Top 5 Things Customers Want to See or Experience Before They Buy From You

Whether you run an e-commerce store, provide a service, or coach clients, one thing is universal: getting visitors to your website is just the first step. Converting those visitors into paying customers or clients is the ultimate goal, and to do that, you need to give them what they need before they make that decision to buy. Today, we’re going to break down the top five things customers or clients want to see or experience before they buy from you, whether you’re selling products, services, or coaching programs. Let’s dive into what will make your prospects feel confident and ready to commit.


Mentioned Resources:

--> Learn about Bundling
Episode 28: The Win-Win Strategy of Product Bundling 


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Chapters

• 0:00 Building Trust and Converting Visitors
• 7:53 Improving Conversion and Customer Confidence
• 17:30 Support and Return Policy Importance

Transcript

Carrie Saunders: 0:45

Whether you run a traditional e-commerce store, are a coaching provider, or sell courses or other services, one thing is true across the board Getting visitors to your website is the first step, but the ultimate five things that help you convert those visitors into paying and satisfied buyers. Welcome to the e-commerce made easy podcast. I'm your host, ke Saunders. When we started this business, all I had was a couch, a laptop and a nine month old. My main goal to help others. Now, with over 20 years in the e-commerce building industry, and even more than that in web development, I have seen a lot. I love breaking down the hard tech into easily understandable bits to help others be successful in their online business. Whether you're a seasoned e-commerce veteran or just starting out, you've come to the right place, so sit back, relax and let's dive into the world of e-commerce together. Welcome back to this episode of our podcast. Today, we're talking about what customers or clients need to see or experience before they buy from you. Whether they're purchasing a physical product from your e-commerce store or a one-on-one coaching service or a course or any type of service-based businesses. We're going to be talking about what it really takes to help convert those visitors into actual buyers in all about how to create the right environment that builds trust, answers their questions and provides the information they need to make a confident buying decision from you. So, first, the top one thing that we want to be doing and we talk about this frequently on the podcast is creating those trust signals. We want to create a sense of trust when somebody first lands on your website. If they don't feel like they can trust you right away, they're probably going to leave. So how do we create trust on our website, especially since we're not, you know, talking one-on-one to them? You know it is a website page that's kind of more digital and static. You know you may have some dynamic elements on it, but how do we create that trust, first and foremost? So, first off, we can do that by doing a customer reviews and testimonials. This applies whether you sell physical products or services. Having those reviews and testimonials this applies whether you sell physical products or services Having those reviews and testimonials from other customers really helps build that customer trust and I recommend you doing this in the natural way that that review or testimonial came to you.

Carrie Saunders: 3:25

So let's say, you have customer reviews on Facebook, on your Facebook page or maybe on your Google page. I would recommend creating screenshots of those reviews and using those images on your website. The reason being is we tend to recognize the little Facebook bubble review area. You know how we would see it actually on Facebook and we also recognize, for example, the Google review area. You know how we would see it actually on Facebook and we also recognize, for example, the Google review area too. So when you create that screenshot, it doesn't look like you have typed it up yourself and made up the testimonial. So creating an actual screenshot of the testimonial that's out there can even elevate that trust a bit more. If you're able to do that Now, granted, if you don't have the tech skills to do the screenshot and add it to your website, copying and pasting the review is also fine and much better than none at all, but doing those screenshots can really help elevate the truth and validity of that customer review or testimony. Or even just having a place where people can submit them on your website and then people can view them is also fine as well, or having a mix of both, honestly, is really good.

Carrie Saunders: 4:36

Now, if you are selling e-commerce or even services, honestly, you want to make sure that your website is HTTPS or SSL encrypted. So most websites anymore are this, but I do want to mention this for those of you that have had a business for a long time. I still see some businesses that don't have their website encrypted. So you basically want to see the HTTPS at the top in the bar on your website. It's pretty easy to check. Just go to your website, and many times in the browsers they hide that now, so you might need to click on it so that you can see the beginning of your URL and make sure it says HTTPS. You want that S in there for secure. That's kind of a no brainer. Most people have that, but, like I said, I do like to mention that because some people who've been around for a while still don't have that. We run into customers about that too. And then if you have any professional credentials or any sort of certifications or how long you've been in business, all those things like that can really boost your customer trust. So putting those on your website, don't be shy about it.

Carrie Saunders: 5:45

Obviously, we don't want to be boastful. We want to be, you know, gracious and kind and humble with our, with our you know accolades and how we, you know where we've come to all of this. But if you don't have it too, people won't know it and people like appreciate that, especially if it's not in a boastful manner. Most people don't appreciate the boastful manner version of it. But having you know for example us, we've been in business since 2002. That should be prominent on our website and now I'm thinking I should go check that and make sure it is, because I'm not sure it is now that I think about it. But having something like that is very important. You know, do you have a coaching certification? Go ahead and put that on your website. Don't be shy about it. You know you could even explain why you love this certification and what it did for you, how it really brought to light X, y or Z. So kind of really think about how you can tell a story behind these certifications and by the longevity of your business if you've been in business for a while. So put some story behind it to make it a little bit more fun and interesting to read as well, and it also helps bring that trust and your personality to it as well.

Carrie Saunders: 6:57

Number two is talking about detailed information about what you offer, whether that's physical goods or services or courses. We want to really talk about what it is that you're offering and come at it from the standpoint of what is your product or service do for the potential customer that is considering it. So we want to talk about what it does for them, speak to their emotions, more so than we talk about the features and benefits of it. Now, I do recommend having features and benefits in there as well, because a lot of people do like to look at things like that. But we want to first tap into their emotion and really connect with them and speak about how it is going to help them solve a problem, make, bring more joy to their life or whatever your solution of your product or service is. It's really going to help connect them so that when you do talk about the details and the features, they're really connected to that.

Carrie Saunders: 7:53

And when you're doing this, when appropriate, provide really good, high quality images and videos. This applies both for products and for services, and especially in the service realm. Having a video even a short video about you and why this product is great or the service is great, can really help chip that person into purchasing, because they're going to get a bit more personality from you. So this is especially important when you're doing services or selling courses or things like that, and then when we're selling physical goods, if it's appropriate to show videos of the product so they can show different angles of it or maybe some features of it or how you might use it. That's going to really connect of the product so they can show different angles of it or maybe some features of it or how you might use it. That's going to really connect with the buyer as well. So videos are really a good way to sell anymore.

Carrie Saunders: 8:45

A lot of people are looking for it. But please don't discount having a good description as well. I personally prefer reading a description before I will even look at a video. I just I feel like I don't have enough time in the day to watch a description before I will even look at a video. I just I feel like I don't have enough time in the day to watch a video and I will read information before I process the video. So make sure you have both so you can speak to the different types of learning styles as well.

Carrie Saunders: 9:10

And so number three is pricing and creating a clear value. You want to have complete, transparent pricing. I have seen time and time again a lot of people you know, when they're asked on Facebook or Instagram or something like that, would you want to know the price before you book a call, or something like that, if you're selling one-on-one service and most people almost always they want to get an idea of the price before they book that call. Now, if you're selling services, of course many times your service might vary in price based upon what the client needs. But if you can at least do a starting at price that can really help that customer decide, you know, is this going to be in my price range or not? It can really help qualify that consumer before they even book that call with you. Or, you know, go to your service-based area and try to get a quote from you, for example. So when people come to us for a quote, you know having that starting at price could be really helpful to determining whether we're a good fit for them from a budget standpoint.

Carrie Saunders: 10:25

And don't be shy. I was actually talking to somebody about this the other day on a group. Call your prices, don't worry about whether they're too high. I had this one person who really thought that her price of $47 was too high for a course that she was creating and I reminded her that you know, some people won't buy things that are too low. They feel like, well, if it's that cheap, then it's probably not worth it. So be price confident when you're putting your prices on your website as well, and when you're putting your especially and I'm talking mostly to the service-based or course-based people right now, because I find a lot of people want to hide it because they're a bit afraid. They're afraid their prices are too high or too low we want to make sure we're pricing really confidently and then we want to show the value. Of course, when you're pricing it, talk about all the things it will help them with. You know, maybe it creates more time, maybe it creates more energy for them, maybe it's something that gives them joy. You know, talk about the value with it when you're talking about prices.

Carrie Saunders: 11:32

And one of our more popular podcast episodes and we'll link to it in the show notes is about bundling products. So you can also bundle products to provide even more value to it, and it many times won't cost you any more to bundle the products, but it will serve your consumers much better with a bundled product that you know doesn't just solve one pain point but helps solve a complete area of their life and pain point. So those are some things you can do along pricing and you can also do tiered pricing. So if you're a bit afraid to put your prices out there because you're afraid they might have somebody like think you're too expensive, you can do tiered pricing as well. Maybe you offer, you know, a low, a mid and a high tier for them to pick from that helps suit their budget and their current needs. Go ahead and showcase those tiered prices and make sure it's really clear the difference between the different tiers and speak to the benefits. Again, we want to speak to our consumer, not at our consumer. So really think about your language. It can be very subtle words that can really change the language around this.

Carrie Saunders: 12:41

And then also on the pricing note, if you sell physical goods, one thing that's super, super crucial is being a very upfront with your shipping costs. This is sometimes where I see a lot of people abandon a shopping cart when you're selling physical goods is they get an unexpected shipping cost at checkout. Or maybe they're just adding products to the cart to see how much it's going to cost on checkout. Make sure you're upfront with your shipping costs right away. Make that an easy thing to find on your website, whether it's a banner at the top, an easy to find link at the top. But making sure the shipping prices are very clear on your website can really help convert those people and really create some buying confidence. Because they're kind of still deciding whether to purchase your product and if they don't know the fully loaded cost of it they might just abandon and leave that. They can't find that information easily because they may not want to put in their personal information to find out how much it is to ship to you. So keep that in mind when you're selling actual physical goods.

Carrie Saunders: 13:43

And then point number four is easy and seamless process on your website, all the way from viewing all the detailed information that we've talked about to adding to cart to actually checking out and this goes across both physical goods as well as services. As we want to make sure this is streamlined, you want to make sure you're only collecting the necessary information to actually process and fulfill that order as well. So let's say you're selling digital goods, you know you may not need the customer's full address to then process the order, so only ask for the zip code and maybe a phone number if you need to contact them. You know, maybe you don't need their street address to verify their payment information. So make the information that you require upon checkout very minimal and to the point that really helps people just not take a second guess as to whether to purchase your product. When you have this lengthy form or it's complicated or confusing to follow, then that's when they're going to second guess their purchase and they might abandon their cart right there.

Carrie Saunders: 14:49

And make sure the next steps are very clear. And this comes for both service providers as well as people selling physical goods. What's the next step? How long is it going to take for that item to ship out of your warehouse? How long is it going to take for them to receive that digital good? Is it a course? When does the course start? You know, really think through all the questions that you might have during and after purchase. So make sure that's clear during the purchasing process so that there are no questions, because once we have questions or a confused mind, we many times say no. So make sure that's very clear.

Carrie Saunders: 15:24

And then point number five, the last point is reassurance and a solid, guaranteed return policy. So we want to reassure them that when they're purchasing is indeed for them and it's going to be a smooth, hassle-free process, and that you are going to provide them support when they need it. So make sure you have an easy to contact for customer support or questions. If you have a money back guarantee, make sure that is prominent and well-defined and make sure that you are very transparent across the whole. You know if they have questions or concerns or want to refund. What does that process look like? How easy is it for the consumer to do that?

Carrie Saunders: 16:08

I think I've talked in the podcast before about me not considering buying a specific template for a website for one of our websites, and I almost didn't buy it because I couldn't find clear things like this. And when I did end up buying it, I did have problems and questions and you know what. It was hard to contact them and I kind of regretted my buying decision and I doubt I'll ever buy from them again. And so, thinking along, these processes are going to help you build that confidence and trust in the customer, and that's what all of these steps really do is help build that confidence and trust. All right, so let's recap.

Carrie Saunders: 16:44

So we talked about the top five things that help customers go from browsers to buyer. First off is those trust signals. We want to make sure those are easy and visible on our website. And then number two was we want to make sure that our information about our products or services are very detailed and clear and really speak to the customer, not at the customer. And then number three is we want to make sure we have really clear pricing. Even if we're doing starting at pricing, we want to have really clear value behind that pricing to create that confidence and trust as well. We want to make for number four easy and seamless process of going from the starting to buy process clear to the checkout and receiving the products or the services.

Carrie Saunders: 17:30

And then number five, reassurance of support and return policy. If you have a guaranteed policy, what does your support look like? And make sure that's easy to find and easy to use. All right, so that's all we have for this week's episode of the e-commerce made easy podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. I hope this was super helpful and that you got a lot of value out of it. If you ever have any questions, you're welcome to email us at podcast at BCS engineeringcom and in your podcast app player you can click on a text, carry a message and I will get your text message. If you have a question, an idea for the podcast, for another episode coming up, go ahead and click that button right now and ask that question and I will see it and I will be excited to reply to you and we will see you next week.