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How to improve conversion rates on high-value items

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Improve Conversion Rates|How to improve conversion rates on high-value itemsSelling high value items online can be hugely profitable for businesses – but it can also be a challenge. Naturally, the more expensive the item, the harder it is to convince a customer that they need to make the purchase, and (even harder) to convince to make that purchase from your store.

You need to be doing everything you can, then, to make your store the most attractive place to buy a high value item. In short, you need to improve your ability to convert. And you might think that this is as simple as offering a great price and a fantastic service, but it is about so much more than that.
Here we take a closer look at how you can improve conversion rates when selling high-value items on your ecommerce site.

Improve informational content for mobile pages

For high-value items, customers will typically take an average of 68 days doing research before they are ready to complete their purchase. This shows us something very important – making conversions is about much more than just the moment the customer clicks ‘add to basket’. There is a great deal of build-up to get to that point.

It is also interesting to note that when people carry out research on products, they are actually more likely to do it on their mobile devices. So, optimising informational content for a page on a desktop screen isn’t actually your best bet. There is some evidence to suggest that customers are still more comfortable making purchases on desktops and laptops than they are on handheld devices, however, the majority of internet traffic is now from mobiles and tablets.

Optimise the call to action button

Just as we have stated that it can be important to remember that there is more to a sale than the final click, it is still important to do everything you can with regards to the optimisation of the product page itself. This is something that can be done through A-B testing to find out the best available option.

“We rigorously test our CTA buttons,” says Steven Joy, Director at Golf Swing Systems “on expnensive products it is surprising how much of a difference can be made by simply changing the colour of the button from green to orange, or by changing the wording just slightly”.

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Limit the choice available

Many ecommerce sites believe that the best way to sell is to give customers as much choice as possible – but this isn’t always wise with very high end items. Having a lot of choice gives customers a good selection, but it also makes it harder for them to pick out what they are going to buy.

There’s a reason that Apple brings out its iPhones in such a limited range of colours: it gives customers less to decide on. Having to make a decision takes time, and can eventually lead to someone rethinking a purchase. So while it might seem like a benefit to have a large variety of options available, it isn’t necessarily a positive.

Use a broader range of content

It’s a great idea to use a variety of different types of content on the page in order to appeal to as many customers as possible. Some will be looking for a fast overview of the key details of the product, others will want in depth descriptive details.

It can also be hugely beneficial to use supplemental content such as videos and a wide range of photos in order to give the customer as much context and information as possible. This can be an extremely valuable way to set up your page to convert.

Final thoughts

Selling just a small number of high value items can be extremely valuable for your busines, so if you can make even a small difference to your ability to convert, it can pay dividends. Perhaps most important is to note that you need to establish what works for you and your website – some things that are extremely effectively for some, will be not be quite the same for others.

The techniques above have been shown to work as ways to improve conversions on high value items, so they are worth trying.  To learn more, check out this CRO Guide.

8 Essential Tips for Creating Effective Sales Pitches

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article | 8 Essential Tips for Creating Effective Sales PitchesYour sales pitch is vital in securing clients for your business. Without a great sales pitch, you’ll have a hard time meeting your quotas or keeping your business afloat. But over 40 percent of salespeople say that it’s the most difficult part of the process. If you want to stay ahead of the game and become the best salesperson you can be, apply the following tips to create more effective sales pitches.

1. Make it a conversation

The days of talking at your prospective customers are over. Today, people prefer to be part of a conversation with sales representatives. Modeling your sales pitch to accommodate input and questions from your prospects creates an atmosphere of camaraderie and transparency.

For instance, you could begin by asking them a question. If you’re making a pitch for memberships to a spa, you could ask your prospect “What is a table shower?” You can capture their interest and sate their curiosity at the same time with that conversational gambit.

2. Offer solutions

Many novice salespeople will focus on talking up the features of their product or services. But this is an old-fashioned and ineffective approach. Customers don’t just want to know how good your products are; they want to know it can help them with their problems.

If you’re selling insurance for condominiums, talk about probable solutions your company is offering. For example, when selling insurance to condominiums in Florida, talk about how you offer financial security in case of hurricanes or flooding.

3. Support your pitch with facts

Salespeople have gotten the unfair reputation for being unreliable. According to a recent survey, an overwhelming 97 percent of people say they don’t think they can trust salespeople. Know that your prospects are no longer willing to take your word about your products or services. Support your pitch with solid and authoritative facts.

Your company should have case studies and expert research on the efficacy of your products and services. In a pinch, provide prospects with authentic customer testimonials which could be just as persuasive.

4. Become an adviser

People are looking into value-laden interactions with sales representatives. They’re not just looking for people who will sell them things, they’re looking for experts. Approximately 78 percent of customers are looking for salespeople who can offer them trustworthy advice.

Do your research not just on the benefits of your product or services, but also its application. You should be able to talk to prospects confidently about how to best use your products to improve their lives or businesses. Offer insights gleaned from your experience with the product to establish authority and trust with the prospect.

5. Identify objections

Before you even pick up the phone or meet with a prospect, you should do your homework and identify their most likely objections to buying your product. You can go online and search for reviews and scroll through forums regarding your products and see what people are saying. Come up with reasonable counterarguments for these objections.

If people are mostly concerned about the cost of your services, bring up discount programs or alternative payment plans. Offer solutions to their objections and you can secure a sale.

6. Get ready to negotiate

When prospects are hemming and hawing without closing, it’s time to reach out and negotiate. Their willingness to bargain will indicate how serious they are about closing the sale. Before going into a meeting, set your minimum acceptable terms for the pitch. Negotiate with the prospect and only ever put the minimum acceptable terms on the table as a last resort.

7. Ask them for the sale

Confidence is important for being a successful salesperson. At the end of your sales pitch, you should have answered all the prospect’s questions and overcome their objections. At this point, you should be able to easily segue into asking them to close the sale. If you’ve crafted your pitch correctly, you should have built up their confidence in this decision and showcased that you sure it’s the right choice for them.

8. Follow up on prospects

Sometimes, no matter how great you make your sales pitch, it ends with rejection. Or your prospect may require more time to think about their decision. In these cases, you should consistently follow up on them.

Don’t be too pushy as that could be annoying. Instead, try to set predetermined follow up calls or meetings. Or you could regularly schedule a follow up call with enough time between them to avoid being irritating. Following up on prospects can ensure you secure a sale long after you made your sales pitch.

Your sales pitch needs to be effective and appealing enough that you can meet prospects and ensure you walk away with a sale. This is the only way to achieve success for your entrepreneurial ventures.

Promoting Your Business Online: Tips and Tricks

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Online Business|Promoting Your Business Online: Tips and TricksStarting and growing a new business is an endeavor with many levels. Once your behind-the-scenes work is done, and you have launched your business, your main concern will turn to promotion. After all, you need your business to make money, and it can’t do that without attracting clients and customers. The business world has become more digital than ever before, and as people spend more time in their homes, promoting your company online is a vital way of reaching potential customers. The internet is a saturated place, and you’ll need to utilize every trick in the book to make sure your business stands out among the rest. Here are a few of the best tips to get you off the ground, and let your business thrive.

Invest in Advertising

It’s understandable that as a new business you might be scrimping on every penny. However, one place it’s important to invest in properly is your online advertising. A good advertising campaign can really put your business on the map. Even if customers don’t click on the ad itself (although conversion rates are obviously important, and a great way to measure the success of different advertising agencies), simply seeing your company logo will help them to think of you as an established, well-regarded company. If you can get into people’s minds, even subliminally, your advertising will be a long-term success.

Use Social Media and Target Audiences

As part of your advertising campaign, do not neglect social media platforms. Advertising on these platforms is a particularly good way to target your audiences. Depending on the type of business you are running, you may want to appeal to different demographics, whether by age, location, or another parameter. Social media algorithms can help you target your ads at the people who you want to see them. This saves you time and resources, allowing you to focus your promotion where it will be most effective.

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SEO is Everything

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a way to make your business website appear higher up in the results for different search engines, such as Google. As many people come across businesses whilst searching for certain products or services, this is a hugely important way to promote your company and attract customers to your website. An SEO agency will work with you to create the most effective SEO plan for your business, including identifying the keywords you want to be associated with in search engines and then creating content and links that will boost your connection with those words.

Post-Purchase Tactics

A post-purchase follow-up sequence is every interaction you have with a customer after they have used your services or bought your product. At first, this may not seem relevant to business promotion. However, it can be a vital way to spread the word about your business. Sending an email to a recent customer asking for feedback, in the form of a starred or written review, is a fantastic way to gather promotion material that you can then use to attract new customers. Word of mouth is a great way to grow your business’s profile online, and post-purchase sequences are vital ways that you can kickstart this process.

Indirect Methods: Content and Third Party

So far, we have mainly talked about direct methods of promoting your business, such as advertising, targeting audiences, and encouraging positive reviews. However, sometimes indirect methods can be just as effective. Part of an SEO campaign may include creating content for your website in the form of blog posts and articles. These articles do not need to directly advertise for your business, but simply offer advice and discussion regarding adjacent, industry-specific topics. By doing this, you promote the image of your business as a trustworthy source, helping customers feel at ease with you, and further spreading your online reach. This can be even more effective if your content appears on third-party websites, rather than your own. Guest posts, interviews, and opinion pieces can all help to direct customers towards your business from elsewhere, and they often don’t cost you a penny.

Offer Incentives

Finally, one brilliant way to initially attract customers is by offering incentives. There is a fine line to draw here; you don’t want to make yourself look cheap, but a killer deal can hook customers in. It’s then up to the quality of your products to keep them engaged and coming back for more. Including a deal for first-time customers as part of your advertising campaign can massively increase your conversion rates, promoting your business efficiently and quickly.

A Strategy for Online Entrepreneurial Success

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Online Success|A Strategy for Online Entrepreneurial SuccessDevelop An Idea

Ideas are funny things; they can strike in an instant, grow in your mind over many years, or disappear for a while, only to re-emerge at some point in the future. If you have an idea for an online enterprise, that’s a good start; if not, there are ways to develop them into workable ones that have a chance at success. That is the key point. Every idea has been done, so don’t worry that it isn’t original; what you’re looking for is what makes the idea special or unique to you. How can you develop an idea that’s been done a thousand times before into something that is fresh?

Know Your Market

If you don’t know your market well enough, you won’t know what you’re getting into, and chances are you won’t be competitive once there. Avoid this eventuality by conducting thorough research into your competitors and what they bring to the table. Go on social media, follow them, sign up to their mailing list, and even buy their products. By experiencing their product as a customer, you will soon get to know what they do well and what could be improved upon. In terms of improvements, that’s your job. Wherever you notice an inefficiency, you can cease upon it as an opportunity to create a USP of your own.

Discover Efficiency

As an online entrepreneur, you must always be on the lookout for ways to be more efficient. This might be in the form of outsourcing distribution using companies like DME Supplies or using third party warehouse solutions. Depending on your business and industry, it could also mean implementing appropriate software to help improve your business’s efficiency and bring down the costs. Luckily, the internet and many modern online brands are set up for efficiency. Because of this, many options exist to serve companies operating in diverse industries, so it should be easy to find what you’re looking for.

Keep Your Day Job

Regardless of whether you are immediately successful or not – chances are you won’t be, but best of luck – it’s a good idea to keep your day job for the foreseeable. Being successful online is a sort of balancing act. You need to grow the business in the same way you might grow a tomato plant. Give it soil and water, light, and nutrients, and it will grow steadily into what you want. Until then, you need to keep an income coming in. It doesn’t have to make you rich, but if it pays the bills while your business gets off the ground – that’s good enough.

Get Organization

Basic organization can take you a long way, and in some cases, it can be the difference between success and failure. A solid business plan can help here. If you know your financial responsibilities, and you’re committed to your short and long term goals, your strategy should be easy to see and implement. Don’t be afraid to review your SMART goals and business plan regularly – there’s no such thing as too much planning.

3 Tools for Streamlining Processes in Manufacturing

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article |Manufacturing Processes|3 Tools for Streamlining Processes in ManufacturingManufacturing processes are complex and they often consist of multiple steps. So, in order to maximize profits, businesses have to find innovative ways to streamline these processes and reduce the time they take to complete.

If your manufacturing processes are inefficient, then there are a few things you can do to improve them, including getting rid of obsolete steps and improving the communication between your employees. There are also some amazing tools available that will help you to streamline these processes. Some of these tools include:

1.Salesforce

In order for manufacturing companies to be successful, they need to take good care of their customers. This is where the Salesforce tool comes in. Salesforce is a customer relationship management solution that brings customers and companies together. It makes sure that all departments including sales, marketing, commerce and service have a shared view of every customer. Salesforce for different industries is available, meaning that no matter what industry you work in, this is a tool you should consider. Salesforce solutions by Alt-Solut are a brilliant option for businesses wanting to streamline their manufacturing processes.

Here are some of the products they use to help you achieve this:

  • The service cloud – this allows your customers to connect with a specialist or find answers to any questions they may have in a fast and traceable way. Keeping track of your customers’ needs and concerns allows you to support them and run your business more effectively and efficiently.
  • The sales cloud – this helps companies to increase their customer base. It gives them the ability to notice potential deals as well as the ability to close more deals, all while increasing overall productivity.
  • The sales force CPQ – this allows you to provide accurate pricing and it can increase your ability to send quotes more quickly
  • Manufacturing cloud – this can help you to create transparency through each process.

2. Kanban

Kanban is another great tool that manufacturing companies can use to streamline their business processes. It is a Japanese scheduling system for lean manufacturing. This tool allows you to highlight problem areas by measuring the cycle time and lead time of each step. One of the main benefits of this tool is that it can help you to avoid overcapacity.

Unlike many other continuous improvement tools, Kanban is less about revolutionizing and more about evolving. This method looks at each part of the process as a fluid and changeable piece.

3. PDCA Cycle

The Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle allows you to test out hypotheses and ideas. The four stages of this cycle include:

  • Plan – set out your goals and work out how you will achieve them
  • Do – try out the first few steps of your plan to see how well they work
  • Check – keep an eye out for areas that can be improved. You can do this by evaluating each step you’ve implemented as you go along. This allows you to spot problems at each stage of the process.
  • Act/adjust – depending on what you find in your evaluation, make any necessary changes in order to meet your goals.

Most manufacturing businesses are eager to streamline the complex processes within their business. Streamlining these processes can not only increase overall productivity, but it can also increase profitability. However, streamlining these processes can often be time-consuming and daunting. This is where streamlining tools come in handy. Why not try using some of the above tools in your business to see what a difference they can make?