Converting Visitors To Customers

The purchase decision
Whenever we make a purchase, there is a three stage mental process:want, need, and rationale. A website is unique because it can directand focus a shopper on each of these stages. The website can be aseffective as, and more efficient than, a full color brochure. And, thewebsite has the added advantage of providing a shopping cart to respondto an impulse buy.

If you're not sure that this decision making process isvalid, think carefully about the last time you purchased a high ticketitem. As purportedly rational beings, we are reluctant to admit thatour 'need' starts with a 'want' and ends with a 'rationale'. We like tothink we just buy that which best suits our needs at the best price wecan find.

A good starting point when designing a website is to assumethat a visitor arrives at the site as a result of directed curiosity.That is, they've run across your site listing in a search engine orhave heard about the site by word of mouth or advertising and have somecuriosity about your particular products. Your job is to convert thisvisitor from 'just curious' to 'customer'.

Want
You may think that visitors arrive at your website only becausethey want your product or something similar, not just because they'recurious. This may be true but, it cant hurt to reinforce this 'want'and at the same time grab the attention of the 'just curious'.

Making someone want something is often done with the glamorshot. A glamor shot is a refined image of your product. The imagefrequently shows the product being used by a celebrity or a goodlooking model. Having a person in the picture helps the customer relateto the situation by identifying with the person using the product. Onthe other hand, especially where you're selling into a niche or micromarket, a superb image of just the product may be compelling enough.

A small amount of text accompanying the picture is usuallyappropriate. The text message should focus on a key reason for wantingthe product. The text should not start describing the product or itsfeatures. Save that for the next stage. Think about recent new car adson television. A driver speeds along a curvy road. The text, audio inthis case, is something like, "Get the feeling".

The basic reasons for wanting something can often be stated invery brief phrases: look cool, be creative, be a hero, be recognized,be more productive, feel secure, attract friends, etc. Longerstatements are usually addressing the 'need' not the 'want'.

Need
Now that the 'want' emotion has been stirred, it's time to create aneed. Using 'create' may seem strange in relation to 'need' but, thisis exactly what a good promotion has to do. Even if your product is asmundane as a roll of paper towels, it's important to establish the needin your customer's mind. In the case of paper towels, they aren't justfor drying up spills anymore; now they kill germs. The message is, "Youneed that capability; it's one of the benefits of buying the product.".

You're no doubt familiar with the admonition of presentingfeatures, functions, and benefits when promoting a product. Think of afeature as a hilighted function and be sure every function has abenefit for the user. A function is simply one of the capabilities ofthe product. These attributes all address the 'need' stage of thebuying process.

Marketing people can get very creative when establishing aneed for their product. Certain sneakers will improve your basketballgame and a carbon fiber racket will have you playing better tennis. Oh,and if you look good by buying a special outfit, you're probably goingto do better. At least you'll be more popular.

You get the picture. This is stage two of the promotion and achance to relate every feature to a benefit for your customer. This isno time to be reticent. Bells and whistles count and can often turn thetide when it comes to selecting your product over the competition.

If your product has many features, a separate page listing maybe appropriate. If you're selling several similar items, a featurecomparison page can help the customer decide the best fit to theirneeds. A page comparing your product features to the competition isgood if you offer more or better features.

The more benefits you can demonstrate for a product, the morecompelling will be the customer's 'need' for the product. Once a needis established, your website presentation can move to stage three,providing a rationale for making the purchase.

Rationale
The rationale for purchasing is the process of establishing in onesmind a set of valid reasons for buying a particular product. A morecynical view of this stage might be 'creating excuses', consideringthat the basic reason for making the purchase originated with a 'want'.

It's up to the website, to provide the information that willhelp the customer develop this rationale. This requires a presentationof the hard facts about the product. The hard facts are specificproduct attributes, comprising specifications, price, and any specialoffers.

This is stage three in the selling process. When appropriate,especially for technical products, a page listing the important productspecifications can be very helpful to the customer's process ofrationalizing the purchase. Compare the product specifications againstthose of a competitor where you have a clear advantage. This helps thecustomer to know that they are doing the right thing even though theymight not fully understand the technical specifications.

Other specific product attributes can be a coupon offer or anon sale discounted price. Special pricing is always good for therationale. You can just hear someone brag, "I bought it on sale!", asthough this in itself was a good reason for making the purchase. On theother hand, it is a good reason if first that 'want' was successfullyturned to a 'need'.

In summary
Exactly how the three stages for the purchase decision get puttogether at a website is a mater of some flexibility. The briefexamples given assume a limited number of items that can be discreetlypresented in some logical sequence. Complex websites and service sitesmay not lend themselves to quit so much orderliness.

Never-the-less, in spite of a cultural trend of blending'want' with 'need', the three stages of the of the customer's psycheare always there. The astute merchant will find ways to best make theirwebsite presentation compelling enough to turn 'want' into 'purchaseorder'

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