4 (Relatively) Simple Ways to Boost Sales Conversions

If you have an eCommerce website merely because it’s amusing and “something to do when there’s nothing to watch on Netflix”, then you don’t need to read this.

But if you’re dramatically less unfettered by reality, you’re probably looking to expand your audience base, instill customer loyalty and, of course, generate more revenue from your eCommerce site. 

That means your focus should be on converting more sales. 

So How Does One Boost One’s Sales Conversions?

Well, for starters, “one” can do this by incorporating the following (relatively) simple methods.

1. Secure Your Site

People are freaking out these days about security. And with good reason. No one wants to be robbed. Especially of their identity. It’s so hard to find a new one.

At any rate, if you want people to spend money on your eCommerce site, they need to know that their information is safe and secure at all times.

Reassure your customers that you are doing everything you can to keep them safe.

Some of the simplest ways you can do this are to: 

• Get an SSL certificate
• Display credit card images/PayPal logo to demonstrate that you only accept trusted payment options
• Implement secure registration logins
• NEVER store your customer's credit card data in case there’s a data breach

Leaving your customers feeling nervous about pressing that “Confirm Purchase” button is no way to gain sales conversions. Assume they’ve got enough to worry about right now. They probably do.

2. Offer Coupons and/or Discounts

Especially to repeat customers. It’s a no-brainer. 

With a coupon, they’re more enticed to finalize their transaction. They get a deal and you get a sale. You also get their continued loyalty.

You can offer coupons in specific amounts off the total purchase price. Or maybe it’s a discounted percentage. Possibly a free bonus product. Just be sure it’s not a puppy. Or any other living creature. Except maybe a plant.

Consider having a dedicated section just for coupons and discounts. Much like a blog. Speaking of which…

3. Get A Blog Already

Seriously. 

Okay, so creating a blog might not sound all that simple. But with the right content and some regular contributions (whether you write them or you hire a blog writer), you can get it up and running in no time. 

Plus, giving your customers the option of extra reading material that will educate, entertain, or even enlighten is going to give you more click through traffic. And it infuses your eCommerce site with a more human element. 

Being able to inform your loyal customers about your business, services or products and special deals is effective in boosting those sales conversions.

4. Provide Live Chat Support

If your customer has an issue, do they have the option of live chat to get support? Yeah, this one might cost you some dough on the front end. But giving your customers access to live chat can easily pay for itself. 

It’s up to 30% cheaper than providing phone support. And those who are manning the desk can handle multiple chats - thereby increasing efficiency.

Plus, people like it. In our “instant gratification” culture, they get quick or even immediate response. No more hoping for return emails or waiting on the phone and listening to Mel Tormé’s cover of Michael Jackson’s Beat It, praying that you don’t get disconnected in spite of the musical torture.

You can collect data from those chat sessions to better understand your customers’ gripes and how to alleviate them. As such, live chat instills more trust in your brand and customers are 20% more likely to convert after a successful live chat session.

Live chat allows online stores to act more like brick-and-mortar retailers. 

Now, with all of that said, here’s the most important question to ask yourself:

How Solid Is My eCommerce Site’s Foundation? 

We’ll spare you the plethora of “the importance of a strong foundation” metaphors. They’re as played-out as that $1 Hall and Oates on scratched vinyl at the record store. 

But that’s not to say it isn’t so.

Your site can be secure, interesting and chock full of coupons and live chatters, but these methods are only going to work if you have a solid foundation at the beginning. 

And the foundation in the case of your eCommerce site is user experience (UX). So if you haven’t addressed that part, then you’re going to have to spend some time building that foundation.

1. Make sure it’s easy to navigate. 
2. Give it adequate (not over-the-top) branding.
3. Provide a smooth checkout process. 

Plus, the design should be in line with your brand and product base. And would it kill ya to throw in some great imagery? No. No, it wouldn’t. 

Finally, the search function should not require a search function to locate. Because that’s ludicrous.

But don’t stress.

There Are Many All-in-One eCommerce Platforms Available

Or if there is someone you know (or can bribe) who is more tech-savvy, you can have it built from scratch. You could also solicit the wisdom of advertising professionals. They can help you figure it all out.

Yet another option would be to just scrap the whole idea and binge watch Game of Thrones on Netflix for the third time. 

But that last option only applies if you don’t care about your eCommerce website. Or, really, life in general.

Question of the Week: How Will the Lack of Net Neutrality Impact Influencer Marketing?

That’s a good question. And if we had a crystal ball (or believed in them) we could answer it (or pretend to). 

As professional marketers, we can only guess what the impact will be on influencer marketing at this point. What we can say for certain is that there WILL be an impact.

And it might happen sooner than later.

What Was the Benefit of Net Neutrality?

Those who favored the now halcyon days of net neutrality are concerned that Internet providers will start giving preferential treatment to sites that pay them or that they own. And if history has anything to say about it, that sounds about right. 

Furthermore, without net neutrality, those same providers are able to legally discriminate against sites that they don’t like. And they can choose to not like them for any reason at all. 

It doesn’t even have to be a good reason. They may simply not like the cut of the site’s jib. As such, they will make it much harder and SLOWER for people to access those sites.

Now, since influencer marketers rely on their websites,

content, and audience engagement to grow, they’re obviously concerned that without those fair access principles in place, their presence will be weakened. (Like going from a triple shot espresso to a cup of diner coffee.) 

Especially if the ISP Grand Poobahs - like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast - start placing commercial interests  first. 

So what does this all mean?

The Loss of Net Neutrality Will Change Influencer Marketing

And while several ISPs have publicly vowed to maintain neutrality, not all of them have. Over time, this is bound to have some repercussions.

1. Say Good-Bye to Unlimited Data

The repeal of net neutrality will likely be felt on the mobile level first. Broadband companies - if they so choose - could put the kibosh on streaming services and choose pay-by-play data packages instead. 

Influencers who rely on Instagram and Snapchat will probably see a reduction in the streaming content these platforms produce. Again, to keep data usage costs down.

2. Influencers Will Have to Charge More to Brands and Agencies

With net neutrality, audiences became accustomed to getting their content quickly. But as this starts to change, influencers and influencer networks will have to start paying out to the ISPs to get speed. (Sounds vaguely like a drug deal.) This cost will then be passed down to the agencies and brands who hire influencers.

Which leads us to point #3.

3. All Hail the Micro-Influencer

It could potentially become more and more expensive for brands to work with high-tier influencers. So rather than use a well-known influencer (think Beyoncé), they may have to leverage several micro-influencers (think The Backstreet Boys) across a campaign to get the word out. 

For the money they’re paying, these agencies will need to squeeze as much out of those micro-influencers as possible. And those Backstreet Boys are just not the chipper upstarts they once were. 

4. “You Can’t Put a Price on Knowledge”

Unless you’re an ISP.  

The thing is, most Americans get their news and info from search platforms and web-based encyclopedias. The sheer volume of content and the archival nature of the data on these sites makes them more expensive to host. As ISPs are now free to charge these “heavy-hitter” sites, the sites are then forced to charge users a subscription fee to offset those costs. 

And don’t believe for a minute that you can just get all your information from the “Uncle Larry’s Cavalcade of Interesting Facts” website. If the ISP feels that Uncle Larry wronged them, they’ll make it really difficult to see Uncle Larry. Or make him “disappear.” 

While this last point on paying for knowledge has a less direct impact on influencer marketing, it is a scary thought overall.

The Loss of Net Neutrality May Not Be That Bad

Again, we just don’t know.

It would be nice to believe that these ISP empires will recognize they don’t need to make any more money. It would also be nice to believe that nobody ever suffers. Especially puppies.

The bottom line of the loss of net neutrality could very well mean higher prices for the end user. At first, it may not seem like much. But who knows what it says for the long run?  

We sure don’t. But we can guess.

3 Ways for Marketers to Incorporate a Customer-Centered Mindset

In any business, a customer-centric mindset is essential. Because, with all due respect to mama, the refrigerator magnet should actually say, “If the customer ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” 

That’s the reality.

But another reality is how easy it is to forget the customer-centered mindset when the work really starts flowing. Especially for marketers who tend to have less client-facing time than the folks in sales and support. 

The irony is that it’s the many clients that create the work flow that keeps you so busy that causes you lose to focus on those very clients that live in the house that Jack built. 

It’s certainly something of a quagmire. 

So How Do You Maintain That One-Pointed Focus on the Customer?

Keep your eye on the prize. Not that we’re in the business of objectifying your customers, but they’re the “prize” in this case. 

To help campaigns resonate with prospects and customers, it’s absolutely necessary to employ a customer-centric mindset. This, in turn, will lead to increased sales and happier, more engaged clients. Put all of this together, and it’s going to differentiate you from your competitors. And by differentiate, we mean in a good way. A shiny way. A winning way. And what are you going to win?

More customers, i.e. the “prize.” So let’s begin.

#1. Take A Strategic Approach to Technology

How personalized is your correspondence with your clients? 

Get personal. And we don’t mean addressing emails with

“Hey there friend o’mine” rather than “To whom it may concern.” They’re both inauthentic. Especially the former, which borders on insultingly so.

But keeping it real with a high level of personalization takes time and effort. We get it.  

This is where technology steps in. You can scale using marketing automation. All sorts of marketing software can help you to automate those time-sucking tasks like prospecting emails, creating invitations to events or formulating on-boarding communications. 

This will free up more time for you to focus on delivering a personalized experience to customers while mastering Level 3,461 on Candy Crush. Ah, technology.

But wait! Here’s the caveat. You must be clear about your goals to develop a strategy with technology. Because with all of that smooth automation, your internal goals could quickly become your main focus - and at the cost of the customer experience. So don’t scale a task if there’s the risk it’s going to frustrate your customer. It’s not worth it.   

Which brings us to step #2. 

# 2. Communicate on a Human Level

With the convenience of texting and emails, nobody ever has to talk on the phone again. But that doesn’t mean nobody WANTS to. There are plenty of people who still want to do precisely that.

As we’ve moved into deeper into the digital age, we’ve had to start making sense of when and how certain types of conversations need to  happen. So with each interaction, ask

yourself, “Does this response warrant a personal touch, or can it be automated?”

When you get down to bare bones, business is still about human engagement. No existing technology can offer up the intuition and experience of a human. It doesn’t understand the competitive landscape. And it sure can’t forge emotional connections. 

When it makes sense, take the extra time for in-person meetings and phone calls to maintain those pathways of human connection.

#3. Remember That Your Customers Change

We all do.

But if you have long-standing clients for whom you’ve done the exact same service year after year because it’s what’s worked in the past, you can’t just write them off. They might not be as satisfied as you think.

It’s like that aunt who continues to buy you an airplane-themed gift every year for your birthday because you loved airplanes when you were, like, seven. You’ve even mentioned that airplanes don’t really do it for you anymore, but she just won’t listen. And frankly, you’re feeling pretty unvalidated.

Do you really want to weight down your clients with metaphorical airplanes?

Not only have you stopped listening to their needs, but you’re operating in the dark. You’ve also missed an important opportunity to validate who they are. You’ve essentially forgotten them. 

This is another reason you want to keep interacting with you customers. It’ll help you avoid turning them into categories. 

Consider customer focus groups. They can help you understand what clients need and which messages are hitting home.

Taking the Customer First Approach Is Not Limited to Marketers

And it shouldn’t be. We all gotta get along.

Project managers and creatives need to work together. Sales and marketing execs need to work together. CFOs and CEOs need to work together. There’s this whole working together theme here. 

But ultimately, success is achieved when EVERYONE works together to put the real people who matter first. 

And that would be, ahem, the customers. You know, the prize.  

So listen to them. Do the necessary work to solicit their input. Then bring that input to life. 

That’s the ultimate job of the marketer. 

Question of the Week: What Is the Future of Interactive Advertising?

Remember the days before interactive advertising? Back when you knew your cola was enriched with coca leaves and snake oil was all the rage?

Okay, it wasn’t quite that long ago.

But Interactive Advertising Did Not Start with the Internet 

It was already around - at a decidedly more rudimentary level - in the form of things like customer surveys, focus groups and Ovaltine.

Yeah, Ovaltine. Back in the (not so) glorious days of radio programs, they encouraged listeners to save proofs-of-purchase from jars of (not so) delicious Ovaltine to obtain radio premiums. Radio premiums, in this case, were secret decoder rings, badges or pins that the lucky obtainers could use to decode messages during Little Orphan Annie or Captain Midnight. 

You can bet the good folks in Bern, Switzerland - where Ovaltine is still produced to this day - used that feedback to “analyze” how they could improve upon their advertising. 

Of course, the definition of “analyzing data” in the late 1930’s/early 1940’s was about as different from its current definition as “happy returns,” which once meant “vomiting.”

Even so, it was the internet that really got people excited about interactive advertising and, more specifically, analytical data that could be transformed into actionable insights. 

Analytical Data Was Groundbreaking Stuff 

Customer surveys and lukewarm chocolate beverages aside, advertisers soon discovered they had this new superpower at their fingertips. Rather than using this power for evil, they got to work tweaking ad approaches, changing up colors, swapping out content and then soliciting feedback from their target audiences. 

Savvy advertisers could now give their potential customers a chance to interact with companies and their advertising, as opposed to simply being recipients of the pitch. This gave them some savory feedback.

But as valuable as that feedback was, it still took a backseat to the analytical data that tracked how those changes affected the ad’s performance. And soon enough, the wild world of interactive advertising was going beyond simple clickthroughs and banners to branch out to social media, branded games and polls and a slew of other approaches. 

What’s the Next Phase of Interactive Advertising?

While advertisers grapple with how to best wrangle the powerful animal that is interactive advertising, they’re also curious about where this dynamic, volatile creature is heading next.

There are, of course, varying opinions on the matter. But two components seem to be taking center stage:

New Technology and Content

And they’re in cohoots.

Advertisers are discovering how combining street campaigns with social media, innovative technology and powerful storytelling are coming together to create lasting effects.   

So the future of interactive advertising seems to be facing the challenge of how to integrate this shiny new technology, the internet and - perhaps most importantly - entertainment and good storytelling into advertising campaigns which consumers feel compelled to connect with rather than block.

It’s a big order.

But here’s what could potentially happen:

The creation of engaging content will boost the cost of buying ad space. This will have a domino effect on the quality of ads - meaning that they’ll also have to be higher quality. That means fewer ads. But those that are birthed will demand attention. Like a child with a temper tantrum. But far more entertaining. And that’s the operative word. Entertaining.

It Is Advertising Posing As Entertainment

Interactive advertising may just evolve into content that is

indistinguishable from regular entertainment. Yet it’ll be just as effective in leaving a lasting impression on consumers.

Ads that create a dialogue between the consumer and advertiser will be those that make a difference. The future of interactive advertising could just create a world where ads are enjoyable and advertisers are paid good money for great content, not spin.

Imagine that.

Question of the Week: Is Advertising An Art?

Hit the internet and you’ll find folks saying, “absolutely not.” Yet you’ll just as easily find folks saying, “without a doubt.” Then there’s a third and larger camp of folks that don’t take a definitive stand.

We reside in that third camp. We see this as one of those annoying questions that has no right answer. Like, “Is Kenneth a good name for a tree frog?” 

In other words, it's subjective.

But since the question was posed, we figured it was worth exploring a little. So let’s start by asking this:

How Does One Define Art?

Merriam Webster defines art as this:

The conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects.

Wikipedia - posing as a dictionary here - defines it as:

The product or process of deliberately arranging items (often with symbolic significance) in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect.

So given both of these definitions, it’s possible that advertising could be perceived as art. Then again, what we perceive isn’t absolute truth. Like when you’re in a non-moving car and the vehicle next to you is slowly inching forward so that you PERCEIVE that you’re moving backward. But you’re not.

Anyhow, without getting drawn into a philosophical argument on perception, we should look at the other important question here:

How Does One Define Advertising?

Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say now:

Advertising is how a company encourages people to buy their products, services or ideas. Advertisers influence our emotions by using techniques that include stereotyping and targeting the audience according to who we are. 

And as for Merriam Webster?

The action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements.

Okay. So there seems to be some clear delineation between the two. 

Advertising Has A Definitive End Result

To encourage the viewer to buy. But that does that necessarily preclude it from being art? 

Have you ever been stirred by an emotional and inspiring

commercial that tells a story? Okay, so it’s a very short story and not a full-length art film. But does size really matter? The expertise and creativity required to produce it could have easily come from the same place.

The advertising as art question is difficult because it deals with the complexity of being human. So let’s simplify the human into three parts:

• Senses/Emotions
• Intellect
• Will

When we focus on senses and emotions, we’re entertaining. When we focus on intellect, we’re educating. When we focus on will, we’re creating propaganda.

These three things rarely exist in their purest form though. As you trip through life, most of what you encounter will be some combination of these three things. Art and advertising included.  

But where art seems to deviate is that there isn’t as definitive an end result as there is in advertising.

Art Pursues A Higher Truth

In other words, that commercial that moved you in some way might just qualify as art if it conveyed a little bit of truth about the human experience and what it all means.

Then again, maybe not.

Yeah, most advertising focuses on entertaining the senses and emotions and then appealing to the viewer’s will to buy the product. There might even be a little education thrown in for good measure. And frankly, that’s considered really solid advertising. The kind that gets awards. 

But there is advertising that manages to touch on some existential truth and resonates through as art.  And, of

course, there have been countless times when advertising has inspired art. 

It did wonders for Mr. Warhol. 

So while it seems impossible to answer this week’s question, it’s always a hoot to keep the conversation going. 

Especially as the face of advertising continues to change.