Adding Enough Information

Taking website customers more effectively through the process of information gathering to conversion while reducing the amount of time you need to spend on the telephone to achieve it is a challenge to many webmasters and online businesses. Initial and seemingly obvious answers like removing telephone numbers from web pages and allowing only other forms of communication, or introducing a premium rate number have more in common with more negative dissuading than positive persuading and could therefore impact negatively on conversion. A ‘harder working’ website that covers more aspects of the whole conversion process is needed.

The Behaviour

The term ‘conversion’ describes a big task and a big potential change i.e. keeping attention, increasing knowledge, changing attitudes, and essentially persuading a non buyer to become a buyer. This process has a strong relationship to ‘hard’ theories of communication and advertising. A.I.D.A. (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action) best represents this kind of process in websites visitors / people who you communicate with online. The skill in this case is to cover many more bases in the areas of ‘Interest’ and ‘Desire’, anticipate and answer more questions, and therefore reduce the need to pick up the phone.

Customer ‘Involvement’ in a purchase has long been recognised to be increased where there are higher risks involved to the purchaser e.g. higher financial risks, products overtly relating to our public image / self image, and of course where important business decisions are concerned. One effect of greater involvement is a greater need, and a wider, more extensive search for information. Where there is a perceived degree of complication and lack of knowledge this can only increase information search efforts, or even bring about a kind of perceptual defence or avoidance of this process. Where online business is concerned, a perceived ‘easy route’ in these situations often involves a phone call. From the seller’s point of view this can use valuable time resources, with potential high real and opportunity costs.

Increased Content, Information and Persuasion

• Increasing the possibility of conversion online largely involves combination of:
• User centred website design with a focus on the end ‘goals’.
• Clearly displayed conversion routes, benefits, and USPs.
• Effective communication.
• Maximising simplicity, clarity and ease, and minimising confusion, barriers, searching for information / navigation elements, and minimising the need for to much conscious thought for website visitors.

As part of this process, certain kinds and ways of presenting content and providing information, reinforcement, and re-assurance can work to reduce the need for incoming telephone calls. Below are suggestions as to how your website could become more ‘self sufficient’ in this way.

Using a Telephone Answering Service
Although still demanding your attention and time to answer questions, some elements of control can be regained in this way.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Placing the answers to popular questions in a prominent and easy to access and navigate area of the web pages.

Videos
Videos can inform, demonstrate and answer a lot of potential questions in a way that is easy to process. Putting videos directly on your website or linking to YouTube Videos (perhaps in your own channel) can field questions and impact positively on your credibility and perceived expert status.

A Glossary / Jargon Buster
Sometimes simple explanations of technical terms and jargon can aid understanding and keep the conversion process moving on its own. These can also pick up well for key phrases on the search engines.

Simplified (and annotated) Diagrams, Flow Charts, Decision Trees, Graphics and Photographs
These can enable simplification and processing of information.

Testimonials, Reviews and Recommendations
These provide elements of ‘social proof, re-assurance, credibility, a virtual ‘trial’ of service, and can help the smooth the conversion process.

Segmentation
Navigation options in the website could be made more relevant and easy to understand through segmentation e.g. by customer, by product use etc.

Case Studies / Featured Customer Information
These can be used to represent and explain how problems can be solved by the products for the different target customer segments.

High Quality ‘Site Architecture’
Linking the site together through appropriate text hyperlinks / links can give quick and easy access to relevant information.

Interactive ‘Live’ Online Support
Although still requiring concentration and time this allows more control than the telephone.

High Quality Email Support
This again allows more control and can provide perceived value.

Call-Back Functions
Capturing a name and number and providing support in this way can add more perceived value and credibility than the website visitor having to call you.

Forums
These allow a degree of interactivity and the ability to show previous answers to popular questions.

Clear Benefits
Assigning clearly explained benefits to product features can help online conversion.

High Value Web Content
Regularly updating pages with current, topical and high value content can help website visitors to be more informed.

Social Media
Using social media to interact, answer popular questions, reinforce information and drive visitors to relevant pages of a website or blog can reduce the need for telephone calls.

Blogs
Using a blog to invite comments, make announcements, and give product information can also help to educate potential customers.

Flash / Animated Tutorials
These can help to educate potential customers.

Frequent Communications and Newsletters
Communicating often with short, specific messages, and providing information in newsletter stories and features can help to inform and answer popular questions.

Accurate and Clear Shipping Information and Delivery Estimates
Providing ways to keep customers informed of realistic shipping times, and allowing them to track their orders online can prevent telephone enquiries.

The Effective Use of Informative Advertising and PR (Online and Offline)
These can directly and indirectly educate and communicate benefits.

Estimating / Calculating / Quoting Engines and Interactive Software Self Service Tools
These can help people to answer their own questions in a simple, convenient and value adding way.

Providing Plenty of Web Based Calls to Action / Buttons / Links
Encouraging people to act, and facilitating them to do so through calls to action other than telephone numbers.

Providing a Detailed ‘Visible (html) Site Map
This can help website visitors to discover website content quickly.

PDF Downloads for More Detailed and Technical Information
These can help potential customers to find answers to more detailed questions in their own time.