4 Methods to improve customer journey on your website
From first impression through to journey end, which can be engaging a service, making a purchase, getting in contact.
Customer Journey?
You want to make the journey run as smoothly as possible; otherwise they may give up and go somewhere else. You have to understand the reason customers are coming to your website and what they are trying to get out of it. This should really line up with the service or product you are trying to offer.
There will be “touch points” on your website where the customer has to make a decision to move forward or not, and identifying these will allow you to better understand what it is that may cause the customer to hesitate or leave completely.
You can map your customer journey and touch points using Google Analytics data to show what pages people are visiting, how they are getting there and where they go next. There are lots of reasons a customer may struggle interacting with your website, and many of them will be simpler than you think.
If you have a product or service that you know people want, and it is priced appropriately, but yet you aren’t getting the results you want online, then you should start with these 4 possibilities.
1. Your website is difficult to use
This is one of the most common problems I will come across when looking at other company’s websites. Their product is great but the website just doesn’t do it justice. It can be a combination of basic issues that contribute to an overall difficult experience, or one big error that is stopping visitors in their tracks.
Common issues are a poor layout, unclear navigation or an abundance of irrelevant content making the website cluttered. Every page on your website should be easy to find and have a clear purpose for being there. If your website isn’t usable on a basic level then it is not going to achieve anything.
2. Product or Service descriptions are unclear
So, people are visiting your website, they are interested in what you have to offer, but end up not getting the information they need to make an informed decision.
Your descriptions should have the right balance of being concise but comprehensive, which can be difficult to achieve.
Making use of headings and bullet points will space out the information and make it much easier to take in.
Visitors need to understand exactly what they should expect and the easiest way to do this is to show them, so where relevant, pictures or videos of products should be included.
3. Customer concerns are not addressed
You will almost certainly be aware of the most common concerns prospects have when deciding whether to give you their business.
You need to address these concerns on your website in the same way you would face to face or on the phone.
What makes you better than your competitors? Do you offer a free trial?
You can also display customer testimonials to boost confidence in your business. If this information isn’t available, then the majority of people wont pick up the phone or send an email to find out, they will just go looking somewhere else.
4. Final hurdles
The customer is approaching the end of their journey.
They have navigated your website with ease, identified the product for them, and all their concerns have been put to bed, but what do they do next?
The transition from the customer deciding they want something, to them parting with their cash to obtain it needs to be as seamless as possible, as one small hiccup can ruin the whole process. Can they checkout online and is it fully secure?
People generally dislike having to spend a lot of time registering and filling in forms at the checkout, so maybe they would like the option to use PayPal or their Google wallet?
Do they need to make contact by phone or email to engage the service? If so then your phone number or email should be clearly displayed in a call to action, with the option of requesting a call back.
