Is Your Business’s Website Costing You Sales?

Your business is your baby and your customers are the heart of it. You pride yourself in offering exceptional products and unsurpassed service. But if your business’s website isn’t up to par, then your target client may never get to experience all you have to offer. 

In fact, your website can play a significant role in converting prospects into paying customers. And that means that if web presence isn’t on point, it may be costing you sales. But what factors can drive customers away from your site, and what can you do about it?

Poor User Experience and Interface (UX/UI)

Ensuring that your business website wins sales rather than loses them begins with creating an outstanding user experience (UX) for visitors to your site. That means, above all, that the site is easy-to-use and engaging.

In other words, to provide the best possible user experience, your site needs to have great content and an exceptional user interface (UI). Thus, to capture your target audience and drive conversions, your website needs to be easily navigable, relevant and useful, credible, and accessible to users with diverse needs. 

This should include using data analytics to help you design your site for ease of use by those who may require text in a language other than English or those who may have disabilities requiring voice navigation or screen readers, among other adaptations. 

After all, if your prospects can’t find what they want or need on your site, they can easily, and quickly, go elsewhere. However, if you’re capitalizing on the power of data analytics to understand who your customers are and what they require when they visit your site, then you’re not just more likely to make a sale during that encounter, but you’re also more likely to keep them coming back to your site. 

And, as any smart business owner knows, often the key to enterprise success doesn’t just lie in customer acquisition but also, and perhaps above all, in customer retention.

Bad Technology

Your business website can be designed to provide visitors with an outstanding experience and still it may cost you sales if the technology you’re using isn’t up to speed, both literally and figuratively. For example, if your site is consistently slow, or if it’s constantly crashing, then your customers aren’t likely to stick around for long.

But it’s not just about having poorly functioning platforms. You can also lose sales if you’re not leveraging today’s technology effectively. Most consumers today are quite tech-savvy, especially the highly desirable Millennial and Generation Z segments. You can assume that your site visitors will have a lot of experience with researching and purchasing products online.

And because of this, you can also expect your site’s visitors to be able to readily differentiate between a state-of-the-art site and one that’s deploying the same tired old technologies in the same tired old ways. 

If you want to keep your prospects engaged, then you need to give them engaging technology. One especially exciting trend is the use of virtual and augmented realities (VR/AR). With these technologies, your customers can test out your products and services in the virtual space. 

They can, for example, virtually “try on” clothing and accessories. They can test how furniture and decor look in their home. They can even sample paint colors or new wood finishes in preparation for a home remodel. For online shoppers, the ability to test, sample, and compare products and services can make all the difference when determining which business to give their money, time, and loyalty to.

Bad Branding

When you’re building an effective website, you need relevance, accessibility, and good tech, but that’s not all. You also need to prioritize strong branding in your web design. If your site looks like some generic rehash built from a template, then you’re not likely to hold your prospects’ interest for very long.

So to gain your target customer’s attention, to inspire them to explore your site and return to it frequently, then you need to have a clear, compelling brand that is underscored on every page and through every facet of your site. 

The good news, though, is that infusing your site with your company brand isn’t difficult to do with a bit of strategy and the right tools. For instance, you might highlight customer stories to help build the narrative of your brand, helping customers understand your business not just as another commercial enterprise among thousands but as a heartfelt human endeavor built by and for people and communities.

As you’re telling the story of your business, its people, and its clients, you can weave in photos demonstrations, and testimonials for your products and services. And that means that no longer are these goods simply profit-producers. They’re value propositions, benefits, and opportunities for granted available to enhance the lives of the target consumer.

The Takeaway

No matter what your product or service may be, your business website may well be the key to your company’s growth. However, if your site does not provide a positive user experience, if the technology or branding is bad, then it may well be costing you sales.

Katie Brenneman

Katie Brenneman is a passionate writer specializing in business productivity, mental health, and lifestyle content. When she isn’t writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter.