How 7 simple fixes will turn an average website into a sales machine.

Why aren’t you getting customers?

Especially now that more and more companies are fighting for internet space, losing a single customer can be severe.

Of course, not attaining your expected results can be attributed to several factors. This could range from a flawed business model to faulty marketing or to - just that - an ineffective website.

This is one reason, but not always the most significant. What sets this apart from other contributing factors is that it’s often the easiest to fix. This article will guide you through the proper methods to remedy this dilemma. 

A pothole in the road to your destination

It's like driving a car.

A narrow road full of deep potholes doesn't promote a positive mood and makes it harder to reach your destination, right? More importantly, as soon as you see an opportunity to reach your destination – via a better route – you immediately choose it.

It's the same with your site.

Every pothole in your customer's route increases the chance that.... they will simply choose a different path to their destination. e.g. they will choose your competitor's site.

Few customers are determined to take this type of road if they have a brand-new highway next door.

Where do these potholes come from?

Most holes in your website, that target some form or stage of sales, arise from faulty assumptions. Many companies assume that their customers are clairvoyant. That they know exactly what those companies can offer and what the customer can do with it.

What’s the reality?

Most of our UX Audits end with the target customer not knowing what the site is about or even knowing what to do if it did interest them.

That's why I have a piece of advice for you: never assume anything 🙂

The following 7 points will help you avoid this mistake, and your website’s route will be as smooth and polished as a dress shoe.

7 simple fixes:

1. A powerful First screen with a promise.

The first screen your customer sees is critical, especially on a psychological level. You have a few seconds to show the customer they got it right.

To do this, your main page should have three elements. 

Here's what you need to have:

• First, you need a Menu, where you show the customer the page’s most important elements and indicate how to contact you.

• Your second step should be the Promise. This should be in the form of a headline, referring to your customer's dilemma that needs to be solved. You must promise the customer a viable solution to the problem they came to you with.

Donald Miller, the creator of the StoryBrand model, points out that the first headline must relate to your customer's aspirations.

• Lastly, a Call to Action, which we'll return to shortly. Just remember to ensure that the first CTA is already on the first page.

2. A clear and specific call to action (=CTA).

No matter how good your product is or how well you "sell" it, lacking a clear call to action can cause the customer to do NOTHING. They will leave, and that's that.

Interestingly, many companies think the call to action only needs to be introduced in the final step of the sale, at the actual purchase for example. This is a mistake.

You should take care of a specific and logical call to action on EVERY subpage. This includes the home page or an "about us" type of page.

In other words, from the beginning to the end of a site visit, your customer must have some ACTION to perform under their nose. And that action must meet two conditions:

• From your perspective, the action must reflect a business goal - getting a lead, signing up for a mailing list, etc.
• From the customer's perspective, the action must be attractive. They must want to perform it!

3. A clearly defined offer.

I know what you're thinking.. "What the heck, the offer is already on our website!". I don’t doubt that! Let me explain what I mean by showing you two common mistakes.

First, when you include the company’s entire history in the offer’s description, you make the solution you’re offering invisible and illegible.

Second, confusing the offer with texts like "who we are" or "our philosophy."

Remember, the customer needs the information stated plainly, preferably on a silver platter. Write, specifically, WHAT you can do for them. If you don't, you're forcing the customer to guess. That’s not what they signed up for, and they’ll look elsewhere.

According to a 2015 KoMarketing report on usability, 86% of customers want clear information about the product or service on a company’s website. As many as 47% of customers will look for this BEFORE any other information on the site.

4. Information about what will happen AFTER the purchase.

Suppose a customer wants to purchase something from you; they’ll either order or contact you. But suddenly something goes wrong.... A doubt arises. Fear!

Where does this fear come from? Customers don’t know what will happen when they click the "Buy" button! Will it direct them to the payment page? What kind of payment will it be? Or will it just give their transfer information? Will an email come? "I don't know... Hmm, then maybe I'll come back later..."

Take the worry off your customer's mind! Show them exactly what will happen when they perform the action you want them to. You must take “uncertainty” out of your customer's vocabulary.

In the process, you'll show them that what's important to you ISN’T the purchase itself but that you'll help the customer solve the problem – a win-win.

5. Someone you can like and trust.

Donald Miller, who I mentioned earlier, believes that every brand must communicate two qualities on its website: empathy and authority.

I don't know if you are aware of this, but the chance that a customer will buy from you increases significantly when they like and trust you. I think that's obvious, don't you?

So show the human face of your company. Show who is behind the product you are offering - preferably in the form of pictures. Because if there's a promise on the page, someone must make it!

Show your imperfections too. Writing about yourself in mere superlatives is tempting, especially when you have something to brag about. But answer this question: do you like it when someone brags about himself to you and you can't talk to them at all?

You may trust them, but do you sympathize with them?

6. Easily accessible contact.

According to the KoMarketing report mentioned earlier, 51% of customers consider "accurate contact information" the most crucial element THAT’S NOT on a company’s website.

The same report shows that 44% of customers will leave the site if they don't find this information immediately, and 65% expect it to be on the homepage.

It's a matter of feeling safe. "OK, I can see the phone number; I know I can do something whenever I have a problem.” Even if they don’t dial that number!

The bare minimum is a highly visible "contact" tab in the top menu, also some form of quick contact from the home page (email, phone number, online chat, callback function, etc.).

7. Testimonials and/or another form of social proof.

According to various studies, about 90% of customers, before they buy online, are guided by the opinions of other customers. Every customer of yours, especially every NEW customer, asks themselves, "Is someone fooling me?". 

Help them answer this question for themselves. Show them that they won't be a guinea pig. Show that many other customers before them have gone down this path. Show them their lives or businesses have changed for the better because of it.

Remember though, customers don't care for empty platitudes about how "reliable" and "professional" you are. The content of your recommendations should be consistent with the value of your product. It should confirm that value.

For example, if your brand's unique selling proposition is the speed of delivery, let the reviews prove that, not low prices.

"Then what should I do with it now?"

What do you mean? Implement it!

Check where your site meets these guidelines above and where it’s missing something. If it's missing something, try improving it according to these tips, or have your administrators, developers or marketers do it.

This won't immediately turn your site into an immediate superstar, but it will give your customers a clearer "way to go" than 80% of your competitors. This in turn will result in more inquiries and orders. That's simply how it works.

I have consciously chosen points that you can try to evaluate for yourself. However, if you feel you could use some help with this, or if you want to go deeper into the subject (and get even better results), I have a suggestion for you below.

And if you find what I've written here valuable, please share it with others.