Take a deep breath and think about this

Designing websites that sell, or in other words, they facilitate the buying process, is extremely challenging for a number of reasons. Our perspective on the challenges will be determined by, (i) where we sit in the process, i.e. online marketer, online seller, ecommerce merchant, website designer, search engine optimizer (seo), or online marketing consultant, and (ii) the extent of our experience.

What is important to every online vendor is that the site attracts the optimum level of meaningful prospects, with an optimum customer conversion rate. Additionally, there should follow a very high customer satisfaction rating, resulting in repeat business and significant word-of-mouth customer marketing.

In this article I will deal only with one aspect of the selling effectiveness of the site, and not with the overall strategy of website design or search engine optimization (seo) etc. For a definition of selling: Defining Selling - By Leo Talbot

Do you, as an online merchant know the decision making process (dmp) of those who visit your site, and in particular the dmp of prospects in your major target market? I ask this because the more nearly your website appeals to a prospect’s dmp the better your chance of making a sale.

There is a body of opinion that suggests a person’s dmp can be ‘predicted’ via psychological profiling. Many of you will be familiar with psychological testing as used by Human Resource Departments. This is a tool commonly utilized to match the profiles of prospective employees with the culture of an organization, and specifically with the attributes necessary for the position for which they are applying. Psychological profiling has its detractors. Whether it is legitimate in the form in which for example, Myers-Briggs present it, or if it is an accurate predictor of one’s personality and therefore one’s behavior, I am not qualified to say. However, many of us would agree that when it comes to selling it is very useful to be able to ‘read’ our prospect, and present in a way that enhances our chance of a successful outcome….a sale! Google and Yahoo! will reveal many reference sites for those interested learning more about Psychological Profiling.

In designing websites, it is very challenging to be able to strike the correct blend of seo elements that will attract optimum traffic to the site, while at the same time using precious time and space to maximize buyer motivation. By adding the complexity of catering for psychological profiling, even for just your major target market, you can see why getting this balance right becomes a BIG, BIG ASK! It can be challenging enough for a live salesperson, even an experienced one, to pick a prospect’s personality type, but trying to accomplish the task via technology, well, that takes real talent.

If your target market is accountants, financial advisers or maybe engineers, then your task is easier because in the main they will fall into a fairly narrow, ‘predictable’ range. The design of your website can now cater for the psychological profiles of this target market by the way it describes your products, the relevant benefits, your unique selling proposition (usp) etc. Accountants, financial advisers and engineers like detail. They will require logic, analysis and technical support pages. They will want to know how the product solves the problems they are facing or are likely to face. They are interested in practical outcomes and results. Be careful about being ‘flashy’ for the sake of creating an impression, rather than for effective expression; it may not get the desired result?

Note: Just because these types are focused on detail and are cautious decision makers, does NOT mean they are not looking for a good deal. In fact, these analytical types are more likely to really comprehend the value-for-money your product represents than the impulse buyer.

Now, contrast the foregoing prospect profile with one whose psychological profile is characterized by a predisposition to future potential, the big picture, creativity, the opportunities and the possibilities that your product could provide. Add to that a willingness to make quick decisions based upon confidence to trust their judgment, you can begin to get some idea how challenging it can be to design websites, in particular home pages, that cater for such diversity…..and, if you believe what psychological profilers allege, that there are a broad category of types, then we have only briefly touched upon two of the supposed sixteen.

So, if you are an online marketer/seller etc, one who has tried a number of techniques, and you are not getting optimum traffic-to-customer-conversion (tcc) (even if your target market is able to be ‘narrowly’ profiled), get in touch with the best online marketing consultants you can afford and talk to them about this subject. Do business only with somebody who understands this field and who can introduce you to clients they have worked with successfully. This approach may assist to improve your tcc ratio?

So that you will not feel discouraged, those who advocate psychological profiling, particularly the Myers-Briggs model, suggest that in the USA about 75% of males and 72% of females fall into a category where buyer motivation is helped by:

• Focusing on practical outcomes and results
• Providing the relevant facts and details
• Showing how the product works
• Showing a sequence that will lead to successful implementation
• Showing how the product will solve their problem

Note: There will always be a greater propensity for ‘feeling’ in females.

You can do more online business thru creative and innovative thinking!

• Why People Buy (Your product solves a problem) - By Leo Talbot
• Why people buy - The lifestyle factor - By Leo Talbot
• Why People Buy ( The Deal Is Too Good to Pass Up) - By Leo Talbot

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 1st, 2005 at 8:55 pm and is filed under Ecommerce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.