In today’s fiercely competitive global economy, you can hardly afford not to focus on increasing your conversion rate. Fortunately, there are many simple steps you can take to bolster your conversion rate and position your company to become an industry leader. Below are seventeen best practices for conversion rate optimization that may increase your ROI by 700%.
1) Offer a personalized experience
Today’s top-performing companies recognize the value of providing customers with a highly personalized experience. According to Dynamic Yield, a personalized experience can boost ROI by as much as 39%. One of the best ways to create a personalized experience is to track a customer’s purchase history and website behavior to create individually targeted initiatives.
2) Feature high-resolution images
Blurry or outdated images can create the impression that your business lacks the cutting-edge technology or expertise to handle your requests better than your competitors. When adding images to your website or marketing pieces, make sure to include clear, high-resolution images to capture the attention of your audience.
3) Introduce live chat
Introducing live chat will accomplish far more than bolstering your ROI. It can help you shorten your sales cycle and achieve satisfaction rates that exceed 90%, thereby helping you to attract and retain customers. Best of all, you can choose from a host of high-quality live chat providers that you can use free of charge.
4) Translate your content to another language
According to research by “Can’t Read, Won’t Buy: 2014”, customers will increase their total purchases by 56% if they have access to product information in their native language. Before translating your website and marketing materials to another language, take the time to analyze your target audience to determine which language you should choose.
5) Base decisions on data rather than hunches
Basing marketing decisions on opinions or hunches is one of the biggest pitfalls. Resist the urge to launch a marketing campaign because you read a random article about a new marketing technique on social media. Instead, tailor your marketing efforts to reflect the actual buying patterns of your customer base.
6) Use a headline analyzer
You can help maximize the impact of your marketing initiatives by using a headline analyzer to evaluate the effectiveness of your subject titles and headers. Headline analyzers will often give you specific feedback about the length of your headers as well as language suggestions that can help bolster your ROI.
7) Feature a highly visible CTA button
Whether you are updating your website or preparing newsletter content, a call to action button is an important driver of conversions. Your call to action button should be in a highly visible location and should feature an eye-catching color scheme.
8) Feature product demonstrations
Featuring a mix of content types on your website is another great way to engage with customers and showcase your most popular product offerings. Short product demos take this concept to the next level by enabling you to show off the top selling features of your latest cutting-edge products.
9) Display your industry awards
Has your company received any industry recognition or awards? If so, make sure you share the news on your website and through your next e-mail campaign. If you received a trophy or certificate, make sure you feature a high-resolution photo of your team with the award, as an image or video can be much more convincing than a written summary of your accolades.
10) Feature case studies and testimonials
Case studies and testimonials are especially effective if you feature well-known industry leaders who have enjoyed a positive experience with your brand or products. Testimonials can take the form of quotes, video interviews, or success stories. To optimize their impact, share your case studies and testimonials on your social media sites.
11) Make your content more engaging
Engaging content is essential to holding the attention of people who visit your site and receive your marketing materials. You can create engaging content by including fun quizzes, sharing employee stories, and featuring polls on relevant industry topics.
12) Make follow up a top priority
Nearly half of all salespeople cease follow-up efforts after the first follow-up attempt, setting the stage for prospective customers to buy from your competitors who are more vigilant in their follow-up efforts. You can improve your follow-up initiatives by prioritizing your leads and automating your outreach efforts.
13) Create a fast, easy checkout process
You could have the most captivating website in your industry but if your checkout process is flawed, you could be sending customers directly into the arms of your competitors. You can eliminate this pitfall by regularly reviewing your mobile checkout user experience and ensuring that your website offers a summary of cart contents throughout the shopping process.
14) Use language that excites and motivates buyers
Using words like “FREE”, “SIMPLE”, and “LIMITED” can create a sense of urgency that will help motivate customers to invest in your products or services. For maximum impact, include these words in your subject titles and headers to make sure they are not missed by busy consumers.
15) Offer online coupon codes
Online coupon codes are continuing to gain traction among users of all ages – especially those who use their mobile devices to conduct searches and make purchases. For instance, over half of all tablet users redeem online coupons, highlighting the growing popularity of online coupon codes among mobile users.
16) Introduce cart abandonment software
Keeping your customers active from the moment they reach your site to the final stage of the checkout process is critical to optimizing your conversion rate. Shopping cart abandonment software can help you put an end to customers who fill their shopping carts and decide to abandon your site. Make sure you request a product demo before you purchase to ensure compatibility with your website and systems.
17) Monitor your campaign effectiveness
Following the above tips will help you establish a foundation for conversion rate optimization. But if you do not monitor your marketing campaigns, you will not know which strategies are responsible for your increased ROI. Make sure that you have tracking mechanisms in place for each campaign so you can periodically reevaluate their effectiveness.
The Bottom Line
An increased conversion rate will rarely unfold on its own. As a business owner or operator, you need to establish best practices to ensure that you attract new prospects and retain your best customers.
