So how do you create an accelerated path to purchase? Here are a few tricks:
1. Create hooks
Now that you have broken up your content and functionality over pages that relate to steps in the sales journey you can work hard at pulling people through the pages. Create calls to action that tell people what they will find in the next step and encourage link through.
2. Make your content actionable
Perhaps the best hook around is inviting people to interact with functionality where the results land the customer in the next step in their process. The functionality then acts as a call to action.
A nice example of this is on the Media Temple site. They sell hosting for websites but they also include domain name registration as part of their service. On their home page they invite you to search to see if the domain name that you want is available. The result of the search drops you right into your next choice: what hosting package do you want? It's a really smart way to hook you into the process.
3. Visualise the offer in full
Using photos or pack shots to sell your product is a bit of a no-brainer. But services tend to be harder to visualise. Find a way to show, not just tell people, what it is that they will be getting. And there are usually peripheral services, post sales help or support that are just as much your product as the product itself.
Part of the BT Broadband offer is online support and a desktop application that helps you to use broadband. In this example we chose to use thumbnails of web pages to visualise the service of online support or an application. This way people get a tangible idea of what it is they get for their money.
4. Visualise the navigation for the path to purchase
By visualising the sales journey navigation you make it easy for people to see where they should go next. More importantly for people who leave the site and return, it becomes easy for them to pick up from where they left off.
5. Address micro-barriers to purchase
If you can know what the kinds of things are that would prevent people from buying then address them directly in your sales journey. Knowing the right time to pitch these messages is also important. Make them stand out amongst the content. This will reassure customers and ensure that there is 1. Less reason to drop out of the process and 2. More of an incentive to respond to calls to action because the person will feel like they're being helped.
6. Address drop off
Because mid to high consideration products and services require, well, more consideration, you should expect drop off. Try to identify when that is most likely to occur during your sales journey. Then invite customers to receive an email from you that will contain information relating to the purchase of the product. This way you can determine leads, follow up with a contact strategy and have an email in your customer's inbox that keeps your offer top of mind. Make sure you offer deep links in the email back to the various steps in the sales journey you have created.
7. Figure out the right offer
Having the right offer for your product or service is also essential to help pull people through the sales journey. Repeat the offer whenever you can.
8. Order now
Make sure that prior to ordering you make it clear what will happen AFTER ordering. This is basic reassurance to offer for a transaction that will take place over the Internet. Explain that a confirmation email will arrive. That you can track the order and where you can do that. All these things offer last minute assurances when what you want is to clinch the sale!
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