A customer’s first impression of a business is likely taken from their website. Is it easy to use? Are services and products clearly priced? Is customer service readily available if help is needed? These are all questions that a potential customer will evaluate just by scrolling through the homepage.
If the answer to any of these questions (or others) is “no,” the customer might jump off your website. It’s important, then, to prioritize certain information to ensure customers follow through to a purchase. Businesses can make their websites more appealing by following these recommendations from Forbes Agency Council members.
Forbes Agency Council members share their best insights.
Photos courtesy of the individual members
1. Commit More Time To Your Blog
You must commit to your blog. Branding is all about authenticity, knowing who you are and appealing to your target audience. Your marketing deserves a strong, unwavering brand that knows itself and what customers need. Sit down and plan out an entire year of content at one time. Create your customer connection through consistent blogs that align with your brand. – Nate Reusser, Reusser Design
2. Simplify Your Homepage
Enhance your site’s user experience (UX) by simplifying your homepage. Making your homepage easier to navigate allows potential customers to quickly contact your business and find your available products or services. A user-friendly homepage can include aspects like a chatbot, trust signals and a clear call to action. Less confusion can increase user trust and thereby boost trust in your brand. – Evan Nison, NisonCo
3. Make Your Location Clear
For brands where location matters, putting your location front and center makes a huge difference. Making it easy for customers to contact you is also important. One change that captures both of these needs is to place your local phone number in prominent places on your site. If you are in New York, for example, a 212 number at the top of your site says we are right here and you can call us! – Sam Michelson, Five Blocks
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4. Have A Well-Placed Mission Statement
To make their brands more appealing to potential customers, one simple change business owners can make to their websites is to display a short and concise mission statement with a call to action button at the top of their website. This will help let new website visitors know exactly what product or service is being offered and make it easier to take action by filling out a form or purchasing. – Jonathan Durante, Expandify Marketing Inc
5. Have A Clear Call To Action
Link directly to a contact page so the potential client knows where to get in touch. Additionally, many customers appreciate self-service, so offer instant messaging to bridge them across the conversion process. Add an online appointment setting so clients can directly message your team. – Hannah Trivette, NUVEW Web Solutions
6. Use Infographics On The Website
Since the internet is filled with infographics, use a good infographic to get your business noticed. Infographics are proven to be the most effective way of getting attention and moving your content forward. With good infographics, you can attract potential customers to your brand, convey information that is interesting and engaging and eventually sell products. – Candice Georgiadis, Digital Agency, Inc
7. Use Professional Photos
If a picture is worth one thousand words, a bad picture can do a lot of damage. Some stock images are okay but they can look cheap. Hiring a photographer no longer costs a ton. Quality pictures of your office, products and team can go a long way in making your website feel more professional and appealing. You don’t even need a professional. Any person can take high-quality photos with a smartphone. – Adrian Falk, Believe Advertising & PR
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8. Clearly List Customer Benefits
Make it clear on your homepage and key service/product pages that you know your audience. This means not only covering what your company does but also making it clear how what you offer will benefit your consumers. Making simple copy tweaks to these pages — leading with benefits over features — will help people better understand your brand’s value and improve engagement. – Donna Robinson, Collective Measures
9. Embed A Video On Your Homepage
It’s been known as one of the most effective marketing tools over the last couple of years and the popularity of video content is still growing. It is a great way to generate leads since it allows you to explain your value to your visitors in a digestible, easy-to-consume way. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
10. Value Simplicity Over Complicated Design
Simply their user interface and user experience. Design should be appealing but not taken to a point where the website becomes an art piece and difficult to navigate. Copy should be to-the-point and easy to read for the average user, not filled with technical jargon. It is easy to get wrapped up in the vision of the brand, but it’s best to understand and cater to the end-user. – Joon K Lee, Inquivix
11. Provide Customer Service
You want your online brand presence to give your potential customers an in-store experience. This means providing appealing customer service that is both helpful and convenient, which a system such as live chat can be extremely useful for. Presenting your visitors with a way to answer their questions and queries allows your business to appear more approachable and open. – Lisa Montenegro, Digital Marketing Experts – DMX Marketing
12. Create Customer Relationships Built On Trust
The largest hurdle to overcome in the buying journey is trust. Most websites push the product or service, its features and its benefits. What’s missing is that your company can be trusted and understands your customer. Do you have supporting content that focuses on your customer success? Do you have trust indicators? Do you have self-service actions (appointments, downloads, tools, etc.)? – Douglas Karr, Highbridge
13. Craft An Elevator Pitch For Your Business
Craft a tagline or concise message that captures the essence of your unique solution. Build upon this differentiated message with more detail and proof points deeper in the site. Every page should reinforce your value proposition, using similar phrasing and imagery. – Wendy Covey, TREW Marketing
14. Make Shopping An Easy Experience
No one likes walking into a physical store after they saw something they like in the window, only to be told “You can find it yourself out the back.” Your website is no different. If you have managed to get them to your site in the first place, make it as easy for them to find what they need as possible. Use intuitive, easy-to-understand language, and don’t assume they know as much as you. – Hamish Anderson, Three Piece Marketing
15. Connect With Ideal Customers
Connect to the human who is your ideal customer by detailing the experience that customers will have if they select this business to solve X problem. Outline the problem, connect on what makes the business’s solution unique and then have a clear path for the customer to convert. – Vix Reitano, Agency 6B
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Author: Expert Panel®, Forbes Councils Member
