There’s an often overlooked, crucial aspect of business: potential customers need to have a positive impression of the company if they’re going to hand over their hard-earned cash. Sometimes, an entrepreneur can go into their new venture with the best of intentions yet lose a percentage of their potential customers all because of a few fundamental mistakes that have people raising their eyebrows, mistakes that raise doubts. To ensure that you don’t run into the same troubles, we’ve put together a list of some of the common mistakes businesses make. To keep customers present and potential on board, make sure you’re not guilty of any of these errors.
People have become pretty attuned to the manipulative side of selling. Whereas adverts in the old days used to use language that would invoke guilt or play on self-esteem issues, the tide is beginning to turn — people in general are better able to see through negative language. If you’re basing your marketing campaigns for your products and services on fear, then it might be time to look at including some more positive language. The aim of the game is to inspire people to use your business, not try to scare them. If you’re not writing your copy yourself, make sure you’re working with a professional who writes in positive terms.
People can be sold to directly, but they need to walk to the point of purchase themselves. If they’re too far away from getting to that point, then it’s best to leave them alone. Some companies try too hard to sell to a person, even when they’ve expressed just a small amount of interest. Think of it in terms of walking into a store. You want to have space to browse the products on the shelf, to scope out what’s there. If you’ve immediately accosted by multiple members of staff, and don’t have any space, then you’ll be more likely to walk out than stick around. Only nudge people in the direction of making a purchase if you’re sure they’re walking that way anyway.
It’s always important to hire the right staff for your team, but especially so when you’re operating a public-facing business. Then, your staff aren’t just employees: they’re ambassadors for your business, and if there’s something about their demeanor that puts outsiders off, then they might inadvertently cost you more potential customers than you are happy to lose. During the hiring process, keep in mind that it’s not just a person’s ability to physically do the job that matters, but their all-around presence. If you have a likeable, friendly team of staff, then you’ll be unlikely to run into any problems.
You can get people on the hook by offering appealing prices, but you won’t get them into the boat. Indeed, unless you’re upfront with the costs, then all you’ll find is that you have a high shopping cart abandonment rate. This is an issue that plagues all ecommerce stores anyway, so don’t make it more difficult for yourself! It’s best to tell your customers the true cost of a product or service at the earliest opportunity. There’s nothing worse for a customer than to select an item, go through the process of buying, and then seeing at the last moment that there are unmentioned costs (such as tax, expensive postage and packaging, or service fees). The might still want to buy the item, but they’re going to look if it’s available anywhere else before they return to your website.
Eyebrow Raising Websites
First impressions count for a lot, especially online, where there are so many options to choose from and credibility counts for so much. If you have a website that is substandard or not in keeping with the standards of your competitors, then it’ll be time to get an upgrade. Work with a professional web design company, and they can deliver a state of the art, modern website that’ll invoke all the right things in the minds of your potential customers. People want to trust that they’re dealing with a business that knows what they’re doing; making sure that your website is on point is a good place to start. As well as the general design of the site, you’ll want to ensure that the text and images you’re using are high-quality and free of mistakes. It’ll convey a degree of trust that’ll be invaluable.
Some companies have top-quality websites, yet proceed to do much of the good work by adding features that, while intended to improve the company in one way or another, only result in annoying the visitor. For example, pop up ads. One asking the visitor to subscribe to your newsletter is fine, but only after they’ve had some time to look around, and even then, only once. Things like autoplay videos, especially ones with sound, should be avoided altogether. You need to be offering something really special in order to get away with them — most people just click X once they hear sound that they were not expecting. These kinds of tactics might work on a short-term basis, but they won’t help to develop a long-term customer base.
It’s in your best interests to remind your customers that you still exist from time to time, but you do have to manage it responsibly. You can’t, for instance, just spam your customers with emails and text messages whenever you feel like boosting your sales. It won’t work, and all you’ll end up with is a higher unsubscribe rate. If you’re going to inject yourself into a person’s life, you have to do so carefully.
Finally, the biggest thing that’ll turn a customer off your business is if you’re unable or unwilling to resolve a problem that they may have. It’s easy to treat customers well when everything is fine; much more difficult when it’s not! Make sure you have a robust system in place for ending up with happy customers, no matter what happens.
