Sure, you have a website, but wouldn’t you rather own a conversion machine instead?
If you agree that the sounds of virtual cash registers are music to your ears, discover how the best Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) methods can turn any website into a sales superstar.
CRO is not some magic or pseudo-science. It’s the serious business of ensuring that your website’s conversion rate increases, without necessarily requiring an increase in the number of visitors.
In the simplest terms, you get more sales for the same amount of traffic!
The goal is to streamline the website structure so you can encourage rapid brand engagement and more sales.
An optimized website is not one where visitors will meander around aimlessly.
Instead, it’s a highly-tuned digital marketing funnel that moves bodies to the checkout process.
CTAs with Urgency Create Action
Most websites have Call To Action buttons.
However, most do not make a compelling argument about why to click them.
Give people a reason to convert, or they’ll take the easy way out and do nothing. People exit websites when they feel confused or bored. You can’t afford to allow any of them to leave quietly.
CTAs like “Save 20% Now” are still in extensive use, because they are powerful. Customers respond very well to time-limited or supply-constrained offers.
Prospects and customers simply don’t want to miss out. So they’re more likely to click “buy” if they think the special is going away soon.
Failure to add time or supply constraints will likely cause fewer conversions, because they can wait until later to get the same deal. No urgency, less chance of conversion.
Make Contact Information Easily Accessible
Customers with the “quick question” don’t want to search for contact info for long.
Make yours instantly accessible, so they receive satisfaction right away. Leaving people hanging will cause them to go early and buy less.
They may visit a competitor’s page instead, enriching them with what would have been your sale! Always give them a way to reach out.
Then, answer quickly and build rapport to complete the transaction.
If you can convert anyone who was going to leave, you will provide yourself with a significant CRO win.
Small details like accessible contact forms will boost sales at no cost.
With enough practices like this in place, your conversion machine will hum along nicely.
Testimonials Help Build Credibility
Post testimonials of satisfied customers to extend your credibility.
Use high-quality images and specific quotes to help buyers understand your value proposition.
As they start contemplating a purchase, customers want to know that they’re not alone!
They love the fact that others have bought already and found your product to be just what they needed most.
Let the prospects know you can solve their problems equally efficiently, and they’ll purchase more often.
Testimonials are best when they’re specific. If customers praise exact attributes of your offer, it has an emotional impact on those who read it later.
When they explain clearly how your service solved their problem, it’s a compelling appeal that helps boost CRO.
Don’t Forget the Trust Badges
Trust badges are crucial to building credibility. People are more comfortable buying online than ever before.
However, they still need assurance that they’re dealing with a legitimate company. Third party services can help confer trust with their badge programs.
That includes badges from SSL and payment providers, as well as participating in any review programs.
Any factor that makes a customer more likely to checkout successfully is a CRO win. Tweak your page until it is “just right,” and the sales will rise substantially.
Show Your Human Side
Sure, people are buying from a website – but they are really purchasing from a company full of people. Let them know who they’re dealing with by showing your human side clearly.
Have images and bios of key team members. Personalize all interactions with customers and prospects.
Having a warm public image makes people bond emotionally with your brand. When they’re warmed up sufficiently, they are much more likely to buy, and faster.
Good CRO is all about taking every opportunity to improve your website until the sales rise.
Personalization during every phase of the pre-sales and sales cycle leads to greater trust.
Let people know you care about them and are trying to help them, and you will effectively tear down their walls of mistrust.
Take Advantage of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Chatbots, powered by AI, will continue to grow in use heading into 2020.
These bots have a lot of CRO potential, because they can help customers interactively consume pre-sales content. With a well-programmed chatbot in use, any company can increase sales.
One thing that stands out about Chatbots is how quickly they can respond to questions on busy websites.
They can handle many issues simultaneously and still answer instantly. For visitors who have a quick question, they can get their responses quickly.
People are always looking for the shortest path to learning about a product. Chatbots are a way to streamline on-site communications.
Never Be Afraid to Experiment
You have many options to create ideal CRO for your website. The best principle is to phase in improvements, test them extensively, and keep the ones that work.
Testing can become expensive, but there’s no other way to find out if your ideas work in the real world.
When they do, it will grant you a significant return that will easily cover the investment on these tests.
CRO is one of the most rewarding things you can do for a website, because it can have a massive impact on revenues.
CRO takes a bit of learning, but with the proper mindset in place, it becomes second nature. If you’re building a new page, then you can put all the fundamental pieces into place from the beginning.
That way, you’ll make small alterations when necessary to try and tweak your conversion rate. Only you can decide when you’ve hit the optimal level.
Summary
You may never get a 100% conversion rate, but it’s worth trying to get closer! Every dollar you spend on advertising gets an immediate higher return with CRO.
With that incentive in mind, optimizing your funnels becomes a matter of pure joy instead of a hassle. Don’t let 2019 slip away without implementing these reliable CRO methods.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions stated in this post are that of the author, and Return On Now may or may not agree with any or all of the commentary.
Rodney Warner
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- 7 CRO Methods: Turn Your Website into a Conversion Machine - September 10, 2019
