persuading and you’ll see greater results in terms of both conversion rates and customer loyalty.
Which trust symbols do you think are the most effective at persuading your customers?
