Sometimes I answer the question “what is Vibetrace about” with Conversion Rate Optimization. I’m a data oriented marketer, so my daily job can be also described as doing conversion optimization for online shops.
Lots of people will answer “What you actually do for conversion optimization?” with A/B testing, personalization. But behind the closed doors of lifting the rate of shoppers, there are a lot of things you take into consideration:
1. Remove barriers by eliminating friction
Have a look at this image:
The chair is a very small point of friction. But the mental barrier it creates is huge, so the horse is not even trying.
Friction in ecommerce has a lot of meanings. I would say here about small details like:
- missing contact information
- product images don’t have a very good quality
- font-size induces feelings like trying to hide something
Conversion optimization should take this into consideration as well. Friction can certainly discourage the purchase.
2. Customer support is becoming more important than price itself
When you think about Customer Support, live-chat and call-center pop-up in your mind, right? That is great because usually this is what makes user convert: the ability to get indications from real people.
As long as the product is more complex, the need for this kind of support is obvious. Buyers don’t always have time to research for all details they are interested about, so you must act right then.
Think about Genius Bar from Apple. These people are not only sales representative, they are experts to help you with any problem regarding their products and services.
3. The conversion is not the end. Think post purchase
Purchase confirmed, delivered, money in the pocket and you’re done, right? Not really. Competition is getting tougher. Focusing on getting new customers is not always the best thing to do, at least when you are small.
Existing customers, if they are happy with you will bring more revenue on the long term. And that’s exactly what you’re looking for, right?
- Reinforce positive feelings from the purchase
- Enable customers to spread the word about you
- Maximize the utility of the purchase
4. Give the candy at the right time
There are vouchers anywhere. Actually is becoming a habit to look for discount codes before finishing the purchase. This also influences cart abandonment, as people leave the site when they see the input-code element.
There are many types of shoppers and also the behaviour is different based on industry: real need of a product, impulse buying, private clubs and so on. The trigger for the purchase is different for all these shoppers.
Very similar to giving a candy to a baby when it’s crying, here you need to give it in the right moment to finish the purchase. What’s the candy about:
- discount codes/vouchers, free shipping (these are monetary candies)
- right information about the product
- social proof (testimonials, reviews)
The timing needs to be found out and tested. There is no right time for all the businesses.
