The power of good sales copy should never be under estimated. For example, have you ever shopped around to find the best deal, but still ended up making your purchase at a less-competitive price? Having leading products and offering the lowest prices does not always make for the best value.
Whether motivated by emotions or logic, the decision to purchase online is strongly influenced by powerful sales messages and reducing shoppers' perceptions of risk. If your copy can accomplish these two things, your bottom line will thank you.
How to Win Sales and Influence Profits
Improving sales and profits together may sound too good to be true, but as many UK brands can attest, people don't always buy based on price alone. Even in the present economic climate, shoppers are proving that what will win their patronage is:
- a compelling sales message
- minimised risk associated with the purchase
The following tips help address these two key factors to improving both sales and profitability, allowing you to successfully hone your website copy.
- Start with an eye-catching, punchy headline. Your headlines should attract attention and peak visitors' curiosity.
- Lead with your strongest message. People don't care so much about your product as they do about the benefits of buying it – sales copy at the top section of your page should be loaded with these benefits.
- Prominently feature a snappy call to action on a central position of the page.
- Keep your content easy to read, limit your column widths and try not to bloat your paragraphs - around three sentences per paragraph is quick and easy to read.
- Make it simple for your visitors to take the next step toward their purchase – lead customers through a streamlined process without giving them any reason to navigate away.
- Remember, your site is about your customers – your sales copy should contain four "you"s for every one "I."
- Be topical, your sales copy should speak to the current needs of holiday shoppers.
Make it Easy - Reducing Perceived Risk
Now to address issues that may cause shopper anxiety. It's natural for your customers to have concerns over product quality, shipping terms, customer satisfaction and so on. Of course, risks can not be removed completely, but much can be done to keep anxiety levels to a minimum.
- Try not to over-hype your sales copy. If something seems too good to be true, your customers believe it is.
- Don't make unsupported claims – customers may smell a rat (even if there isn't one).
- Consider including testimonials from satisfied customers.
- If you have a certification from a reputable or well-known organisation, let your visitors know by featuring this information prominently on your site.
- Make sure your contact and guarantee details are prominently displayed and easy to find.
- On a similar note, make your shipping terms and returns policy easily accessible.
- Include your physical business address.
- If you offer a free trial, don't ask for your shoppers' credit card details too soon.
- Provide sufficient product details.
- Streamline your purchase process and don't ask for more information than you need.
The final step, once you have won the sale, is to exceed your customer's expectations by providing excellent after-sales care and value added correspondences.
Your sales copy is often overlooked, yet it is one of the most common obstacles to a site's effectiveness in its ability to make sales for you. If you would like help reviewing your web copy, or to discover how to streamline your sales process, contact us.
