It used to be in the old days that business gurus said the secret to success was to find a need and fill it. Today, it’s more like ‘create a need and sell it’. But as more content creators and digital marketers are learning, the newer way of thinking is no longer paying off in the dividends it used to. Consumers are going back to the old practice of shopping around before purchasing. Furthermore, they are more readily embracing the minimalist lifestyle rather than the consumerism of their parents.
There are lessons to be learned here, especially in the arena of website copywriting. The most successful content creators are those who keep up with the mindset of website visitors in any given industry. They make a point of understanding their audience so as to create content that meets their needs, wherever they are, at any given point they choose to visit a website.
Knowing these few important points, there are three things content creators can learn from modern consumers:
1. People ‘Window Shop’ on the Net
One of the more popular SEO drumbeats in the early part of the current decade was the importance of conversion optimisation. If you are not familiar with the term, conversion optimisation is the practice of employing certain marketing strategies to increase the number of people who purchase or otherwise make a positive decision when visiting a website. The philosophy was one of not wasting visits. If people are visiting, they might just as well purchase something.
A heavy focus on conversion optimisation is no longer appropriate if statistics are to be believed. According to a recent report from Reimagining Commerce, roughly 92% of consumers will visit a new website for the first time without intending to make a purchase. A fair number of those consumers are just ‘window shopping’ to compare prices. They may visit half-a-dozen websites in order to find the best price on identical or similar products.
2. Consumers Want Details
If consumers are visiting websites for the purposes of comparing prices, does it not make sense that they also want to know product details? Absolutely. Website copywriting used to take this into account for retail websites. Why does that seem to be lacking? Connotations.co.uk’ Anthony Carter thinks it might be due to incomplete content. He may be right.
The Reimagining Commerce study revealed that 98% of shoppers end up not making a purchase because the website they are visiting offers incomplete or incorrect information. That is an astonishing number. Nonetheless, it is reality. Customers want details so they can make informed decisions. If they find a website vague or downright incorrect, they will move on.
3. Consumers Pay Attention to Testimonials
Lastly, as many as 7% of consumers look at testimonials before making a purchase. Though that number seems small by comparison, don’t forget how big a role social media plays in this whole thing. A consumer who gets several good recommendations on social media is likely to go look for that product online. If the company offering the product also has positive testimonials that support the recommendations received via social media, conversion is more likely.
The lessons to be learned here should be clear. The most successful online businesses will abandon the principle of creating a need and selling it, in favour of the old way of doing things. Find a need and meet it with detailed website copy that offers consumers accurate, truthful and relevant information. The online business able to do this is one that will enjoy increased website traffic and higher conversion rates.
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