Getting people to visit your business online is a step in the right direction when it comes to digital marketing. Whether you are getting the thumbs up on Facebook or seeing a spike in your business page traffic, garnering attention online can definitely make you feel more confident in your products and services.
How do you turn that attention into revenue though? What is the secret to turning interested prospects into paying customers?
There is no exact science to succeeding in this, of course, but there are some things you can be doing to enhance your chances of moving online interest to a sales commitment. Take a look at a few suggestions:
Make payment easy. The last thing you want is to make the buying process so confusing that your potential customers give up and go elsewhere. Don’t just install a shopping cart or leave it up to your web designer; go through the steps yourself and make sure it is a seamless process. Seventy-eight percent of consumers say they’ve given up on a transaction because of poor service. Show your customers you care by instituting several easy payment options.
Provide a phone number. Most people would rather interact online – but there are some customers who want to speak with an actual person. If you are a sole proprietor, use a service that assigns a generic phone number that will ring to your cell phone. If you have employees, consider business-specific phone lines that are answered. If people do leave a message, respond within a few hours in order to keep their business. Show that you run a customer-first operation by giving instant access to a representative.
Post customer reviews. There are plenty of third-party review sites that will post the good and bad that your customers have to say about you. When it comes to your own website, post just the best testimonials for other customers to see. Ask your best customers to provide you with some glowing words about what your products or services have done for them, and why they keep returning to you for further business. Consumers are much more impressed with what their peers have to say about a small business than what that business says about itself.
Offer discounts. Incentivize social media fans with discounts available through your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Place an “online only” special on your website so people are convinced to take that final step and purchase. Show your future customers that you care by offering deals.
Institute a return policy. If you do not sell physical goods, this can be a “satisfaction guaranteed” promise instead when it comes to your services. Give people that extra push to give it a try, knowing that they can change their mind if needed.
How do you convert your online visitors to buyers?
