If businesses are to grow, they need to win more customers, sales and revenue. In a demanding commercial world, we have a tendency to take figures for these three discrete factors and morph them into two-decimal-point conversions. As a result, conversion rates have become the key indicators that illustrate success rates for online campaigns.
There is an underlying beauty about conversion figures – they simplify the mathematics of what tend to be complex calculations, but they have a phenomenal impact on business potential.
For example, imagine an ecommerce site that can lay claim to these statistics:
- Sells product X at £10
- Has 100,000 unique visitors per month
- 10,000 visitors make a purchase
- Average basket value (purchase) of £30.
In this case, the overall visitor conversion rate would be 10% and monthly revenue would stack up to £300,000.
Now, if we were to increase the conversion rate by a single percentage point, taking it to 11%, then monthly revenue generation would increase to £330,000 — an additional £30,000 per month or £360,000 over a year.
Better still, the increase can theoretically be achieved without needing to increase traffic volumes or carry out additional marketing activity.
To achieve this 1% increase, you simply need to make sure your website visitors are provided with the simplest and most pleasant experience possible. The best way to do this is to make sure your site has the following.
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1. An appropriate wireframe and layout – visitors are in your home, so make them feel comfortable.
2. Adequate sign-posting to the key areas of your website – if your visitors can’t locate their destination within a few seconds then they’ll leave.
3. A modern and relevant look and feel – this is key to your brand, your image and – most importantly — how visitors perceive you.
4. A quick, easy and informative purchase process – if visitors are adding things to their basket, then they are letting you know that they want to buy from your business. Make sure you embrace them.
If your website doesn’t satisfy these four necessities, then you are certainly not making the most of your hard-won traffic.
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The best solution is to invest in a new website that will help you make the most of your potential. By this I don’t mean modify what you already have; instead, start from scratch and use professional ecommerce specialists to guide you through all the opportunities.
There are also additional benefits to redesigning your website. For example, you can make sure your site is fully SEO optimised, which will drive more organic searches to your site. Indeed, the benefits could be phenomenal, especially if your present website is desperately outdated and unfit for purpose.
So, if you are an ecommerce business, I’d advise you to evaluate the traffic you are already generating, and ask yourself whether you can afford not to maximise your site’s potential. In the fierce competition of the current economic climate, it’s a question that’s more pressing than ever.
Talk to us. We can help you redevelop your website and grow your online business. There’s never been a better time to pile on those extra conversions.