In the last two articles we touched on the importance of Content, Credibility and Conversion as essential elements in the 4C’s process. I’ll pick up the trail this week with some more comments about Conversion.
First as a précis of previous columns: remember people search the net for high value, credible information (Content) or solutions that will help them fulfill a desire they have or solve a problem they are experiencing.
Therefore your primary task (well before you make your first sale or recommendation to a customer) and often well before that person is even aware that they are shopping, is to provide the information that they are looking for.
By doing so the result will be that you will generate your own traffic and traffic is what you must have in order to succeed on the net.
By delivering HIGH VALUE content you “pre-sell” i.e. warm up visitors by over delivering what they came for. This creates Credibility and trust and you become a knowledgeable expert.
This credibility creates an open mind to buy or hire mindset.
The key point here is PRE-sold visitors convert more easily into paying customers
Contrast that to sites that just try to get the sale – there is no relevant, inspiring or editorial comment. No attempt at building and nurturing a relationship – just an attempt to make a sale.
Yet as in the off-line world – without a (good) relationship – what are the chances of making a sale?
Hmmm … you got it … very slim.
In the offline world you and I buy from people or businesses that we know, like and trust. So it is in the online world.
You must become a known knowledgeable expert in your chosen field.
The needs of your target market must be your number #1 priority.
By recognizing that you are in the Content Delivery Business you can let your content pull them through to your revenue generating locations of your site.
The ideal is to make your visitors WANT to give you your desired response
E.g. buy that product; complete that survey; give you their name and email address etc. The specific response you are looking for will depend on what you decided your primary goal is (remember last week’s article).
If you have a web site
i) Have you decided what your primary goal is yet?
ii) Are you providing valuable, highly sought after content?
If you don’t have a web site, well you have an opportunity to get it right and be part of small minority of web sites that actually make money.
Ahh yes ... Conversion
Conversion is the art of turning an information seeker into a customer.
In addition to your primary goal (sale from your online shop; booking into your seminar) you should have a secondary goal – which is a mechanism to give you the opportunity to subsequently convert a visitor to your primary goal. Examples of secondary goals are an email newsletter subscription or contact us form.
So how can I improve my conversion you ask?
That’s great question and the answer lies in how well you understand your target market and the psychology of selling. Specifically you should
i) Identify & refine your “Conversion Funnel”. This is the path that begins with a visitor starting down the path to conversion and ends after the conversion is made. The funnel should be built to reinforce comfort in the purchase and must strike a balance between being too long; too short or too complicated. Funnels that are too short result in visitors that are not quite ready to buy yet.
ii) Use “Call’s to Action” such as buttons to “Buy Now” or “Click Here” or “Get Started Today”
iii) Use your secondary goal to catch people who fall out of the primary conversion funnel.
Next week, we talk about the final C in the 4C’s process the “Customer”.
Meanwhile if you have a website why don’t you review it in light of the Content, Credibility, Conversion process we have been discussing. And if you are planning a website well even better – don’t miss a great opportunity to get it right. | 
