If you ask a web designer how to increase website sales you'll probably be met with a blank look. In the worst case scenario they might start talking about redesigning your website to match current online trends or current design principles. The problem with this is... web design doesn't sell anything.
It's hard for business owners to finally admit to themselves that their brilliantly designed and fantastic looking website isn't selling anything. By this point they've sunk thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars into the project and are yet to see a result. Website sales come trickling in but it's nothing compared with their offline methods.
So how do you really increase website sales?
The first step is to accept that web design and selling online are two completely different fields. Let's compare it to art:
First you have the artist who toils away behind closed doors creating their masterpiece. They're not worried about how the art will sell or it's commercial viability... they're just engrossed in the creative process. This is just like your web designer.
However while the whole "starving artist" persona is fun for a while any smart artist realizes that if they want to make a living from their work someone has to sell it. But rather than spend their time out in the streets trying to sell their own art they call on the help of an art gallery... a place dedicated to selling art. And this is where I come in for your website... I'm a person dedicated to making online sales for your business.
Salesmanship in html
Selling stuff is not an accident although it might seem that way sometimes. There are carefully laid down rules of selling that have existed for over a hundred years. Now while these rules are sometimes improved upon and refined the basics are fairly simple:
- Find someone who wants what you have
- Make them a win/win offer
- Give them a reason to act now
It doesn't matter whether we're doing this in person, in a letter, over the phone or online. The principles remain the same and you just have to adapt them for the media you're using. So why do most websites fail to sell much of anything?
Let's start at the very beginning...
When you're selling in your store you have a basic idea of what each customer wants and how to provide it to them. You probably have certain things you say all the time and you tend to get the sale more often or not. So why does this not follow through onto your website?
If you look at most websites you find that they're completely different to the selling experience in your store. They rabbit on about your company and provide a whole bunch of boring information that your visitor doesn't really care about. And the problem with a website is people don't have to be polite due to social convention (like when faced with a hapless salesperson)... they simply click on their back button and leave your store forever.
Taking your offline sales pitch online
Once you identify what is actually selling your products in your store you can take the same approach online. You just have to refine it down to it's core essence and get rid of all the extra junk that might give someone a reason to leave. Your online sales message has to be clearer and even more effective than your store version.
The reason for this is the extreme Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) we all seem to suffer from nowadays... especially online. It's easy for someone to be browsing your website, checking their emails, updating Facebook, Twittering, reading the news, watching YouTube and any number of other distractions can pop up along the way. You've simply got to have a message so compelling that you drag their complete focus back to your website long enough for them to complete the transaction.
How do you know what works?
By now you might be thinking that selling online is really, really hard! And in some ways you'd be right. But there are a lot of advantages to selling online.
One of these advantages is the level of testing we can do. If you've ever wondered if you should use one word versus another in your sales pitch you can now easily test this online using free software tools. You can test everything including headlines, copywriting, offers, guarantees, pricing, images, calls to action and anything in between.
Don't get overwhelmed!
Of course you don't have to go this extreme (it's usually recommended to test headlines, the first few paragraphs and your offer) but it's great to know the power is there if you want it. The truth is a few little changes (like adding an effective headline instead of "welcome to our website") can make a huge difference to response. You just need to apply some selling logic to your website.
There are other things like creating great offers and using strong guarantees that will boost your results online. I talk about many ways to do that throughout my blog and my subscribers receive plenty of examples as well. There are also plenty of resources about selling available around the internet and in these weird things called books.
What you do next
You now know how to increase website sales... work out what it takes to make a sale in your store and then transfer it online. And I'm not talking about the people who walk in, pick up what they want, pay and walk out the door (your website hopefully already caters to these people). We're talking about the people who you actually have to sell to.
By outlining your offline sales process you can start to outline your online sales process. Then it's just a matter of testing and refining the various components. It's really not that hard if you learn about selling and this is why I'm able to take any website and increase its sales as soon as I upload the changes.
And you'll find the same if you take the time to apply the advice written here and in other places on the blog.
I agree with you wholeheartedly Craig. There are far too many designers out there who will sell using the “if you build it, they will come” pitch.
Flashy web design is nice in that it will give potential customers a feeling that if your website looks professional, then your company must be professional.
But there are far too many ‘business’ sites out there that have no marketing presence to get people to their site and lack the proper copywriting (the calls to action)… all because they were sold virtual snake oil by a designer who merely concerns himself with how his product looks, not how it works.
Thanks Tyler… I feel the revolution is building and we’ll be seeing a completely new web design industry in the next few years.
Bye bye to the “virtual snake oil” designers… hello websites that make money.