How much do you think about your customer journey? Sure, some site visitors know what they want and come to you ready to buy, but for many even the smallest disruption in user experience (UX) could be enough to go elsewhere or make them think twice. More than just presenting your business and your product/service, your marketing efforts with your website and your social media influences your customer journey. How can you make it as easy as possible for your customers to do what you want them to do? Analyzing your conversion rate is a good place to start.
What is conversion rate?
Conversion rate is the percentage of your users who do the thing you want them to do, whatever that might be. Whether it’s clicking an ad, subscribing to a newsletter or making a sale, conversion rate is calculated by taking the total number of users who “convert” and dividing it by the overall size of your audience.
Analyzing your conversion rate is an effective way of figuring out what’s working and what’s not in your digital marketing strategy, and is a good way of setting up return on investment expectations when scaling a campaign.
What is a good conversion rate in your digital marketing?
That depends on many factors: your industry, your audience, your location. But let’s talk about landing pages. The average conversion rate for a landing page is 2.3%. But that number is skewed by many, many (in fact, most) businesses having a much lower number and a few top achievers with much higher rates. That top 25% of businesses convert at a rate of 5.31% or higher, and the top 10% of business convert at rates of almost 11.5%. So how can you get there?
What is standing in the way of achieving a higher conversion rate?
When you search for landing page optimization tips online, you’ll find a lot of advice to tell you to change small things. Change the font, change the layout, the colour. And sure, minor aesthetic details can affect the overall UX. But in the end, small changes are only going to result in small gains. So how can you increase your conversion rate in a big way?
Don’t be afraid to experiment to increase conversion rates
This might seems obvious, but it’s obvious for a reason. It works. Do some research, find out what your competitors are offering, whether it’s guides, discounts, promos, and find a way to differentiate yourself. Test out different offers over a period of weeks/months and see what results in increased conversions. Get creative, and really think about what marketing efforts will make your service stand out from the crowd.
Change the flow to convert more leads
Think about the customer journey on your ecommerce site. Are you clear on what your ask is for users who visit your site or social media? It might feel like you’re hammering them over the head, but site visitors want to be told what to do. So make it clear what action you want them to perform. Conversion rate optimization means clarity. Don’t give more than one CTA at once; be clear and make it easy. A good rule of thumb is: don’t give those who visit your site more than one “thing” to interact with per section of the page. You have a video you want them to watch? Then let them watch the video, don’t clutter the screen with CTA buttons. But if you want them to click the button (and you do), then don’t present anything else to distract from that.
Upsell and Cross-Sell
Amazon attributes 35% of its revenue to cross-selling. Its “Frequently Bought Together” and “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” features are absolutely key ways to gain revenue. Instead of chasing new leads, why not sell to users you already know will buy your product. Not only is it a good way to increase sales, it also forges a better relationship with your customer. By improving your user experience, you’re allowing them to derive greater value from their purchases and making their lives easier without having to shop around. And it means increasing sales for you.
So that’s cross-selling. Upselling is when you encourage a customer to buy a higher priced version of a similar product, or to improve their purchase through additional features like protection plans. This too is a great way to build your customer lifetime value, while anticipating and meeting your customer’s needs.
Remarket, Retarget for increased conversion
97% of potential customers will leave a site without buying anything. But that doesn’t mean that’s the end. Not all leads turn into sales, but you can still gain valuable information by analyzing your user journey. Data points like this can help you build a client avatar or buyer persona, to build your online marketing strategy. By using a retargeting campaign, you can keep leads in the loop by presenting them with ads for your business, to remind them you exist and maybe bring them back in later. The fact is they showed interest once, and in the massive market that is online sales, that’s a big thing. So don’t consider them lost. Learn from the data, regroup and keep your business fresh in their mind by remarketing to your audience.
Conversion Rate Optimization Matters
Your customer journey is important and conversion rate is a great way to measure its effectiveness. With these helpful tips, some research and some creativity, you can ensure that you meet your customer’s needs by positively impacting their journey. You have a great product to sell, so make it easy for people to buy.
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