5 Ways to Turn Browsers into Buyers
Increase your conversions overnight with these five top tips…
What is it that drives your customers, as they navigate your site, to make or abandon a purchase? Vaulting the final hurdle and guiding them through checkout can be a tricky maneuver, as every online business owner will know very well. With most websites experiencing a 68 percent checkout abandonment rate, what is it that reels people in to – or sends them reeling from – your site? Here are five tips for turning your browsers into buyers…
1. Include product images
If you sell a product, your customers want to know what it looks like from all angles and dimensions. Offering more than one product image will increase your chance of a sale by 58 percent. In the long term, product imagery can increase your customer loyalty, too. As many as 25 percent of reasons for return come down to the fact that customers get a product that looks different to what they were expecting. Additional images can reduce the uncertainty.
2. Improve your front of house
A huge 93 percent of people say the visual appearance of a site is the most influential factor in their decision to make a purchase. Most browsers will make a gut decision on whether they like your site or not and they’ll cats their verdict within 90 seconds.
Crowding doesn’t go down well with browsers, so make sure your website features plenty of white space. Plus, make sure call to action buttons, such as sign ups and buy nows stand out clearly on the page. A good tip is to place them in coloured boxes, so they’re framed and stand out.
2. Speed up your site
Slow and steady certainly does not win the race when it comes to online sales. If your page takes more than three seconds to load, 57 percent of your online customers will abandon it, and 80 percent of these people will never return.
Stay up-to-speed by decluttering – have a website clearout! Large high-res image files can slow your speed. Find the right balance; good visual content which won’t hinder the customer journey to the checkout.
3. Make room for reviews
Never underestimate the power of communication! With the rise of social media in the digital powerslide, the opinion of the public has never been more accessible and relevant to your sales. 85 percent of consumers read online reviews for local businesses prior to purchase – 67 percent read as many as six reviews before they are ready to buy – so make it easy for your customers to read their review quota by providing links to them on your website.
4. Utilise videos
Product videos have been found to benefit online businesses in a rainbow of ways. 57 percent of consumers say they have more confidence in a product after watching a demo and 52 percent are willing to stay on a website longer because a video is supplied.
One thing to bear in mind, though, is that customers get irritated if your video plays automatically. Give them the opportunity to press play.
5. Don’t delay at check-out
One of the biggest reasons customers run for the hills at the check-out stage is because extra charges are suddenly added. Other customers abandon their purchase because they’re asked to fill out a complicated registration process. If your customer is ready to hand over the money – don’t put anything in their way. You can always suggest additional products that they might also like or encourage them to register with you, after you’ve sealed your deal. One way to keep your customer behind their virtual shopping trolley is to include a progress bar at the checkout stage to show your customer how close they are to completing their order.
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