Last week we introduced the concept of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and gave a broad-strokes overview of this critical subject. Critical to producing results with online marketing.
Now let’s get down to some brass tacks.
One major issue with geting a good conversion rate is this. A flaw in one stage of the process may not show until the very end. A visitor can go merrily along, nodding their head mentally, right up to the point where they are asked shell out their hard-earned cash or take some other action. That’s when people get skittish. This is why closers are so valuable. Lots of people – and lots of websites can take the prospect part-way there. A salesman who can seal the deal is worth their weight in gold.
With a website it isn’t necessariliy obvious where things are breakingdown.
There are three big factors:
1. TRUST.
2. DESIRE.
3. FRICTION.
I put these in order of importance. No matter what else is being done, right or wrong, if you don’t generate sufficient trust on the part of your prospct, no action will occur. There are two ways to deal with this: a) Increase trust; b) or lessen the need for trust.
You lessen the need for trust by making it a smaller ask, such as by offering things for free or providing convicing assurances.
There is no such simple formula for increasing trust. You have to know your prospective customers well enough to put yourself in their shoes. Then you can see where you are going wrong and what you need to change.
Sufficient trust can overcome almost anything. But increasing desire (demand) helps a lot. This isn’t possible with every product or service offering. Again there is no substitute for knowing the people you are trying to sell to.
Friction may be the least of these but it can still be plenty adequate to deep six the deal. It’s mainly a negative: Eliminate anything that makes it hard for the person to take action. A button in the wrong place can seriously affect results.
CLOSING
I highly recommend looking at a number of successful websites to see what they are doing at the end of the process, You can learn a lot from what others are doing to seal the deal. Even the most successful, most trusted sites, like Amazon, load up their checkout pages with reassurances and appeals. If you make an estimate of how much you think you need to do at this point, then do three times that much, you’ll probably be very glad you did.
People purchase things – and even a free download is a small purchase – because they want to. Only governments and giant corporations can get away with making people do things.
That’s the high art of the closer, to get people to want to buy your product or complete your call to action
If it was easy, we’d all be rich, right? But it can be done, and this is the roadmap for you to do it.