5 reasons why your customers aren’t pulling the trigger and tips from the best Vancouver web design agency for how to fix the problem

The key to success with online sales and e-commerce is multi-faceted. Although there isn’t just one thing contributing to having the best online store, sometimes all it takes is one missing link to hold you back from achieving your full potential. One of the most common questions we hear from our Vancouver web design clients here at BragDeal is: why aren’t my viewers pulling the trigger to make purchases? The problem isn’t website traffic or interest, the problem comes from there being a disconnect between interest and intent to buy. Unfortunately, sales depend on buying, not just viewing products.

As a leading Vancouver web design agency, our company sees hundreds of businesses struggle to find a solution to this question. So, we thought it was time we address the issue! Let’s take a look at the most common reasons viewers don’t follow through with purchasing your products or services.

The top reasons  why you’re not meeting your sales potential as an online store, according to the leading Vancouver web design agency

Believe us when we say, we hear the following scenario all the time. Businesses across the world have a website that drives traffic. They get some sales and have a good customer base. They offer lots of products and/or services, and their products are proven to be in-demand, good quality, and of value. It seems they have a solid foundation and a great business, but their page views and their sales don’t line up. Although many potential customers are landing on their page, viewers are not pulling the trigger to follow through with a purchase.

Most professional websites will allow businesses to review who visits their site, what their users are clicking on, and when they are walking away. As a business owner, few things are more frustrating than having a well-visited store but not having potential customers purchase anything. So how do you go from converting viewers to customers?

If your website drives traffic but doesn’t incentivize sales your issue is likely due to one, or more, of the five below categories. So, what are you waiting for!? Learn what you may be doing wrong, and most importantly, what you can do to fix it!

1. Your Website’s Design Needs Improvement

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Source: Unsplash

 

Let’s talk about the overall look of your site. Ensuring the best web design is crucial to the success of your business and online store. The business world continues to become more competitive every day and you have to set yourself up for success from the ground up. This means investing in web design. The top web design agencies understand the importance of branding, layout, appearance, functionality, and user experience (UX) to not only boost sales but to elevate the company itself.

First impressions mean a lot. Your website is the first impression viewers get of your business. According to some experts, it takes two-tenths of a second for an online viewer to form a first opinion about your brand. Think about that! 0.02 seconds is quick! Before you’ve even put conscious thought into it, you’ve already decided if you like the look of this company and consider it trustworthy or not. If your website looks like it was thrown together quickly, your potential customers will see and feel that. The reality is, we are more likely to spend money on things that appear to have time and money spent on them. If your website communicates luxury, your customers will be more likely to shop with you.

 

2. Your Vancouver Web design project lacks reviews

 

Another important area of website design is the presence of customer reviews. With all the online resources we have today, customers often opt to do their own research before committing to a purchase. Much like how many people like to ask their friends about their experience with a product or service, online shoppers like to rely on the expertise of those who have already pulled the trigger. Talk to your web design agency about incorporating customer reviews into your e-commerce store design. When used effectively, they can help guide browsers towards becoming buyers.

There are plug-ins and widgets available to put real customer reviews right on your website. Make sure they are visible and easy to find. Use stars for product ratings and give current customers the option to provide their written feedback on your products. When you have reviews on your website, and they are clearly visible, you make it easy for customers to make the decision to purchase your products and services. Most shoppers prefer the opinions of other shoppers because it’s information they can trust and rely on, typically other shoppers are not trying to sell them on the product, they are just sharing their experience. Reviews are also a great way to answer customer FAQs because those reviewing products will often specify what about the product they like and what other users might want to be aware of before buying. All of this helps your customers which ultimately helps you!

 

3. Create a sense of urgency

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Source: Unsplash

 

One reason your customers aren’t pulling the trigger and making purchases is because they have the option to come back to it later. Most of the time, when customers walk away to think about a purchase, they either forget about it or decide not to spend the money. To help remedy this, businesses must create a sense of urgency for their products and services. Of course, you’re not trying to trick customers into making purchases, but you should be applying a little bit of pressure, similar to how in-person sales are conducted. Your web design features are your sales pitch. 

Call to action buttons and certain marketing strategies are a major asset to businesses who offer their products for online purchase. Place a large “buy now” button in your product display to encourage conversions and help streamline the check-out process. You can even employ scarcity marketing techniques to help create urgency amongst shoppers. Offer special pricing with a timer displayed on your website, countdown your promotions, and offer limited-time free shipping once and a while. This encourages shoppers to purchase the item now to get it for a reduced price. Although this can lead to impulse buys, it also helps your potential customers make a decision about whether they see the value in your product and want or need it for themselves. Viewers have already made their way to your website and browsed your products, therefore they are already interested! Sometimes by creating a bit of urgency you help the customer decide for themselves just how interested they truly are.

 

4. Your Products don’t look good

 

This point loops back to your web design, appearance matters! The appearance of your overall site, the products you display, the branding you have, all of it is important. You can have the best, most innovative products around, but if that’s not translated to the screen, shoppers will browse right on by. It’s a hard truth to swallow but if your products aren’t displayed effectively on your website, you will definitely lose business. Everything on your website is a visual representation of your brand, this includes the products and the services you offer.

Talk to your web design company in Vancouver about cleaning up your product displays. Make sure your graphics are crisp and eye-catching. All your pictures should be high quality and display the product in its best light. Avoid distracting backgrounds, and when possible opt for clean, plain white backdrops to showcase your inventory. Photograph your items from multiple angles, give customers a sense of the true size, and if you’re selling clothing, always have a model display the items. If appropriate, consider having videos to display your products and to educate your customers on how to best use them. In the online store itself, arrange your products in a way that is clean and organized, you don’t want customers to get confused or lost trying to navigate through your products or services. Displaying your products properly helps make customers feel secure in their decision to purchase from your business.

 

5. Top Vancouver web design needs a secure URL – Do you have one?

e-commerce vancouver
Source: Unsplash

 

We’ve touched upon this in some other articles and vlogs, but now is a great time to revisit the importance of a secure URL. Your website should display its SSL certificate to reinforce in your customers that doing business with you is safe. When viewers land on your website, they will never follow through with an online purchase if you don’t have a secure URL. Ask yourself, would you want to enter your personal credit card information into an online form that doesn’t have some sense of security? Chances are the answer is no for you, which means it’s no from your customers.

Your SSL certificate tells customers that it’s okay to process a transaction directly on your website because your site is secure and trustworthy. When they enter their personal information, it is protected and secure, which legitimizes your businesses and ensures they shop with you again. If your customers can’t trust your website, then they won’t trust your business, it’s as simple as that.

Bonus – other things to consider when it comes to converting browsers to buyers in the Vancouver web design scene

  • Are your products in high demand? Check up on what the competition is doing, and make sure your products are up to date, high quality, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. Online sales are competitive, don’t take yourself out of the running by offering outdated inventory.
  • Try upselling! Work alongside your web designer to include upselling features that let the customer know how many people have viewed the item/how popular it is, show them other items that may interest them, and related items that others shoppers have bought with this item.
  • Get into email lists. Incentivize customers to sign up as members or subscribe to your email this. Perhaps you offer exclusive access to promotions or a sign-up discount for new members. Having an emailing list ensures you can easily contact your customers and update them on new products, sales, and other promotions.
  • Streamline your checkout process. Maybe this goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway, make sure your checkout process is easy and secure. Give shoppers the options to sign out as a guest or a member, take them through step-by-step, and let them review their purchase at the end. If the checkout process is confusing, time-consuming, or sketchy in any way, shoppers will walk away from the purchase.

 

Once you evaluate these five areas on your website, bring your needs and thoughts to your web design company. After you have the basics down, then you can start to consider additional selling features such as our 4 bonus points, but before you start adding bells and whistles, you want to make sure that your web design is on point, you have reviews and testimonials of your products and services, customers feel a sense of urgency to shop, your products look awesome, and your website is safe and secure.

The business world, online and in-person, is extremely competitive and it can sometimes feel like an exhausting battle to contend with your competitors. If your website has consistent, heavy traffic but you’re not seeing many viewers pulling the trigger to purchase your products and service, there’s no need to panic, you might just need a little revamp. The top Vancouver web design agencies will be able to give your website a quick assessment to determine your improvement points which will help get you on the right track and ensure your business grows. We know building a brand, a company, and an e-store takes a long time, but investing your time and money up-front in good web design, excellent product display, and security will ensure the money comes back to you in sales and loyal customers.

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