If lead generation is the name of the game, conversion is winning. Leads matter, but it’s only conversion that counts in the end. In this post, we’ll make sure you’re taking advantage of the most important online solutions to help you take home the ultimate prize in web marketing: paying customers.
Appearances Count
Web-based businesses who overlook the importance of strategic and beautiful design in today’s more visually-orientated market are in danger of becoming obsolete. An outdated or poorly designed website in 2015 is almost as harmful to business as not having a website at all. Consider a great design in line with both modern norms and trends as your first solution to drive conversion. Still, good design alone is not enough.
Personality Counts More
As design trends continue to go in the direction of simplicity and minimalism, thousands of cookie-cutter templates for interfaces have emerged. It may be tempting to go this route, but keep in mind that templates will fail to convey the unique brand identity that distinguishes you and your business from everything else out there. Only a customized job, executed by a partner who involves you in the creative process, can give you something truly special to stand out against competition. This is the art of branding, where personality informs content and design.
Customization is also key in facilitating the customer journey, which is equally crucial to conversion.
The Customer Journey
In short, this is the digital path an individual takes in transitioning from a visitor of your site into a paying customer. This path is forged with a strategic design structure, well-crafted content, and site features that are both accessible and luring. The customer journey is not just one web solution, but the entire plan that goes into the success of your business online: from lead generation to conversion to loyal and long term customers. Succeeding on each of these levels requires expertise and experience in the customer journey.
This all sounds great, but it doesn’t include the key solution that often instigates the entire process. That is, where customers come from in the first place.
SEO is the Where It All Begins
You’ve probably already heard of search engine optimization and have a vague idea of its importance. In order to master the customer journey, you first need a means of corralling prospective customers toward your site. Establishing a strong presence (i.e. high ranking and prevalent appearance) on search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, involves strategic manipulation of content, particularly keywords, in line with current search trends. You can be trained to manage this yourself to a certain extent, but for a thorough job you’ll need the help of an expert.
So we’ve got search, design, branding, the customer journey, and SEO covered. What other web solution could we be missing to help you convert more customers?
Make the Most of New Technology
There are so many things web-present businesses can do today to take advantage of new technology, it would be impossible to list them all here. From interactive tools that aid customer purchase decisions, improved search functions, algorithms, data analysis, and more. Perhaps one of the most basic and important measures you can take is to make your website mobile friendly. This simply means you’ve created your website in a framework that makes it accessible and attractive on not only a computer, but on a smartphone as well. With more and more shoppers making purchases via their phones, this is a crucial step to take in the modernization of your online business.
If any of our above advice has you feeling overwhelmed or anxious, no need to feel distressed. At 3PRIME, we’re able to support your business in each of the ways described in this post. We give you the choice to be as hands on or hands off in the collaboration as you’d like, and have experience working with all types of web-based businesses.
So if you feel like upcoming technology and design trends are leaving your site behind, contact us today to see how we can help catch you up to speed.