If you have a website, answer this question honestly out loud –
“Are your website viewers converting into customers?”
If you are like millions of others then you had to answer “no”. Low conversions are the norm so you are not alone.
Here are some sobering statistics:
- You only have 0-8 seconds to impress a first time visitor, before they turn around and leave
- On average, only 2% of website visitors actually buy at any given visit
- It takes 7 interactions on average to convert a lead into a customer
These numbers might make painful reading. But they also show us how much room there is for conversion optimization…
So what can we learn from them?
KEY INSIGHTS…
First impressions are critical. Your audience takes a huge dive after 8 seconds. So like a Indiana Jones movie, you need a big “all-action” opening scene. Don’t be afraid to call your audience to action immediately (otherwise it might be too late)…
The sales process involves multiple interactions and touchpoints. So it’s better to think of your website as just one piece of a sales funnel, that comprises ads (and retargeting ads), landing pages, blog posts, emails, and social media posts…
And therefore…
Re-marketing is key. If you’re not able to re-connect with your visitors once they leave your website – via both email and re-targeting ads – you’re throwing away 98% of your leads!
So in the next series of blog posts I am going to share several ways you can actively convert every website visitor into a re-marketing lead.
Active vs. Passive Converting
So what is does it mean to “actively convert” your website visitors?
The best way to illustrate this is by comparing online conversions to real-life. Because web-traffic is just people (even though it’s easy to forget this!).
So let’s imagine 2 small “bricks-and-mortar” businesses; a couple of local grocery stores…
These stores look identical to each…stocked with the same products, in exactly the same way. However, your experience of each one is very different.
In the first store, when you walk in…
…no-one looks up; no one smiles, or says “hi”…
No one reacts when you pick up a product…
And when you walk to the door and leave, you’re still ignored...
In contrast, when you enter the second store…
You’re greeted with a smile…
The shopkeeper asks you how they can help…
When you look at at a product, they give you some more information about it; suggest some other products that you might also like…
And when you go to leave, you’re offered a special discount…
Which store are you more likely to buy from? It’s no contest right?
The second store does much better, despite having exactly the same products and layout as the first store…
So why is this?
Well, in the 1st store, it’s as if you’re not there. Your presence does not affect them. They’re completely passive.
In contrast, from the moment you enter the 2nd store, it “comes alive”, and they create a personal, interactive experience for you.
The store re-acts to you, and your individual behavior.
In other words, they attempt to “actively convert” you.
A good salesperson knows that sales is about responding to your prospect. Not just “pitching” at them; but creating an interactive dialogue with them.
In a face-to-face setting, this is mainly about observing body-language, and reacting in the right way (according to one Harvard study, 55% of face-to-face communication is via body-language! It’s our main “clue” to what someone is really thinking)
If your prospect looks disinterested, you try a new angle, or suggest a new product. If they look interested, you push to move the sale forward, etc.
But how do you actively convert people on your website? How can you make the online sales process more like it is face-to-face – when it’s done properly? After all, you can’t observe and respond to your visitors’ body language when they’re on your website, can you?
True, you cannot see their physical body language. But you can respond to their “Digital body language”…
You can respond when a visitor:
…enters your site…
Scrolls through your content
Clicks on, or hovers over, specific items …
Goes to exit your site…
In the next post I will address the first of five ways to engage and convert your website visitors – and I guarantee you that most of you are NOT DOING IT.
You don’t want to miss this next post in the series. Bookmark and come back and learn the first thing to do to engage and convert your website visitors.
