Strapline

Copy - Content - Marketing Communications Planning

Monday 29 December 2014

How to convert customers and prospects to engage and purchase - part 4

Friction - sounds painful and it can be.

My take on "friction" is that it's not just limited to websites, where it's associated with anything that gets in the way and discourages a visitor completing what they want to do and  what you want them to do.

In the online world this is often at the point when payment is required and the visitor just fails at the last moment to complete the transaction. This could be due to the purchase/value ratio being not that strong or it could be the visitor is fed up with an antiquated shopping cart system.

Friction can happen from the moment a visitor lands on your site, so you need to make sure sure every page has contact details, clear headlines and if possible make the navigation as easy and intuitive as possible. Also make sure your goals for the page or whole site are built into the design and copy - guide your visitor to engage in the way you want them to. If you have a poor shopping cart do something, if your visitors fail to complete the transaction, add some guarantees or find out if your competitors have a better proposition.

Friction is complicated. But not just online. Think about "friction" across all media - including insidious hidden friction that can be so damaging. Consider these for a moment:

  • Are you the best ambassador for your business in all you say and do?
  • Do you pay your bills late?
  • Do all your employees promote you and the business that pays them,  positively if no why?
  • Do you really want to be in the business you're in? 
If you can't answer these the way you should, then you have inbuilt friction within your business that no amount of slick online trickery will cover up. Internal friction will lose you more customers everyday because you will never know you have lost them - they just won't  give you the opportunity of losing the order. Gone are the days when you could hide behind smoke and mirrors - transparency is everywhere.

Take a honest look at all the inbuilt "friction" in your business - ask yourself would you do business with your business?

Next post will be 5 things you can do in January to change the way everyone feels about your business.

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