Conversion Architecture Platforms

Whether or not you use Internet marketing tools, your site can be your primary marketing vehicle.”

How do you engage your customer

“Navigate Your Customers from “Point of Entry to Action/Interaction”

Websites that provide information are helpful, but what a business really needs to do is engage the customer and create interaction with them to ultimately increase their volume of business.  Whether selling a product or a service, your website needs to create a desire for your customer to buy your product or service, engage them in a conversation or at the very least insight that customer to desire more information.  Conversion architecture, moves your website visitor from various points thoroughout your website to compelling calls-to-action.  Good conversion architecture is seen when a website creates that desire for a customer to take action to do business at that moment or initiate an action to show desire to do business in the future.

The best and most effective websites that will ultimate generate sales will provide the following:

  • Knowledge of your target market, the typical personas of the ideal customer, the challenges they typically face in their business and their buying habits
  • Knowledge of your business objectives, what you image you want your website to invoke, what want your website to do and what you action you want people to take on your website
  • Infuse the right web usability principles that make the website work

As business owners, you want to make the choice not to settle for subtle changes that create only average results and please not the ideal customer, but only the average customer?  Many owners are guilty of settling for what they can get by catering to the “average” site visitor, we are likely ignoring a majority of our potential customers who command personalized attention. By seeking to combining your strategic marketing strategies with the goals of the ideal customer business owners will see greater results.

Whether or not you use some or all of the available Internet marketing tools, your website CAN be your primary and most successful marketing tool.   So you need to address what value your website has to your business if visitors are coming to your site but not converting or completing the desired action (i.e.: making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, etc.)?

Make your website a sales funnel

Keep in mind, that your audience is profiled primarily on their needs / pains / problems broken down into demographics, psychographics and where they are in the buying cycle (which decides their behaviour on your site).   Your goal then is to ensure that every element of your website persuades visitors on your site to take the actions that lead to the delivery of your objectives (conversion). Continue to pour your site visitors through your website funnel! Monitor and measure your results to ensure that your efforts are driving results to your bottom line. Remember that every click on your site is a step towards conversion. Visitor satisfaction with every click on your site should build confidence until they reach the final click where they convert into a customer.

Conversion Architecture™ begins by establishing your business goals and target audience, and then ensuring that every element of your site persuades visitors to take the desired actions. These elements include: persuasive content, calls‑to‑action and conversion tools like live chat or click‑to‑call technology. The guiding philosophy of Conversion Architecture™ is that all websites must have a persuasive purpose. By building your site with Conversion Architecture™ as the basis, the end result will be more visitors doing what you want them to online – whether that means buying your product, signing up for a newsletter or asking for a quote.

The 40/40/20 Rule

Conversion Architecture™ follows rule known as 40/40/20 – This means 40% Audience Targeting, 40% Offer and 20% Creativity. These figures come from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) in its outlining of parameters that determine the success of a marketing campaign. Whether or not you use diverse Internet marketing methods like pay-per-click advertising, landing pages, viral marketing campaigns, etc., you can always think of your website as your primary marketing vehicle. Build it using the 40/40/20 Rule where (a) every element of the website keeps in mind the majority of users and their varied profiles; (b) there exist multiple acquisition channels making a variety of offers and (c) aesthetic design and creativity offers unique and personalized experiences for site visitors.

Your local WSI Consultant can engage you in an Information Architecture™ meeting to identify the details of your 40/40/20 formula and work the magic for your website! Call and book an appointment today.          

Fast Facts

Despite current economic conditions video ad spending is expected to rise by 45% in 2009 to reach $850 million. – Source eMarketer, Dec 2008
Advertisers will continue to use or increase their Search Marketing budgets in 2009. Expected growth for this online advertising tactic is in the double digits at 14.9% in 2009, to a total $12.3 billion. – Source eMarketer, Dec 2008
Total US Internet ad spending will increase to $25.7 billion in 2009, an 8.9% growth rate. – Source eMarketer, Dec 2008
In light of the economy US advertisers are moving millions of dollars from traditional media to the Web, to take maximum advantage of its measurability and cost-effectiveness. The same holds true for the UK and other developed nations.– Source eMarketer, Dec 2008
Online buyers are shifting a greater share of their total purchases from stores to the Web in search of more convenience, broader product selection and cost savings. – Source eMarketer, Dec 2008