Your probability of conversion on a page that is attempting to generate leads is directly correlated to several factors. These factors will help to determine your success in converting the user into a paid customer. Keep in mind it is impossible to get 100% conversion, but I work on many projects that start with conversion rates in the 5% range. If we were able to just double that number we would double our online sales without paying anything additional for traffic or search engine optimization. That is how powerful increasing your conversion rates can be. FYI, we have some customers who are over 40% in conversion rates and we have doubled or tripled most of our customers who have worked with us to take a systematic approach at improving their conversions. Here are the main factors for conversion rate optimization:
- Motivation of the User: This is the most important factor of the bunch. Also, this factor is almost always mis-understood, because many people believe we need to motivate the people on the page, which isn't the case. We can't force people to be motivated by our product or service. In order to be successful, we have to understand the main motivations of our current customers and then put our landing pages in front of the most similar looking prospects.
- Force of the Value Prop: At a high level, the value proposition is the answer to this fundamental question: “If I am your ideal prospect, why should I buy from you rather than any of your competitors?”. We need to be able to help our prospects answer this question quickly when they are on our landing pages.
- The Incentive to Take Action: Everyone knows about incentives, but the key to being a good marketer is to give away as little in incentives as possible and still make sales. Small incentives are great to get people over the finish line, but they should never be used as the main selling point of your product or service.
- Friction Elements: Friction is a negative element that will cause conversions to walk away. The key is to minimize the number of friction elements that lead a prospect to leave. It is difficult to find out exactly what is causing friction that is why it is best to do A/B testing to discover what is really moving the needle with your prospects.
- Anxiety Elements: Anxiety are psychological elements that also inhibit coversions. Friction are more physical elements like having a large form to fill out. Anxiety type elements include asking for someone's social security number on a form. Users will probably be anxious about providing this type of information and they will leave before completing the conversion process.
