If your company Web site isn't converting at least 10% of its visitors, you need to read this now.
By most standards, a 10% online lead-conversion rate is nothing to sneeze at. Many companies thrive on much less. But Ajay Goel figured his business, JangoMail, an e-mail marketing platform, could do better. And to figure out how, Goel listened to the critics.
"Our whole business depends on us successfully converting online leads," he says, "and we got accused all the time of having an old-school, '90s-looking Web site that was not very visually appealing. I definitely think that affected us."
So Goel decided to start fresh. The JangoMail site was redesigned with pale lavender graphics, an interactive "Ask Us" feature and plenty of scannable icons. It is now "very Web 2.0-ish," Goel says.
And it made an almost immediate difference: Within a month of the relaunch, JangoMail's online lead conversion rate tripled to 30%!
Site aesthetics -- the overall sensory appeal of a company's online home -- is just one factor that reliably determines how successful an e-business is at turning visitors into customers. That reliability is hard to come by: E-commerce is still in its infancy, and filled with trial-and-error experiments. Think of the Internet as a field laboratory, in a constant state of flux and full of educated guesswork.
All the more important to know the tactics, tools and features that have consistently worked for entrepreneurs:
The Initial Hook
"Everybody loves a deal," says Adam Glickman, founder of condomania.com, a safe-sex e-tailer. He and other entrepreneurs who make a living on the Web agree that offering visitors purchase incentives on the home page -- such as first-time-buyer discounts or free shipping -- is the best way to get quick conversions.
"We do everything we can to get them to buy then and there," says David Gass, founder of Business Credit Services, a Las Vegas firm that helps fledgling companies access financing. What's more, visitors usually are willing to provide valuable bits of basic info for your database to get an incentive.
Site Functionality
Businesses that greet online visitors with a cumbersome and counterintuitive Web site are spinning their wheels. On the other hand, sites that move visitors along at the their own pace, with the ability to deliver customized landing pages and content, and to answer questions promptly, tend to do best with conversions.
"It's about offering lots of channels for follow-up through web pages and e-mail," says Jay Bower, president of the Crossbow Group, a digital marketing services firm in Westport, Conn. User interfaces and dynamic content pegged to specific customer personas is a powerful lead-conversion tool, he adds.
Be sure to post toll-free phone numbers and e-mail addresses on every page, as well as fields for visitors to submit questions, says David Lively, whose Ohio consulting firm, The Lively Merchant, specializes in retail sales. Glickman says retail sites should also allow visitors to calculate shipping costs early in the purchase process so that they aren't ambushed at the conclusion of the transaction.
The ability to send automated responses to visitors who have reached the shopping cart is also critical, Lively says. "You want to be able to send auto responses that correspond to the exact point where a customer exits the shopping cart before purchasing, a communication that says, 'We saw you were considering purchasing so-and-so product. If there are any questions we can answer about that product'"
Site Aesthetics
All that functionality amounts to little unless it comes in a visually appealing package. These days it's tough to get by with a wallflower of a Web site. Consider investing a little extra for a unique, appealing and clean site that fits your company and brand identity.
Aesthetics also weigh heavily on the content side. While it's worthwhile to include detailed, text-heavy content deeper in a site's architecture, cater to short attention spans by taking a less-is-more approach on the home page, initial splash pages, and with product and service descriptions, Bower says. But be sure to provide visitors a chance to drill down for more details, particularly if there's complexity to what you're selling, says Dave Nevogt, owner of e-tailer PurePointGolf.com.
Tech Tools
Technology -- including tools online visitors can use and others an e-business deploys behind-the-scenes -- can dramatically affect lead-conversion, Bower says. He recommends versatile CRM systems that can segment visitors, manage prospect and customer data, score leads, and serve up content to visitors based on their profiles. "These [systems] can have a direct and immediate impact on ROI in almost every case, and you can purchase them for not a lot of money."
Choose your tech features wisely. Goel relies on one that provides his salespeople with alerts for each action a prospect takes during a site visit. That lets them communicate directly with prospects in real time, if necessary. Glickman recommends a shopping feature that tells visitors exactly how much more they must spend to reach the next volume discount threshold.
And in the heyday of YouTube, don't overlook the power of video, Gass says. "It's where the Internet is heading: well-done video that not only can save someone a lot of reading but that also standardizes your sales pitch, so the message you're conveying is consistent and exactly how you want it."
Next Page: Capturing Customer Information
