Today’s consumers always have choices and usually a lot of them. It’s not difficult to do some last minute shopping while standing in any store just to get a price check. Pull out your phone, do a quick search, and instantly become educated about more options. It can feel hard to compete with that. However, a recent Google and Ipsos research study shows, “90% of smartphone users aren’t absolutely sure of the specific brand they want to buy when they begin shopping.” What should you do?
Preparation is the key to success!
To stay competitive you just need to be prepared. A website is always on and ready to inform your prospective buyer. If you don’t give it all the tools necessary, how are you going to build trust with a tentative consumer?
First impressions with websites are important
Do your best to make your website look as fresh and clean as possible. Think about the website like a 24 hour storefront… Would you want your customers to think you haven’t updated your carpets and furniture since 2002 because your business isn’t doing well? You need to keep it looking up-to-date, because you care about your business! Then make sure your site looks great on smartphones and tablets. Have you ever tried buying your own product on your website with your phone? If it doesn’t present your business well you need to start updating. Some tips for mobile usage,
- Make sure everything stays legible, from desktop to mobile
- Make sure your buttons and points of engagement are sized large enough for a thumb and aren’t cramped together.
- Optimize resources like images for page speed
- Use fancy java script plugins sparingly, they take time to load
Have content that engages
Don’t just talk generically about your product for search engine rankings. Your prospective buyers are people not robots! Ask yourself a few key questions about your product or service, then make the content that will reflect that.
- What does my product or service actually do for my customer?
- For example, if your product cleans windows, what does that mean? It means you are letting sunlight in, seeing the world more clearly, creating a happy home, and a brighter business!
- What is my product’s or service’s value proposition?
- For example, “Our widget will give your workers up to 30% more time each day to take on new challenges”
- Basically tell your buyer what your product can really do while sprinkling in some REAL data and make it have a valuable output.
- For example, “Our widget will give your workers up to 30% more time each day to take on new challenges”
Those are just some tips to get you started. If you are looking for more insightful ways to build trust with your buyers, check out our guide to “Building Trust: Master online & on location methods to build consumer confidence”.
