POINTS TO INCREASE CUSTOMER CONVERSION RATES

While marketing approaches have begun shifting to customer acquisition as the top marketing goal in 2009 in response to the direst of economic times, online marketers must never forget the significance of customer conversion. You may have enough traffic flowing through your site every day but if your visitor profile is not exactly the type you need, then most likely you’re not getting any sales either. You might as well work on increasing your customer conversion ratios.

The Customer Conversion Ratio is the direct proportion between the number of total web visitors and the number of visitors that actually did something productive on your site (i.e. buy, register, download, or subscribe, etc.) The industry standard for e-commerce is about 1% to 2% - and falling below these standards tremendously calls for intensified conversion initiatives.

How to do it? Easy - the faultless way to make your web conversion rate soar is to align your web sales structure with the behavioral buying process of your potential customers.

Link Needs to Searches

The survey published by Marketing Sherpa and Enquiro indicates that 93.4% of respondents would use the Internet as a tool to arrive at a major business decision. This shows that potential customers start identifying their needs via the Internet, using generic search terms and eventually refines them towards narrower searches. Such process underscores the importance of your search engine strategy and keyword selection – making certain your potential customers find you on the first generic search term before they land into other keywords that lead their search away from you.

Your website should also have friendly navigation tools that lead your visitors to the target pages for conversion. It should take less than three clicks for your visitors to arrive at the page you want them to be in otherwise they’d exit your site and move on to the next search result. You wouldn’t want them to get lost within the complex structure of your website either.

Build Trust with Web Presentation

Being among the top results in search engines may direct more traffic to your site but design and brand identity will be the key players in turning them into buyers.

Questus.com co-founder and research and strategy director Jeff Rosenblum in the January 2006 ClickZ release says, “We find that Web sites have three seconds to make an impression. The actual usability is more important than aesthetics, but at the same time aesthetics are critical.” Supported by the studies in Carleton University’s Human-Oriented Technology Lab in Ottawa, Canada, web aesthetics plays a critical role in catching possible conversion down the web.

Part of your site web presentation tactics should include download time. Who would want to wait for information on a website when the search engines offer other sources of information within seconds? The contents of your website should be managed in harmony with aesthetics to ensure you’re not compromising download time that should always be, as they say, faster than a speeding bullet.

If you’re fast and your appearance dictates that sense of quality that catches your target customer’s interest – in other words, market directed – in no time will you be able to build trust from your visitors.

Create Customer Confidence through Content

After design accomplishes the task of persuading a viewer, it is your content’s role to guide him through the evaluation process of the buying decision. Writing up content is not just about addressing a viewer’s needs but also about addressing the Web’s. Based on a study conducted by John Morkes and Jakob Nielson, re-writing Web content so it was more succinct, scalable, and impartial (as opposed to sales-oriented) resulted to a 159% increase in measured usability. It is then important to know that every other website your prospect has gotten involved with is your competitor which makes it more important to be certain that your website design and content are topnotch to make a powerful impression.

One way to enrich content especially for product merchandising websites is to provide product reviews. Reviews create customer confidence not only in the products or services you provide online – it also adds up to your credibility or expertise in the industry. You can have your top clients write about you or have client logos displayed on your homepage.

Lead Everything to a Purchase

Consumer-oriented sites similar to those included in the Nielsen Norman Group’s list of stickiest online brands are those that tactically make recommendations, create buyer profiles, track site traffic, and provide actually negotiation capabilities. Nielsen Group co-founder, Jakob Nielson says, “There is a difference between the look and feel of a website. Feel is what happens while you’re using a site, and it is important to adapt the site’s task flow to the individual user’s problems.” Hence, for your online customer to commit a purchase, they should be able to feel that they have ownership and control of the buying process online.

You get discovered with the aid of search engines. You attract prospects through stylish design and convince them with carefully considered content. It is the responsibility of your website’s ‘business end’ to set up interactivity that converts visitors into customers. Your Web applications, from request forms to shopping carts, drive viewers to “get something done.” They transform your superior position in search engines into tangible accomplishment in the form of a new customer.

Somni Creative, Inc., rich media marketing professionals from Los Angeles, California, specialize in providing online customer conversion services. We value our customers, both old and new. We welcome the challenge of getting you ahead in the corporate race. Call us at (310) 6973199 or visit www.somnicreative.com.

Online Customer Retention in a Recession

Why is it important to maintain current customers when you can just brainstorm about marketing strategies focused on obtaining new customers? Based on marketing trends, customers who have sought after your services in the past are more likely to ask for your assistance in the near future. In the words of Jim Rohn, a popular American business coach who has been giving seminars to large companies and individuals for more than 40 years, “one customer, well taken care of, could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising.”

In the midst of an economic crisis, it is more important than ever for corporations to face this challenge head on and make the most out of it. Doing so, they will not only succeed in keeping regular clients, they will also sail ahead in the corporate race by acquiring new clients in the process.

Even without considering the economy’s continuous decline, studies have already proven the significance of being consistent in satisfying your recurring clientele. Once the present state of the economy is considered, it becomes even more crucial to set your mind on the potential gains over the negative outlook other corporations might take on. Consider it the lull before the storm. Do not wait for the storm to pass before you make your move because chances are, your competitors are already doing exactly that. Also, you won’t be certain how long it will take before the economy recovers so it won’t be practical to just sit down and wait it out unless you want to risk being in an endless slump. Time is in your hands along with various resources - use them. Establish a more stable relationship with your customers. Use your innovativeness as weapon and hone your edge while other companies soothe their ruffled feathers.

The unique advantage of web marketing has benefited companies worldwide. These include: 1.) an alternative and efficient way of storing data, 2.) lower budget for the distribution of information, 3.) more global audience and therefore more interactivity, 4.) faster and more effective communication with the help of e-mail, and 5.) direct feedback in the form of customer service forms on current and future services.

Web marketing therefore, is a powerful method to customer retention. Our simple formula simply requires you to ACT – Attract, Connect, and Touch Base.

ATTRACT - The first step will always involve getting customers to notice you. Design an attractive and user-friendly website. When people explore the web, they are more drawn to pages that are pleasing to the eyes and easy to navigate. Make sure your website design reflects your company imagery and suits your target crowd. It would also be wise to consider that not everyone subscribes to high-speed internet service. Make sure all the relevant information and images load in a reasonable amount of time. In providing content, use client-focused languages. A vital element in holding a potential customer’s interest – you should avoid the excessive use of technical terms. Your goal should be to enlighten them – not to intimidate them.

CONNECT – Establish your links to the customers. Extend your network and advertise. One of the best things about the internet is that there are so many sites to promote your company and meet new and different kinds of contacts. Sign up to social networking sites and experiment with the wonders of blog marketing. You could also establish affiliate programs with other related web pages and promote each other. Keep track of your website traffic. Identify and improve which areas of your website are more frequented by your customers – and work on those that need improvement. Traffic data analysis is an effective way to determine the rate your website fulfills its marketing role. Regularly update your web content. New content keeps clients coming back. Consider entering a shop with the same merchandise for over a year – what good does is bring you? Through an effective content management system in your website, you will be able to add, delete, and edit information in your website as frequently as you want.

TOUCH BASE – The most important step is to keep your clients up to date. Keep your customers updated about your latest services and activities. Plug in an RSS Feed System in your website where they can sign up and receive notification for every update you make in your website. Be accessible and maintain communication with your clients. Your website should be able to provide an avenue for customers to clearly and directly communicate with you. Consider an online user account or be pro-active and deliver messages straight to your customer’s email via email marketing campaigns.

We might be living in difficult times but there are still numerous ways to get the upper hand. The web and its many marketing features remains as one of today’s fundamental survival tools to keep hold of your customer base – all you need to do is A-C-T.

Somni Creative, Inc., rich media marketing professionals from Los Angeles, California, specialize in providing online customer retention services. We value our customers, both old and new. We welcome the challenge of taking advantage of the recession and getting you ahead in the corporate race. Call us at (310) 6973199 or visit www.somnicreative.com.

References:

About.com: Marketing - Explore the Value of Customer Retention

Advanced Marketing Consultants - The Value of Customer Retention: A Business without a Customer Retention Plan Will Lose Revenue and Market Share

Jim Rohn Biography

Marketing Profs - Effective Online Marketing in a Recession

E-Coach - Customer Retention

Marketing during a Recession: A Survivor’s Guide for Tough Times

Today’s Marketing - 16 Hot Online Marketing Trends 2009