Are customers arriving at your website, then mysteriously vanishing? As well as damaging your search engine ranking, it can cost you valuable leads and conversions. It is usually an indicator that the customer journey on your website is not up to scratch. Read on as we give our essential guide to enhancing the customer journey on your business website.
What Is the Customer Journey?
Customer journey describes the path a potential lead or conversion takes with your company, from hearing about your service to the final transaction. It can be broken down into three main phases.
Awareness – This is where the buyer has a problem that needs solving. It can usually be solved by the purchase of a service or product, hopefully one that your business provides. It could be something as simple as buying cleaning products to a more complex problem like the need for a bespoke software solution.
Consideration – This is where the potential lead starts to look for a solution. They may search online, ask friends and family for recommendations, or visit the local shopping mall. It is the point they look at your company and your competitors, in a bid to decide which is the best outcome for them.
Decision – This is the point at which the buyer chooses a solution to the problem. At this point, they are deciding to buy your product or one from another provider.
The Importance of Your Website in the Customer Journey
At any point in the customer journey, you can lose the potential lead. That may be natural. Not everyone goes on to buy a product they’ve looked at. But where the customer does intend to make a purchase, certain improvements can make their experience with you better than with a competitor, thus avoiding losing a lead unnecessarily.
For example, if they visit a physical store and the assistant is rude to them, they would be lost at the consideration point. If they went to buy a product from the store, but it wasn’t in stock, they may be lost in the decision point. Therefore, every facet of the customer journey needs to be streamlined and perfected to facilitate a conversion.
Your website is vital to this, as it is a form of contact at multiple points along the customer journey. It will play an essential part in the consideration process, as people look online for solutions. It is also the point at which they will purchase, making a decision. In some cases, it may even be part of the awareness section, advertising a product to a customer they did not even know they needed.
Customer journey should be built into your website’s architecture. As soon as people land on your page, it should take them on a path towards a purchase. If something causes them to go elsewhere – too many pop-ups and ads on the page, slow loading times or even a bad site layout – you risk losing them for good.
Does Improving the Customer Journey Work?
A perfect case study of this can be found in Starbucks. While no longer a small business, at one point they were. Their whole business model has been focused on the customer journey, which has allowed them to grow into the global powerhouse they are today. Their actual coffee shops are the backbone of the journey, but they’ve also made significant inroads in improving their websites and digital services.
A large campaign was undertaken into the “pain points” their customers had on their journey. Pain points are any problem that could cause a customer to drop off. The main feedback was that they needed to simplify the rewards program and include new digital technologies in the journey.
One of the biggest outcomes was the creation of mobile order and pay. This allowed customers to buy using their devices and pick up the order from the store, so they did not have to wait in long lines for “their usual”. Further options for mobile payment while in the store also facilitated this customer experience, along with amendments to their reward programme. All of this bridged a gap between the physical nature of their coffee shops and the digital world of their websites and apps.
How to Improve the Customer Journey on Your Website
Improving the customer journey is an ongoing task. You won’t solve the problem with a few quick fixes, and what works now may need refining or changing in the future. Below are the stages of a customer journey and how you can improve them.
Decision
The customer has already decided to make a purchase and has arrived to do so. Thus, making payment easier for them is the key. Don’t just have one method, but try to allow as many different ways to pay as you can. You may decide to compare different payment gateway providers to see who has the best cost-to-service ratio. Certain sectors will also favour different payment methods. For example, you won’t need to take crypto payments for general retail, whereas digital services and online gaming may need to consider this.
If your stock is low, you need to reassure the customer so they don’t buy elsewhere. Make sure you have stock numbers displayed on the product page. If it is not available, then show a date for the arrival of new products. Finally, include all delivery options on the page so that people know when they can get the product if they purchase immediately. A range of delivery options to suit all needs will capture a wider range of buyers.
Finally, make sure that items are saved in their shopping cart. There are many reasons people don’t make a purchase immediately. By having items saved, they can easily come back and make a quick purchase when the time is right. Make sure you set up an email so you can remind them of any items left.
Consideration
Consideration is arguably the section where you will have the most work to do. It is the point at which you need to convince a customer to use your company. Start by getting your website in perfect working order. Make sure it loads quickly, on mobile and desktop. You should then assess your site navigation and make sure it has a functioning search option. The three-click rule is a good tip to follow: a customer should be able to find anything on your website in three clicks or taps of their finger.
Once this is done, think about the actual look of your website. You may dive into colour theory, which is the psychology of how certain shades and tones influence a buyer. Invest in quality graphics and if you are advertising products, make sure you show them in the best possible way with professional photography.
Less is often more when designing a website. Clutter can make people confused, and they may turn off and go elsewhere. Thus, you should ensure the design is clean and tidy, with a few select images and bold, easy-to-read text.
Finally, to help persuade them, consider using customer reviews and testimonials. Like anything, they should be added sparingly around the website. Ask former customers for kind words, or use ratings from third-party review websites to build trust.
The customer journey is not just confined to your website. It should be a holistic approach that encompasses every interaction people have with you. This could entail advertising, in-store meetings and your digital brand. As a constant touchpoint, the website plays a huge part in this and any improvements will have a marked impact. Take a lesson from Starbucks, speak to your customers, and see where the main points are. You can then adjust them and watch the conversions start to increase.
