It is much easier for a customer to look for reasons to not take action, than to be convinced that your product or service is exactly what they need and make them part with cash.
We love the path of least resistance, (which is why you should always make it easy for your customer to contact you, hire you or buy from you) so the moment we get doubts about someone or something, we’re more likely to click away and forget all the great benefits that were promised and convince ourselves we didn’t need it anyway.
See, i know you’re selling something that is going to transform your customers life, whether it be a way for them to capture their genius in a morning, or write that spark of genius down whilst they are on the go, or maybe it’s the ability to be properly caffeinated one cup at a time…(is it a coincidence that I’m using examples from my Christmas list? Probably – I don’t think my family read my blog :-)).
Whatever your brilliant product or idea, if you’re not tackling the little doubts in your customer’s mind such as:
- Will it work for me?
- Will I look silly if I buy it?
- What if i don’t like it?
- what do I actually get for my money?
then the path of least resistance is no longer to your checkout, it’s probably to someone elses’ website.
So here are 3 quick ways to make the path to your “buy” button the path of least resistance.
Other people love you
It doesn’t matter if this is with testimonials, or the “1,157 customers have loved this product” kind of claim, show your customer that they’re not on their own by choosing you. We’re wary of the new, and of standing out.
Apparently it takes 2 people to start crossing a road before the rest of the crowd will follow (so what happens if they get to the middle of the road and then another 2 people turn back…who do they follow?!)
We don’t want to follow just one person because they could be odd, but we will follow a few people, especially if those people have good things to say about you.
Show them what they get and how to get it
Explain to your customer what happens after they put in their card details, tell them if they receive the product instantly or if it’s going to take 14 days for delivery. Let them know how many order form pages they will have to fill out and which buttons to click. Guide them through the sales process to remove any mystery of what it’s like to be your customer.
When we’re spending money, we don’t like mystery, we want to know what we’re getting.
Give them a guarantee
Let them know what happens if for whatever reason they buy it but it’s just not the right time for them. They might never use a guarantee, but it’s nice to know they have it. Just think about how many insurance products you’ve ever bought and never used. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing!
What do you think? What other ways do you use to make sure your customer is 100% comfortable and confident buying from you?
Great stuff Amy.
Thanks Jonathan – popped over to your blog today, really enjoy your writing style. 🙂
Another way is to ensure that you walk the walk you talk…and your customers *see* that. It might be via your Twitter stream, it might be via your FB fan page, it might be via other social networking interactions.
Definitely works well…
Very true Barbara, I know this because I’ve skipped sales pages before just from knowing the person through social media and knowing what people have said about their stuff.
The sales cycle really can start a whole helluva a way off from the actual sales page.