This week I’m welcoming Laura from Laura Bull marketing to write about websites that sell from a marketer’s perspective. I’ve learned a few new things from reading this post and hopefully you will too.
A strong website is important to any business because it’s your digital shopfront. It’s the place where people go to view your products and services, evaluate whether they need them over a competitor and ultimately decide to buy.
A bad website experience can make or break a sale, and not having one at all in this digital age could mean missing out on potential customers altogether!
Here are 3 features of websites that sell, plus 4 extra things to give people that extra little nudge to purchase from your business.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Table of contents
1. Immediately tell them how they’ll feel when you solve their problem
These days, everyone has a short attention span. They’re being bombarded with advertising all day long, and so if you’ve managed to get them to your site you need to get straight to the point and tell them what it is you’ll help them with.
And remember, this isn’t about the immediate thing you do. It’s about how you can make the user feel when you’ve delivered what it is you’re selling.
For example, if you sell hair accessories, you’re not just helping people manage their hair, you’re giving them something that makes them feel good about their appearance, so how are you going to express that when they first get to your site?
2. The right messages to persuade them
No one is ready to hit a buy button as soon as they land on your site for the first time. They’ll be sussing you out, trying to figure out if you’ve got what they need.
After you’ve hit them with how you’ll transform their life, you need to make sure you’ve got some deeper benefits of buying your product or service – they might need some persuading on the value of buying whatever it is you’re selling.
Let’s say you offer a physio service for clients where they can book 1:1 sessions with you. What are the benefits of receiving that? They’re likely to be things like less pain, improved quality of life and getting back to doing the sports/exercise you used to before injury.
By talking about the benefits of your service over just listing what it is they’ll get, you’re helping them see the value in paying you for it.
3. Make sure there’s an easy way to buy
You can get points 1 and 2 perfectly right, but if you’ve not made sure there’s an easy way for people to buy your products, or book a free consultation call (if that’s your thing) then you might completely lose them.
To make sure you have this on your website, put buttons with clear call to actions (like ‘buy now’, ‘add to cart’, ‘book a call’) throughout your pages. Ensure that they are labeled the same thing if they’re all taking people to the same place.
You can also try and navigate your site as if you are a customer – try and pretend you’re fresh to the website and see how easy it is to see the buttons, click them and get to the point of booking / purchasing. Make sure you’re doing this on a computer as well as a phone.
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Some tips you might not have thought of
The above three points are the foundations of websites that sell. To take this one step further, there are a few tricks you can implement to psychologically get your target audience to trust you quicker, and buy more from you.
1. Offer something of value when they first visit your site
You’ve spent a lot of time and energy (and maybe money) getting people to your website, so don’t let them leave without showing them a bit of love. For product based businesses it’s standard practice to offer an intro discount in exchange for their email address, and for service based businesses you can offer a free guide to help them with their problem.
By doing this, you’re ensuring that you can still keep in touch with the people who are engaging with your business to make sure you’re the first business they think of when they do decide to buy what you’re selling.
2. Create bundles or add ons
By creating product bundles or offering an add on during the checkout process you might be able to increase the value of people’s orders. If someone has already decided to buy from you, why not offer them someone of greater value for a special price?
As they’re already in that buying mindset, they’re more likely to commit to the extra item, and you’ll make more sales or higher value sales. This could be as simple as a ‘buy one get one half price’ deal, or offering a related product for a slightly better price.
3. ‘Selling fast’ or ‘Only 2 left’ messages
Human beings are motivated by scarcity. If something is about to become unavailable, it’s suddenly the only thing we want in that moment. By pointing out to your website users which of your products are selling fastest, or which you’re low on stock of, you’re giving them a reason to buy then and there.
That’s not to say you should create a limit where there isn’t one. But there definitely is a limit to almost every physical product or service, so make sure this is advertised on your web shop.
For service based businesses, this could be advertising the amount of spaces available, or creating a time sensitive offer.
4. Last but not least, reviews
Reviews are the most powerful tool a small business can take advantage of. People buy from people, and what better way for that to manifest than a recommendation for your business.
You can use reviews in several different ways – on your homepage to build immediate trust, on individual product or sales pages to demonstrate the results of purchasing something – the possibilities are endless.
They’re also helpful in removing barriers to purchase. No matter how good your website and marketing message, people will always have reservations about buying something. If you know what those are, you can strategically place reviews that will put their mind at ease. And what? Even something as small as that can increase sales…
3 features of websites that sell: summary
All a good website really needs is a clear message, strong benefit statements and an easy way to book or buy. All the other tips in this article are the ‘nice to haves’ that layer on top. Once you’ve nailed those first three, you’re in a really good place.
That doesn’t mean you should forget about your website though. By constantly improving that experience with the tips about psychology and making the journey on it better, you can make sure you’re getting as many people as possible to buy your products and not leaving any money on the table just because you didn’t have enough reviews, or create enough of a reason to buy
About the author
Laura is a growth marketer with 6 years experience in growing B2B and B2C businesses through all kinds of marketing tactics. She worked at some of the UK’s most loved brands, including Gousto and Zoopla, and helped hundreds of small businesses with their marketing. You can see more of her growth marketing tips for reaching, engaging and converting your target audience at laurabull.co.uk or on Instagram @laurabullmarketing.
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