Your website influences the buying decision of your customers.
It is common knowledge that, to be taken seriously in business, you must have a website. However, the evolution of the online medium now dictates that having a website focused on lead generation or conversion is necessary for staying in business. Research shows that your customers are checking your website, and what they see and experience there influences how they perceive your business and ultimately, whether or not they buy from you. Even your ‘brochure’ website must do more than merely inform; it should be converting online traffic to leads.
Your website is a crucial step in the buying process.
According to an article published by the Online Publisher’s Association:
The Internet plays a vital role in the purchase decision process for virtually all product and service categories, regardless of whether the purchase transaction happens on a website, over the telephone or in a store or other physical location.
The significance of this research is that it defines your website as a crucial step in the buying process. We can safely assume that no matter what industry you are in, regardless of where the final sale is transacted, your visitors are evaluating your website. Given that, their impression of your company from your website can make or break the sale.
The web is of increasing marketing importance.
The report goes on further to explain their findings regarding consumer impressions and which mediums most influenced consumer’s decisions to buy. Tracking since 2002, the data have consistently shown an increasing influence of a company’s website in the rate of sales conversion.
Asked which touchpoints most influenced their purchase decision, respondents cited websites collectively (official company sites plus third-party retailer and other sites) as more important than TV advertisements in seven out of 10 product/service categories.
Traditional media such as TV and print have been declining in significance while online and other non-traditional media such as websites and mobile marketing have been increasing in significance with consumers. This is a trend that is not likely to change any time soon. Get used to the web being an essential part of your company’s marketing campaign.
What is your website saying about your business?
Is the information that your visitors are looking for easy to find? Do you even know what information your visitors are looking for? Is your website structure simple and intuitive, while simultaneously being informative and comprehensive? Is the visual appeal of your website attractive to the caliber of clients you are looking to work with?
As vain as it is, an aesthetically unappealing website denotes low quality service; this is an obvious extension of the ‘dress for success’ philosophy. More importantly than how the site looks, is how it functions. An intuitively structured, well organized website crafted to communicate your company’s unique selling proposition is necessary for closing the sale. A frustrating user experience will scare off customers because it will predict in their minds a similar experience when working with you.
Conversely, as much as a bad site can hurt you, a well designed and organized website can help your business. A positive online impression that is consistent with your brand will be that essential step in closing the sale. Managing the perceptions of your customers online is no longer inconsequential to your company’s perception as a whole. Given the influence of the internet, make sure that your company’s online presence influences your customers to buy from you rather than your competitors.
Cited reseach: The Internet’s Role in the ModernPurchase Process