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Turning visitors into customers

by | Aug 17, 2022 | ecommerce, Newsletter, newsletters

You are now showing up in the search results.

You are driving traffic yourself through social media posts, influencer links, and even paid ads.

And you are getting clicked on. People are coming to your site.

So, what is going to make someone buy from you now that they are at your online store?

Here’s the thing: people are not always looking for the best price. They want the best VALUE. And value is defined differently by different people.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “a fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged.” In order for a potential customer to determine if they are going to get a fair return for their money, they are going to look at the photos and videos you provide of the product, the description and specifications, the warranty, extra bonuses, shipping costs, the price versus the quality, and perhaps most significantly, the reviews of what others think.

Here are some specific tactics that I have seen work to increase sales once someone lands on your product page.

  • Sell the sizzle, not the steak

    • My colleague Guy Kawasaki wrote a book a number of years back called “Selling the Dream” where he talked about how to evangelize your product like he did with the Apple MacIntosh. The idea was to turn your customers into raving fans who would sell your product for you because they were passionate about what you were doing.
    • Contrary to popular belief; people don’t buy products or services. They don’t buy features and benefits either. Instead, people buy what it will mean when they own a product or service. That is what selling the sizzle rather than the steak is all about.
    • People don’t buy a Tesla because it is a green energy car or because it goes fast (you can’t drive it that fast anyways). They buy it because of how it makes them feel to be part of the elite class. If you want people to buy your products, sell them the outcome.

  • Create a sense of urgency

    • Offer a short term discount or incentive. This might be a bonus if you purchase by a certain date. Communicate scarcity by limiting the number of products available. Amazon does this all the time with “only 5 left in stock – order soon.” People tend to make a purchase decision if they know it will be harder to find it in the future.

  • Reverse the risk

    • Build trust and remove any obstacles that keep them from buying. In other words, you want it to be a “no-brainer” for someone to buy from you because you have taken away all of the uncertainty factors and put the risk on yourself rather than the buyer. This means offering an iron-clad warranty and no questions asked return policy. Perhaps an expensive product can be paid for over time. The customer needs to feel like they have nothing to lose by buying your product.

  • Make it convenient to buy

    • Once again, Amazon shows us how to make it simple to purchase with one-step checkout. Convenience is a large reason people shop online, so the easir you make it, the more likely they are to make a purchase.

  • Provide them with social proof

    • Social proof, in the way of customer reviews, is huge when it comes to building trust and therefore showing value. Inc. Magazine reports that “Research shows that 91 percent of people regularly or occasionally read online reviews, and 84 percent trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. And they make that decision quickly: 68 percent form an opinion after reading between one and six online reviews.” Make sure you are including reviews on your product pages.

  • Offer a coupon for first time buyers

    • Everyone loves a bargain, and a great way to incentivize first time buyers is to give them a deal.

  • Offer a loyalty reward for returning customers

    • Of course, you don’t want to forget your loyal buyers. I personally get miffed when a company provides incentives to first time buyers but ignores the fact that I buy from them frequently. The deal can be different: a coupon for the first time buyer an a gift card for the returning buyer (even if the amount ends up being the same).

  • Use abandoned cart software

    • Finally, don’t let a customer slip away! Stuff happens  – people get a phone call or an interruption without finalizing their orders. Send them a gentle reminder to complete their purchase.

Over the past number of weeks we’ve seen how to generate traffic and get visitors to actually come to your web page.

We’ve discussed keywords, landing pages, video placement, image search, headlines, meta descriptions or summaries and copy writing. All geared at getting people to find your page and click on it. Today we talked about getting your visitors to actually click on the “Add to Cart” button and then checkout.

Now it is up to you to actually convince them to buy. All too often online business owners spend all their time worrying about driving traffic to their website and ignore what it takes to convert those visitors into customers. These are the kinds of things you can expect to learn and implement when you become either an “Accelerator” or “VIP” coaching client. Best of all – the first call is free and there is no obligation. Schedule a time to discuss your business at https://calend.ly/gregjameson. Let us help you start making a difference with your website!

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