It’s exciting when you see your traffic grow because it means that your marketing efforts are working–but huge traffic numbers alone will not make you money.
If you want your site to become profitable, your visitors need to convert into customers.
Thankfully, there are many ways that can help you achieve this. Follow our tips below for guiding your site visitors to becoming loyal, paying customers.
Tips for Converting Traffic into Paying Customers
1. Install Live Chat
Live chat is a great tool for turning visitors into customers because it lets you answer their queries before they decide to purchase. It also allows you to intervene should a customer abandon a purchase. Many companies have seen an increase in conversions thanks to live chat.
One of them is Sam’s Furniture who generated $50k in sales revenue by implementing proactive chat. Every time someone stays on their website long enough, a live chat widget appears offering help to the customer.
It’s similar to a business owner approaching a confused-looking customer in a store, except it’s easy and requires a very little budget.
You can set up your live chat software so that it initiates a conversation with the customer whenever a specific action that indicates a purchase problem is triggered.
2. Make your First Offer Easy to Get
If you want your visitors to convert faster, you need to make the first offer easy to get. People are more likely to jump in when there is very little risk for them.
A 2016 study by Synchrony Financial in regards to major purchases, has also shown that 82% of customers wait for the best deal before they convert.
By providing a great offer, in the beginning, you make it easy for your visitor to pull the trigger on that purchase. When they already know enough about your product/services, they’re more likely to become paying customers.
Here are some examples of how to familiarize visitors with your brand:
a. Offer a free sample of your product
We know it sounds counterintuitive to your business, but it works. It’s a small investment compared to the profits you will get from those who you’ve turned into customers!
b. Give discounts
Discounts are another great way to get your visitors to buy. People love getting great deals. There’s little risk for them in the beginning. Once you get them buying, they’ll be more likely to make bigger purchases further down the line.
c. Provide a free trial
If your business is based on a subscription model, you can provide a free trial of your service for a limited time. Not only does it show confidence in your product but it also allows customers to answer questions that may be preventing them from buying.
Here’s an example from Autogrammer.
Aside from teaching website visitors how to post on Instagram, they also provide a free 7-day trial of their service.
Once the customer is done with the trial, whether they decide to pay for the services or not, ask them for feedback. This allows you to improve your services, so it doesn’t hurt your future conversions.
A note about credit cards and cancellations:
Requiring credit card information during the free trial signup can potentially drive customers away. Nobody likes to spend time on the phone disputing a credit card charge a month later, once the trial is over.
If you want your customers to convert, don’t ask for their credit card information until later. A study suggests that people are more likely to convert when no credit card information is required during sign up. Consider implementing this on your site and see if it works for you. Everyone is different, so it’s always good to test it out first.
3. Showcase your Product
An issue with buying online is that people can’t pick up a product and look at it. This makes the buying process more complex with people searching for reviews and testimonials to help them make a purchase decision. Thankfully, there are things you can do to make it easy for your visitor to decide.
a. Provide high-quality images
Product images should be high-quality, allowing the customer to zoom in and out while inspecting the product. According to InLineVision, great product images can help increase your conversions by 30%!
b. Create a product demo
If you want to take it a step further, you can create videos that show your product from every angle and explains its best features. In your product demo, don’t just talk about the product. Show them how to use it! This gives customers a good idea of how your product can benefit them.
4. Provide Social Proof
People like to go where the crowd is. This is why social proof is such a popular marketing strategy. If you can leverage that, you can push more people into buying from you. Here are just some of the ways you can provide social proof.
a. Testimonials
If you can get a testimonial from an influential person on the internet, great! But any testimonial from a customer who’s genuinely happy with your product will also do.
b. Reviews
Everyone looks at reviews before they make a purchase. Make it easy for your visitor to make a purchase decision by displaying reviews and ratings from customers.
c. Logos
Feature logos of companies/clients you’ve worked with in the past. Bonus points if you can get prominent brand names in there.
d. Follower Counts
If you have a sizeable number of followers/subscribers, don’t miss the opportunity to tell your visitors about it. When they see just how many people think your product is awesome, they’ll be more likely to buy.
5. Implement Scarcity
People place higher value on things that seem high in demand; some call it FOMO (fear of missing out). We call it an opportunity for you to convert visitors into potential customers! By marketing your products as “high in demand,” people are more likely to buy from you for fear that it may become unavailable. Be careful in implementing this. Scarcity is great for prompting action, but if people find out you’re faking it, they’ll end up abandoning your site.
In Conclusion
There are a variety of ways you can convert your website visitors into customers; it just requires some creative thinking. Your website functions as your best and most effective marketing tool. Use it properly by implementing the above tips, and you will be on your way to experiencing increased conversions and higher profits.
What strategies have you implemented to turn your site visitors into customers? Let us know in the comments below!
Denise Amara is the Senior Marketing Director of Autogrammer.com, the ultimate social media scheduler and planner for Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Denise has over 15 years experience working in marketing with the last 10 focused in the digital realm. She is passionate about helping clients make social media management more efficient and effortless.