Is your website hurting sales?
You can’t be in business in the twenty-first century without a website. Yet, so many businesses fail to realize that just having a website isn’t enough, in fact, most business owners may not understand their website may actually be costing them sales! In a recent finding, GE Capital Retail Bank’s 2nd annual Major Purchase Shopper Study found 81% of consumers research websites prior to buying. Your website may need a little bit of tender loving care. Here are five ways in which your website could be hurting sales.
Poorly Designed Website and/or Not Mobile Friendly
Bad web design and lack of a mobile friendly site lead to increased bounce rates, which can discourage consumers from learning about your product offering. Your website is the digital face of your business and should accurately reflect your standing in the marketplace. Great businesses without a clean, well-designed responsive site are not only turning potential customers off, they may be unknowingly losing existing customers.
Lacking a Strong Value Proposition and Call-To-Action
Your website must be viewed as an extension of your sales team. Old, poorly written content with little persuasiveness and a weak call-to-action (CTA) will cost you sales. Ideally, your value proposition and CTA should reside above the fold for maximum effectiveness. CTAs should clearly state what it is you want your site’s visitor to do. Which leads me to the next way your site could be hurting your sales…
Not Optimized for Conversion
If you’re not regularly optimizing your website for conversions, you’re certainly missing out of sales opportunities. For businesses that solely operate online, this cannot be stressed enough, you must increase the click through rates to products and services that most lead your visitors to conversions. Brick and mortar stores should explore capturing contact information from site visitors to increase lead generation and sales generated from online sources.
Typographical Errors Are Damaging Your Credibility
If your website content reads like a Nigerian scam letter, you’re losing out on business. Fixing typographical and grammatical errors and misspelled words is the easiest fix to maintain your website’s credibility and to reduce your bounce rate leading to more revenue to your business.
No Search Bar on Your Website and/or Not Collecting Search Queries
Having a search bar will not only help your customers navigate your website, but can immensely help you as a business owner understand your visitors and increase your potential sales. If the visitors to your site are unable to find what they’re looking for, make adjustments that make it easier to navigate to those products or services or, if need be, add new content, new products and/or services that are revealed by these searches. The wealth of data can increase your sales if put to good use.
A website should be continually updated and well maintained, like a curator at a museum, always looking for ways to best display the exhibits or, in our case, products and service offerings.
Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who has worked in eCommerce for the last five years. She currently writes for Rakuten Super Logistics and recommends them for all your fulfillment center needs to further your success.
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