What do prospects want?

Nowadays, qualified prospects are those who come to you because they have a genuine interest in your offerings. This means they are willing to exchange their email address for offers that help them solve a problem.

 These leads typically have a budget suitable for their ambitions and understand the importance of your goods in achieving their goals. You must guide them in their decision-making process to become their top choice and convert them into customers. How? That's what we'll explore in this article...

Why does your store have a low conversion rate?

Your store is a wonderful way to communicate with your customers. Its purpose is to engage them and help solve a pain point. When perfectly constructed, it becomes a true conversion machine. If you feel that your conversion rate is not at its maximum, there's a little issue somewhere! Let's focus on the 6 main reasons preventing your visitors from converting. If your conversion rate is lower than expected, look into these reasons to improve your store.

Your store doesn't inspire trust

• To inspire trust, your store must be modern, user-friendly, and include legal notices and terms of sale (for e-commerce). But that's not all; various elements influence trust:

• The presence of an "About Us" page
• High-quality images and text
• Clear, prominently displayed contact information
• Regularly updated blog with useful content
• Active presence on social media
• Customer reviews or testimonials on product pages

Your content is of low quality

• If your store isn't converting, it might be because users can't find the information they're looking for. Ask yourself: What are your customers looking for when they turn to you? Use the answers to create content that addresses your prospects' needs. Be helpful above all.

Your offers and value proposition aren't clear

• Be clear about your offers and the benefits they bring. Precisely mention why your services suit your visitors. What do they do for them? What results can they achieve by choosing you? Visitors must be convinced that you can precisely meet their expectations.

You offer nothing qualitative in exchange for prospect data

• You ask prospects to join your contact list, but what do you offer them in return? Internet users rarely give their contact details spontaneously. They need to be convinced of what they'll get in return. Take the time to prepare premium content, such as a whitepaper, training video, or methodology that addresses your market's needs. Offer it as a free download, with persuasive text encouraging prospects to leave their details.

Your forms are too long or complex

• No one wants to complicate things, especially on the web (think about your mobile visitors!). To convert the maximum number of prospects, your forms should be simple and short. Keep only the necessary fields for segmenting your prospects. In addition to name, email, and perhaps one or two additional pieces of information (age, job title, company size, location), don't ask for more!

You have 0 calls to action on the store

• 0 calls to action? In this case, your store doesn't convert because there's no message encouraging conversion. Clearly state what you expect from prospects: downloading a whitepaper, scheduling an appointment, requesting a quote, signing up for a trial period, etc. Place visible prompts in strategic locations on your website. The more visitors are encouraged to take action, the higher your conversion rate will be.

Shorten the conversion tunnel

• The more effort your website visitor has to put in, the less likely they are to convert. Instead of forcing them to fill out a form, simply collect their email address to start. From there, you can obtain more information through email campaigns. Similarly, instead of asking the user to create an account on an e-commerce site, allow guest checkout. Finally, facilitate form filling by offering third-party signup services like Google or Facebook. This way, the visitor can quickly log in with existing credentials.

Apply Hick's Law

• What is Hick's Law? It's a theory that the time it takes for a user to make a decision is directly related to the choices they have. In other words, increasing the number of choices increases decision time, which is bad for your conversion rate. Limit the possible options in your offerings. Clean up the design, as well as boxes and links in the navigation bar. If the user has to go through too many elements, they might leave the store. Regarding calls to action, stick to placing only one per page. Why? To focus each content around a single goal.

Optimize error pages to favour conversion

• Even if you do everything possible to prevent your store pages from going offline, it can still happen. However, you can turn your site's unavailability into a positive experience. How? By presenting a creative error page. Instead of a typical error message, innovate with a funny illustration containing humorous text. Then add an equally engaging call to action to redirect the visitor on the right path. You can also offer a search bar so they can immediately find what they're looking for.

Conduct A/B tests based on visitor type

• Each visitor behaves differently. For example, organic visitors spend more time on the website, view more pages, and generally have a lower bounce rate than visitors from paid campaigns. These behavioural differences likely extend to other aspects of the website. Test different forms, landing pages, headlines, or calls to action based on visitor origin. This way, you can improve the return on investment for your SEO and marketing campaigns.

Add a call to action to all your blog articles

• Every blog post you write should focus on your prospects, their problems, and the burning questions you can answer. Therefore, each article is linked to one of your solutions. Make this connection explicit! At the end of the text, invite readers to learn more about the discussed topic by directing them to downloadable content, a webinar, etc. If you address a topic in a general manner, encourage users to sign up for your newsletter to stay updated on your news.

Provide a preview from the CTA

• Optimizing calls to action is the most basic but crucial thing to do to increase the conversion rate. Using active language, instead of a generic and passive term, can significantly improve clicks. For example, replace:

• "Read more" with "See product details"
• "Find a store" with "Where to buy?"
• "Product categories" with "Discover other products"

By giving your users a glimpse of what to expect when they click, they will be more inclined to interact with your call to action.

Ask for Modest Commitments:

• According to Google, most users fear commitment. They may be interested in your product without being ready to make a decision. Even when using active language, you can minimize the commitment required. For example, replace "Buy Now" with "Talk to an Advisor" or "Request a Free Consultation." This reassures the customer that the next step, before a decision, will be a conversation and not a transaction.

Optimize Highly Convertible Pages:

• Identify the pages that attract the most visitors and where they spend the most time before converting. Discovering high-performing content provides an opportunity to increase the conversion rate. On these pages, place links to conversion content (product sheets, landing pages, whitepapers), calls-to-action, or forms. These are also perfect places to implement a live chat or encourage scheduling appointments.

Insert Pop-ups Responsibly:

• Internet users dislike pop-ups that disrupt their browsing experience, especially on mobile devices. However, pop-ups are an excellent way to acquire leads. Insert them in a respectful and responsive manner to generate additional sales. Prioritize exit-intent pop-ups, those that appear when users are about to leave a website. They do not disrupt the user experience and engage them one last time. Through this window, encourage them to subscribe to your newsletter or download a whitepaper.

Activate a Chatbot:

• When a visitor is interested in a product or service, they seek answers to be fully convinced. While a FAQ page is useful, it may not be sufficient. This page lacks interactivity and can easily lead leads to boredom. Always remember that these leads are in a hurry; they want immediate answers. Chatbots can be playful companions to address user queries, provide contact information, guide prospects to the most suitable product, or offer additional information. Additionally, chatbots rely on artificial intelligence, becoming more sophisticated over time as they process information. Use them to gather insights from users, optimize your content strategy, and create a better conversion funnel.

Check Your Mobile Layout:

• Ensure that your website has a responsive design, especially for mobile devices. Google favours sites with a mobile version in search results. Also, consider that over half of global internet traffic occurs on smartphones. To capture prospects from the start of the conversion funnel and guide them toward a purchase, it's crucial to have a functional mobile site. If not already done, consider seeking the assistance of a developer.

Place Your CTA Strategically:

• Your Call-to-Action (CTA) button should have a prominent place on the page, stand out, and attract the visitor's attention. Clearly communicate what will happen when the visitor clicks the button and outline the benefits of this action. While the text doesn't necessarily have to be on the button itself, it should be nearby. Take a look at the CTA used by Spotify as an example. The advantage is clear: "music for everyone" and "all the music you'll ever need." When the visitor clicks the button, they will "play songs instantly," and the "Free" button allows the consumer to have a free trial.

Use the Right Colors:

• MRI studies have shown that different parts of our brain are stimulated by colors, and these colors have specific and different effects on men and women. For example, women prefer green, blue, purple, and pink, while men prefer blue, green, and black. Each color also represents certain actions. While using colors may not guarantee a purchase, consider using colours for your buttons that resonate with your target audience.

Appeal to Visitor Emotions:

• This is where traditional sales psychology comes into play. Address the pain points, create a sense of belonging, make emotional appeals, and instil a sense of urgency. Your buttons and the surrounding text should convey messages like "Only 18 hours left to enjoy this special price," "Limited stock," "Join thousands of other buyers," or "Get your free trial today."

Polish Your CTA:

• The design of your call-to-action buttons is crucial. 

• Use buttons with rounded corners rather than square ones, as rounded corners direct our eyes and attention inward, while square corners lead outward.
• Visitors attach more importance to large buttons, so if you have a significant CTA button, make it large.
• Insert your "benefit" on the button and place it in the centre of your page and over your content.
• Use a simple call-to-action verb to encourage clicks.
• Personalize the text of your button to stand out.

Conclusion:

With all the efforts made to attract visitors to your store, it is essential to improve navigation to promote conversions. Incorporate these 15 techniques to better convert your visitors starting today! Experiment with A/B testing tools to identify the factors that most influence your conversion rate. Also, don't forget to consider SEO (do your pages appear for targeted keywords?) and ergonomics (page loading times, overly detailed menus). If you seek a professional tool that does all this, visit Xpage.com to achieve your needs!

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