Christmas is fast approaching and retail stores of all sizes are bustling. Online retail is no exception. For many e-commerce stores, this is the busiest and most profitable time of year and the marketers who manage these stores are busy making last minute changes to maximize sales before the holidays.
Holiday promotions are one of the most common tactics to improve sales, but it isn’t the only tactic worth mentioning. Sometimes it’s as simple as writing effective copy. Consider this your stocking stuffer as we suggest 3 ways to humanize your website for more conversions.
Emotion
Philosophers would argue that emotion is the enemy of reason. Whether that claim is true is largely irrelevant when it comes to consumer decision-making. Recent studies by neuroscientists suggest that humans are much more likely to use emotion to make decisions than logic.
Let’s face it, we’re emotional creatures. Marketers manipulate this emotion every day to influence our purchase decisions. Did you really need or even want that Snickers Bar you just purchased while waiting in line at the grocer? No, but marketers realized that you are less likely to resist buying it if they make you decide on an impulse.
When it comes to websites, appealing to the emotional side of your intended audience can be as simple as adding more emotional calls to action. Consider these examples:
| Original text | Emotional version |
|---|---|
| Learn more | Explore |
| Contact us | Let’s talk |
| Become a member | Join our community |
Take some time to consider which words you are currently use may appear to be boilerplate or static and consider switching them out for more actionable alternatives. If you need help with this, we have included a list of all possible verbs here. (opens in new window)
Write in the First Person
It certainly isn’t appropriate in every situation, but writing in the first person can help to personalize your brand. Given the option, most people would prefer to purchase from a friendly neighbor than a faceless corporation. Adding even the smallest of human touches to your web copy can go a long way to improving customer relations.
Let’s take a simple question; something that one would likely see on a FAQ page, “What is your shipping policy?”
We can answer this in two ways:
“Products usually ship in two weeks.”
“While shipping can take up to two weeks, we value you as a potential long-time customer and will do everything we can to get your order to you as soon as possible. Thank you again for your interest in our company.”
Okay, so both answer the question, but one clearly comes across as more personable. Remember, it is the little touches that can have a big impact on how your brand is perceived.
Reviews
If you don’t believe reviews are important, ask the restaurant owners who chose to ignore Yelp. People value reviews when making buying decisions. Reviews from peers are treated with the most trust. Reviews from strangers are less valuable, but still used widely by consumers when comparing products. If you don’t have reviews, consider incentivizing your customers to add some. While you would likely prefer for the reviews to be positive, it undermines the authority if you require them to be positive.
It is best if these reviews are easy to find and abundant on your site. It shows a community conversation, a collective body of people who have had a great experience with your brand. Their experience will go a long way in building initial trust and communication for new customers.
Designing a more human and conversational website can feel like a daunting task. Focus on taking small steps. Use analytics to track the performance of every change.
You may have to make some assumptions initially, but after a while, you will have meaningful data that tells you a story of what new and returning visitors like to hear, and respond to by converting. The worst thing you can do is to do nothing and expect something to change.
If you need advice or recommendations on what changes you can make to amplify conversions, we are open to a conversation. Drop us a message! (opens in new window)
