Forum Moderators: buckworks
What about the other way round? What if you have a site which does really well with repeat customers but difficulting in getting new customers in the first place?
This is more of a discussion in how to convince the unsure customer that the product is good rather than getting them into the store. In otherwords, forget traffic generation techniques - you have the customer in the store how can you convince him to pay?
This would be in relation to a subscription service rather than a product vending store. Customers would in interested in subscribing to 'Widget World'
What does the product do for me
Make it clear exactly what it is the customer is getting for their money.
Make the subscription / sale as easy as possible
Don't ask more questions than you need from the customer.
Use industry standard payment options and give them a choice. e.g. XYZPal and ABCcardpayments
Show Testimonials
Satisified customers are the best advert.
Give plenty of free samples
Show exactly what the product will do but in a limited way.
Upfront Support
Answer all enquiries about the product quickly.
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What else can you recommend?
To retain customer you need a customer centric approach to build confidence
Sure. But how do you get them to be a customer in the first place?
Are you saying that the answer is to look at why existing satisfied customers became delighted customers and apply that to new customers?
[edited by: Frank_Rizzo at 3:06 pm (utc) on Nov. 29, 2006]
What does the product do for me
Make it clear exactly what it is the customer is getting for their money.
This is more important to creating a happy customer, and reducing returns, refunds, etc. due to the customer not receiving what they expected. But, I don't know that this is a high importance factor in converting a prospect to a customer in the first place. This is not something the customer is as likely to look at, unless you've already essentially sold them on the product in the first place. I mean, when I make a purchase, after I am convinced to buy, I look for confirmation of exactly what I am getting. If it's not what I expect, I will back out of the sale. But, if it is what I expected, I will continue with the purchase. But, before I get there, I am already sold. You've already got me, and you're only going to lose me if I've misunderstood something along the way, and the package doesn't contain what I've been led to believe it does.
Does that make sense?
Make the subscription / sale as easy as possible
Don't ask more questions than you need from the customer.
Use industry standard payment options and give them a choice. e.g. XYZPal and ABCcardpayments
I also recommend prominently displaying acceptable payment methods on your site well before I get to the checkout. On a number of sites, I have to go through the checkout process to find out what payment methods they accept. Do you take PayPal? Do you take AmEx? Etc. If I know beforehand, it saves me the trouble of going through the checkout process to find out, and leave the merchant wondering why the sale didn't convert.
Accepting multiple payment methods is definitely a plus. And letting them know clearly beforehand what payment methods are accepted is a very good idea. But, I don't know how important that is in a general sense to obtaining a new customer. I mean, if you accept my preferred payment method, and your competitor doesn't, you win. But, before I even think about payment, you have to convince me to buy from you in the first place. Odds are that you aren't the only merchant accepting my preferred payment method, so you better win me over before getting to that point.
Show Testimonials
Satisified customers are the best advert.
Nice to have, but generally ignored. How do I know they're for real anyway? How do I know you didn't make it all up, and take pictures of your neighbors?
Give plenty of free samples
Show exactly what the product will do but in a limited way.
Depends on the market. And giving away "plenty" of samples might just attract people looking for freebies, who are not willing to buy to begin with, and thus lowering your conversion rate as you will have a lot of traffic but very few actually interested in making a purchase. Freebies are something you have to do carefully.
Upfront Support
Answer all enquiries about the product quickly.
Good. But, better is to leave them with fewer questions. Common questions should be answered on the web site. That includes questions that I, as a customer, think ought to be common questions. Don't make me have to go through hoops to get answers. If I have to eMail you for information, but I can find the same information on your competitors site without eMailing, he wins.
I don't think these areas are where you need to be looking. You seem to have a good grasp here. Where I think you need to look is in your basic sales pitch. Maybe your current customers joined in spite of your sales pitch. For example, you might have a lousy sales pitch, but some people took a chance. After doing so, their expectations were met or exceeded, so they stayed with you. If you're having problems getting new customers, you may need to revise your pitch. I suspect that may be where your problem is, not in the other details you've mentioned.
[edited by: ccDan at 6:42 pm (utc) on Nov. 29, 2006]
