iStock’s VisualGPS research pinpoints the primary challenges faced by British small business owners as profitability and acquiring new customers. One effective strategy to address these challenges is through the implementation of a sales funnel – a systematic mapping of the customer journey from awareness to action. This strategy helps streamline the approach, monitors the sales process, generates referrals, and ultimately stimulates new business. A well-optimised product, coupled with a targeted sales funnel, can yield conversion rates ranging from 25% to 50%, while a suboptimal product may convert at a mere 1% to 5%.
Planning a low-cost product marketing campaign? Here are four recommendations that could help drive engagement and customer retention.
Clearly Define Your Unique Selling Point
Crafting a compelling product page hinges on clearly delineating your objectives, identifying your target demographic, and communicating exactly what value your brand brings to customers. The deeper you understand how your brand enhances the customer experience, the more effectively you can articulate your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
Our research underscores the prospect of engaging Gen Z consumers, as only 29% of respondents have maintained their shopping habits with small businesses over the past year. It is crucial to grasp the factors that drive their engagement with your business to effectively connect with them – uncovering what topics spark their interest is the key.
Among British Gen Z shoppers, there is a strong shift towards supporting small businesses that align with their personal values. Sustainability is a particularly resonant theme, and leveraging images and videos which represent sustainable action can go a long way in building trust with Gen Z shoppers, and setting your brand apart.
Capture Consumer Attention
It’s crucial to understand that customers are not going to engage with every word on the page; they are only focusing on the details that stand out. Utilising visuals, such as pre-shot images and videos, presents a cost-effective approach to breaking through the noise, and can help authentically convey your brand or product narrative. VisualGPS data highlights different preferences people have, with 51% of Brits favouring images and 61% preferring short-form videos over text-only content so consider switching up what you use to get the broadest engagement possible..
How the information is presented on your page is equally vital in the e-commerce realm. Providing the right information at the right time involves impactful headlines that sustain customer engagement. An appealing design, incorporating colours, fonts, and visuals to highlight key information, captures attention mid-scroll. Consider the impact of colour — it’s not merely a visual element but a psychological trigger that can evoke emotions and convey brand identity. Strategic colour choices can guide the user’s perception, creating a visual hierarchy that directs attention to specific elements on the page. While visuals initiate interest, the remaining messaging, if relevant to the customer, propels the conversion process.
It’s all in the testing
Make sure you embrace a test-and-learn methodology before you introduce a new product. Allocating finite resources extensively to an unproven venture can prove to be a large risk, and you should not spend time building something that doesn’t work on launch day.
A/B testing, also known as split testing, empowers businesses to make more informed, data-driven decisions. This method can help identify which version of a web page resonates more effectively with your target audience. A/B testing goes beyond offering qualitative data; it has exhibited a remarkable 50% surge in average revenue per unique visitor for e-commerce websites. Steering clear of assumptions and embracing data-driven insights is paramount, as reliance on the former poses the risk of making misguided choices that could impact the success of your product launch.
Provide Free Trials for Customers on the Fence
In order to transform website visitors into loyal customers, you should guide them toward products that perfectly cater to their needs. Offering free trials can become your secret weapon, granting potential customers a firsthand experience of your product before they take the purchasing plunge. The magic lies in exuding confidence in the value of your product through these trials.
Opt-out free trials exhibit an average conversion rate of 48.8%, indicating a substantial portion of trial users transition into committed, paying customers. So, consider free trials not just as a strategy but as your VIP pass to turning curious browsers into committed advocates of your brand.
