Most websites don’t have a traffic problem.
They have a conversion problem.

If your site can’t convert, it doesn’t matter how effective your marketing is — you’ll spend more to get results than you need to.

Recently, we worked with an e-commerce client that wanted more sales but wasn’t sure if they should invest in their website or run a digital marketing campaign.

When we looked under the hood, we found a 0.001% conversion rate — meaning they needed 1000 visitors to generate 1 sale. In some industries, that would be fine, but in this case a campaign wasn’t a smart spend. We weren’t ready to invest marketing dollars just yet. We decided it was best to make improvements to their site’s user experience to get conversions to 2%, the standard for their industry.

We looked at something we call the Conversion Trifecta — three powerful levers that make your site work harder to convert visitors to customers:

Put yourself in the mind of the customers — does the site look like it can be trusted, or is it lacking the sensitivities of good design. Small haphazard design choices can have big effects when building credibility. This is where your brand really has to carry the torch, and it needs to be put together. As consumers ourselves, we know we have a finely tuned bullsh*t meter, and one whiff may be the next tally in the abandoned purchase count.

Do we deeply understand our customers needs? Do we truly understand how we’re better at solving their problem than the next guy? We need to show clear signals of why we’re different. These differences don’t need to be dramatic, but they need to to be clear and play up our differences. We can either address this visually or through the messaging. Thoughtful, well-placed additions to the brand identity can help communicate these differences. Or headlines are a great place to frame problems, solutions and value.

If brands don’t have a booming reputation, customers may be coming to the site on high alert. A quick judgement call…stay or go? With credibility and framing in place, we can engage in meaningful conversation BUT we have to sell them on us before we sell them anything.

Going straight for the ask without developing rapport is usually not the right approach. We have to build a story and lead them through the journey that will result in that call booked or a sale made. To get here we have to anticipate questions, and for great flow, in a meaningful order. What would you want to know if you were considering this product or service? What would be the most important thing to know? What would you consider next in your buying journey?

Flow is no longer about where to place the “BUY NOW” button, it’s about every thought and consideration BEFORE clicking that button that matters in the user’s experience. More care, more sales.

Solving conversion issues on a website is simple in practice — it takes thought, care and empathy. Presenting authentically and saying the right things, in the right order, to the right people. This is the bedrock of any well-converting website.

We love talking shop. If you want to look at your website together and walk through a few changes that will boost conversions, book a free consult →

Let’s make your site convert like it should.

— 
Drew Jessup
Head of Growth Strategy @ Sunday Roast