Conversion is all the hype lately. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is looking at ways to turn traffic into paying clients. I’m sure you’ve come across posts that promise to increase your conversion rates in the shortest of time spans – one month, one week, or event overnight. As the saying goes – desperate times call for desperate measures.
But let’s be honest – there isn’t a magical solution that can convert your audience overnight. Well, the numbers you’re hoping for, at least. So don’t believe everything you read. Just because it’s online, doesn’t mean it’s true. There are, however, various simple online strategies that you can try out that will actually increase your conversion rates. Maybe not overnight, but hey, the turtle beat the rabbit in the race, and so can you.
Devise a Realistic Sales Funnel
The biggest mistakes businesses make is diving into the deep end of sales too quickly. No one likes to be attacked with sales pitches. Think of it like going to your local department store and getting stalked by the sales assistant. I’m sure you feel awkward giving the – I’m just browsing – excuse. However, if you find something you like you probably go looking for that very same sales person on your own initiative.
The same goes for online sales. You don’t just go stalking your visitors with annoying pop-ups or sign-up options. This will just send them running the opposite direction. But we’ll get back to pop-ups and sign-up forms later on.
Nevertheless, you first need to throw the bait and then reel in the catch. People need to feel in control of the situation. As long as they discover a need for your products by themselves, they will be more inclined to turn into clients – on their own accord.
Create a Valuable and Informative Newsletter
When people see subject line “newsletter” in their inbox, many actually see the word “spam” screaming at them. Why? Well, once again people are inclined to see email newsletters as a desperate sales pitch. However, you shouldn’t give up on sending out newsletters just yet.
Actually, creating a tailored business newsletter can do a lot to turn visitors into customers. As long as you have the right approach, that is. The first thing you want to do is lose the sales hype and make sure your newsletter is informative and adds real value to the recipient.
Some great content for newsletters are:
- Blog posts
- Interesting facts
- Company news
- Infographics
- Testimonials
- Photos
Conduct A/B Testing
Doing some market research is always a good idea. That’s why a lot of businesses conduct A/B testing – continuously. In case you’re not familiar with A/B testing, I’ll give you a quick debrief. A/B testing is a technique where two versions of a page are compared to see which version performs better. The reason this conversion strategy is so popular is the fact that you can test any variables on your page that affect visitor behavior, including:
- Headlines
- Sub headlines
- CTAs
- CTA buttons
- Links
- Images
- Text
- Voice
On that note, it’s no surprise that A/B testing is one of the favorite methods marketers use to optimize their conversion rates. As statistics reveal, illustrated in the graph below, 61% of marketers are already using this type of testing, while 31% are planning to use it.
[clickToTweet tweet=”61% of marketers are already using A/B split testing, while 31% are planning to use it.” quote=”61% of marketers are already using A/B split testing, while 31% are planning to use it.” theme=”style2″]
You can find out more about A/B testing in this complete guide.
Some methods used by marketers to optimize conversion rates.
(Source: MarketingCharts)
Simplify Your Overall Sign-Up Process with Tailored Pop-Ups
The thing with conversion is you want to make it as easy as possible for your visitors. You don’t want to make things overly complicated by asking for too much information. Keep it simple. Even asking for just an email will get the conversion process going.
Valoso Hub has a great example of keeping things short with their tailored pop-ups:
The great thing about using pop-ups to convert viewers is that you can customize them to fit your audience’s interests. For instance, you can make a pop-up appear after a minute or two a user has been on your page. These visitors already have one foot in the pool. They’re ready to be converted.
Did you know that 96% of visitors that land on your page are not ready to buy? Therefore, you don’t want pop-ups appearing the very moment someone opens your page. In all likeliness they will close it. And why shouldn’t they. It’s not like you’ve given them something to chew on. There are some great sign up form examples out there. Check them out and redesign yours.
Create Your Own Business App
Having your own business app says a lot about you – you’re serious about your business and you’re here to stay. Plus there are a lot of benefits of business apps. Did you know that users spend 90% of their time on apps compared to their mobile web browser? If this isn’t a clear sign that apps are the best way to maintain interest from mobile users, then I don’t know what is. Ensure you’re visible in the mobile world.
Actually, having your own business app helps nurture your relationship with clients. Apps are a great way to share news, updates, special offers and exclusive information concerning your brand. Once a user downloads your app, your conversion rates are sure to hit the roof.
Collect Feedback and Use Data to Improve
If you want to last long in the world of business, it’s essential to listen to the needs and problems encountered by your users. An efficient way to do this is conduct a simple survey. Keep it short and concise – nothing too fancy. A multiple choice is always the right choice since it’s quick and easy to complete.
For instance, if you’re selling goods through your website, a visitor may have trouble finding the price or the shipping cost may be too expensive. This problem needs to be addressed. So what do you do? Why, you find a solution, of course.
If we’re to follow the example above, the solution would be to clearly show prices and offer some sort of incentives to make a purchase. One way is to offer free shipping – either on first purchases or on orders that exceed a certain amount. This will definitely encourage users to make the plunge.
What’s the Next Step?
There’s only one way to go really – towards success. Follow some of these online strategies and increase your conversion rates in no time. There’s nothing for you to lose, really. You can only gain so try employing some of these strategies today. You’ll be glad you did.
Do you know of any other strategies that can help increase conversion rates? We’d love to hear them. Just give a shout in the comment section below and remember – sharing is caring.
About the Author: Martina Markovska is a writer who writes for Valoso Hub. A writer by day, a reader by night, she specializes in digital marketing and information technology content. You can find her online, passionately sharing her views, or offline curled up on her favorite armchair with a good book. Her inspiration: knowledge is power.