How To Convert More Visitors Into Customers

photo credit: [cipher]

Customers who feel that their vendor is honourable and true to their word will listen when new products are reviewed, be easily persuaded to make sales based on the word of their trusted vendor, and be much more likely to refer other people to them.

Most of us speak only the truth every day, especially in our business.

However, it’s a sad fact of our cynical world that even when we tell the truth online, most of our readers will approach what we say with a huge dose of scepticism.

It’s a natural reaction to being constantly sold to, exaggerated at and persuaded, that makes our customers inherently doubtful about what we have to say, even when our intentions are pure and we’re trying our best to give honest information.

These days, even when we tell the truth, we need to use a handful of techniques to make sure that people believe what we say, and trust that we are communicating useful, honest advice and information.

Here’s how to sound like you are telling the truth all the time, when you have something valuable to say online…

Don’t Oversell

There’s a great line in the poem ‘Desiderata’, that says ‘Speak your truth, quietly and clearly’.

This is great advice for business bloggers looking to gain the respect and trust of their customers online.

People who make amazing claims with lots of exclamation marks, superlatives and over-the-top language rarely inspire the kind of trust that we need to make sales.

If something is marketed to sound too good to be true, our natural instinct is to turn our back on it and go elsewhere to find what we are looking for.

Businesses that say they have “the most fantastic product ever to be launched” will get sales but when the product turns out not to be…refunds will come pouring in.

Businesses that speak clearly and confidently about proven benefits, will.

Simple!

Use Personal Testimonial

Nothing persuades people to buy more readily these days than testimonials.

In an age where you can download hundreds of customer reviews for even the simplest of products, it makes sense to add your voice (and those of your friends, family and business colleagues) to your product to explain just how and why it really works.

When you launch a new service, support your assertion that it is a great prospect by getting your social network and online links to post up truthful, honest reviews.

Never be tempted to make up reviews, though – these always come across as false, and you’ll never get the pitch, tone and honesty that real testimonials can offer. Plus with the FTC rules now in place, you’ll be breaking the law.

During an initial chat with a recent prospective client, he stated he had completed a lot of on-line research to find a web designer.

He chose to make contact with me.

I asked him why.

My testimonials page persuaded him to get in touch.

Check out my testimonials page here: We Build Your Blog Testimonials

Be Specific

When you want to get people to believe what you are saying, you need to eradicate all of the ‘fluff’ and sales speak, and instead use simple language which tells them exactly what you want to say, without  complicating the principles behind complex language.

Saying a statement such as ‘This shampoo will make your hair feel softer and look more shiny’ is much more effective than ‘Our shampoo features pro-beta-retinin-pandemicy technologies to optimise visual impact and maximise the H2O-retention capabilities of your hair’.

You may think that customers will be wowed by technical language, but in truth it just makes people pause and wonder what you are trying to conceal from them.

Back Up Your Assertions

If you truly have a great product or service, it’s not enough these days just to tell people how great you think it is.

You need to back up your opinion with cold, hard facts.

Marketing has been using this technique for years – we all know that eight out of ten cats prefer Whiskas cat food.

By giving statistics, evidence or information to support your claims, you’ll pull ahead of most people marketing online by giving your customers real proof to back up what you are telling them.

If you have a product that works, take some time to measure how it works, and offer your customers the metrics, instead of relying on your own enthusiasm to persuade people to buy.

It may seem a little sad that people these days are so cynical that they can’t appreciate the truth without being given a helping hand, but – trust me! – our online businesses need as much help as they can get to demonstrate that we are honest, hard-working entrepreneurs with our client’s best interests at heart, rather than rampaging charlatans waiting to pounce on unsuspecting victims and rob them blind.

“In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

George Orwell

How do you persuade your visitors to become customers?

Please share your views in the comments below.