It’s believed that web-users are impatient because they have such short attention spans, which is why many web sites try to get readers to stay at their sites long enough to get their message.
But the fact is that it’s not short attention spans that causes web-surfers to move on, it’s content that wastes their time. And when you combine that with the sea of content online, it’s too easy for someone to skip over one web site in favour of another.
Here are 5 things that commonly drive people away from web sites.
1. Too many choices – I recently went to a fast food restaurant to get a hamburger and a Coke. I ended up having to choose whether I wanted it to eat in or take out, what I wanted on my burger, what size Coke, if I wanted fries and if I was paying with cash, credit or debit card. By the time I got my receipt, my head was spinning.
While it’s good to provide your customers with numerous goods and services, your web site – and it’s marketing message – need to focus on one core message. If you create a whole list of choices for your reader, it becomes too much and they go elsewhere.
2. A maze of layouts – Poor site design scares away people more than anything else. Pages should be easy to read, uncluttered and easy enough for a novice web user to navigate. Don’t make your visitors hunt through a maze to find what they’re looking for, give them a straight path.
3. Information overload – People often worry about what to put in their web site marketing message when what to leave out is the key. Know what information is important to your customers for them to make a decision and, if something doesn’t fit in with it, leave it out.
4. Making people jump through hoops – Once your reader is interested, and they’re ready to buy what you’re offering, don’t make it tough to complete the transaction. Asking for pertinent information is fine, but making them fill out unnecessary forms like surveys or hitting them with other offers can kill the sale.
5. No sense of trust – Not including contact information, phone numbers or addresses on your web site sends a red flag up to visitors that says, “I’m not trustworthy”. Show people that you’re there for them after the sale to offer support and problem resolution. Trust is vital in the online world.
Web marketing works just like marketing for brick-and-mortar businesses. Give the consumers a pleasant environment, relevant information and good customer service and you’ve won 90% of the battle.
- Nina Menezes |
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Google actually relies on our users to help with our marketing. We have a very high percentage of our users who often tell others about our search engine.
- Sergey Brin
"The fact is, everyone is in sales. Whatever area you work in, you do have clients and you do need to sell."
- Jay Abraham"
"If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful."
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"Our success is a direct result of knowing how to market a brand and having the right people representing the brand."
- Greg Norman
"This may seem simple, but you need to give customers what they want, not what you think they want. And, if you do this, people will keep coming back."
- John Ilhan |
