A lot of business owners constantly look for new ways to convert more leads and sales from their websites. A lot of the time business owners try a lot of different tips and tricks, but are missing the big picture on why the customers are not actually converting. The fundamental reason behind suboptimal conversion rates is not grasped.
The 3 fundamental problems with website conversion rates
Unclear communication
This is probably the most common problem but also the one that is in a way easiest to fix from the fundamentals. The problem comes down to the fact that person writing the texts for the website has not really internalized who is the service for and what are its core benefits.
Classic everything for everybody problem, that often has it’s roots a lot deeper than the actual marketing texts. Usually the problem comes down to not clear enough vision.
The trouble for customer in these cases usually is that the customer just does not know if the product or service fits him and what value it provides. To really tackle this there is a lot of different formulas out there, one I can recommend is from Steve Larsen: Creating an irresistible offer that no one can refuse.
Not knowing what to do next
The second fundamental problem is really about decision making and often referred to as a paradox of choice. To simplify if you don’t clearly direct customer to some direction and give him multiple options he will probably not take any of the options.
So if you have argued the value proposition of your product or service well and customer understands that it is a good fit for him, you still need to give him clear directions on how he can get the value promised.
This usually comes down to Call to actions and their structure on your page. Give your customer very clear directions to get your product and help him get the value out of it.
Trust
The third and maybe the most fundamental problem is trust. If your communication is clear and you give clear directions, it does not help at all, if the customer does not trust your communication and directions. There is a lot of things that affect the Trust, but there are few most important ones.
Most important factor is your brand. For a small business this often comes down your website and how professional it looks. For bigger businesses this topic has more depth as brand advertising can really help you with building trust, but probably not in a way you would have thought.
The actual message of the ads is not as important as the medium and what it signals when building trust. Costly advertising and marketing campaigns signal that you trust your product so much that you can actually advertise in expensive channels. To be honest the important thing is not the cost, but the perception of cost… And yes, I am saying that your TV ads might improve your conversion rates.
The second most important factor for trust in your website is social proof. Proof of the fact that you have similar customers that have been happy with the service and that you have real customers in general.
Reviews, testimonials, notifications of other people purchasing… If the customers don’t trust you, you can build trust by letting other customers speak for you.
To conclude
For every conversion rate hack there is also a fundamental behind it. Don’t just focus on the tactics but also remember to zoom out to the fundamentals, that really make the difference in the big picture. It might open your eyes to a world that you did not see before.
