In your bricks and mortar store or a typical business, you have a certain flow or process to your business. In this blog we are going to glean how your existing process of doing business can help you with the visitor experience on your website.
Retailers: It’s all about the flow!
For the retailer, a potential customer comes in the physical store, they are greeted, told about some new items or current sales, and asked if they need any help. If you know them, you would tailor your conversation a certain way and steer them to their specific needs. If they are a new customer, you will have set up the store logically so their shopping experience is enjoyable and efficient. Just as in the physical store, your online store needs to do the same thing. You want to have the visitor to your site ‘feel’ your store’s presence. You need to use the same jargon that you use in the store, have common brand messaging, and steer them the same way as when they are initially greeted at the store. This process will give them a consistent message and make your website be a powerhouse for your sales.
Businesses: How easy is it to convert a visitor?
In a business, you have created a marketing plan tied to your business plan. Your marketing initiatives may be something like direct mail or a monthly newsletter to prospects that you meet while networking. Undoubtedly your marketing plan has a tried and true system to convert prospects to clients. You might receive a call from the direct mail piece with a request for a quote or more information. You may set up a meeting next to answer questions and introduce the prospect to your business. After that meeting you may provide more information or a quote/proposal for service. Though each business is different, the process is the same: initial contact, sales process, close the deal.
In both scenarios, you want to close with a sale. You have honed that process to be smooth and have the least amount of steps and added enough incentive for the prospect to say yes!
Websites are no different. As a marketing and sales agent, your website needs to follow a process that will ultimately produce the desired result (sales!). The best thing you can do is refer back to your process and see how your website is mirroring it. Take a good look at your present site and see if it is indeed doing this and if it isn’t, maybe it’s time for a change.
