When we used to have more time and attention, we could spare some energy exploring a website to find out what someone did and how they can help. That was in a different era just a few years ago.
Today, bounce rates are high on sites and pages that don’t speak to people’s need or are not immediately clear. We don’t have the patience to understand and we have a sea of options with online search to find someone else who will be clear.
Part of the reason visitors leave is that there is not a clear next step. Fancy graphics and too much information served up in one screen becomes easily overwhelming and discouraging.
While there are many options for a stranger to experience you, the key goal is to start a relationship with the lowest risk. They don’t know you nor do they trust you yet. So the question becomes, how can you make it easy for a stranger grow in trust and knowledge?
Well the easiest way to get a full experience is if they work with you. If they interact with you from a near perspective rather than far away, this allows them to see beyond the claims you make. It allows them to interact and see how you work.
A simple way to set this up is to build an easy and apparent way for new customers to try you. It might be a big “Try Me” button on each of your pages. It can also be simple calls to action towards a landing page on each of your content pages that create a relevant next step to the content a person just experienced.
When you put that call to action out there make it risk free. This can mean providing a guarantee of performance, a trial of software or a small lower risk professional engagement.
From this experience, it should become apparent what your value and possibilities to your new customer is. You have a small commitment which is easier to expand to a larger project rather than someone sitting on the sidelines holding their breath to take a big step.
Making the Steps Small
To make an effective small call to action, you will have to test to see what people will take action on. The first metric may be whether they click on a link in articles you have published or buttons and banners that are integrated into your site.
If you are getting clicks but no sign-ups there may need to be another step inserted like customer testimonials and a longer landing page copy that explains what will happen to alleviate any further feelings of high risk.
Each step is a conversion point. Make the steps and the emotional commitment smaller until you see the desired behavior of your audience.
Ultimately, the easiest way to call someone a customer is if they buy something from you. Create a simple, low-risk option that makes them a customer.
You are essentially turning your “Try me” option into an extension of the sales process. However, you got commitment and the opportunity to start a relationship around value first.
Even if this means you have to take a loss on your first small option, test it out and see if this makes your sales process easier overall. You will have lowered your overall buying cycle and cost of acquiring a new customer.
It starts with content that people can experience your thought leadership and knowledge from. After this, the action step to get people to commit to something has to be laid out and embedded in your content for an easy way to start doing business, however small.
