What do customers really want?
Finding out what customers really want is the beginning and the end of your marketing strategies. If you get this right, you can make mistakes in your business later and your sales will still be at an enviable level. If you do not get it right, business will not go the way it should, no matter what else you do.
If you offer services and are in direct contact with clients, this will be relatively easy. Talk to your clients about their problems, challenges, wishes and so on... Let them lead you to the services of yours that customers really want. By listening to clients you can come to new insights that will help you develop new services and products in line with what customers want.
If you sell products or services without much interaction with your customers, it is a little harder but still doable. Take every opportunity to meet your customers and talk to them - both in "real life" and through social networks.
Examining what customers want is a process that takes attempts and occasional mistakes from which you will learn. Below are two questions that will help you get answers faster:
- Which products or services are my clients most interested in?
- Which products or services do customers buy from the competition that you could make better?
When a visitor sees the first page of your website, what do they notice first? Does your site look professional or amateurish? Is it up to date or out of date? Put your services or products on the first page, along with the information you know will interest the visitor.
Let them know that the website they have come to is a business website. Show clearly that you want them to buy from you.
Do not say: Hi, I am Aleksandar, this is my website where you can find my portfolio. Enjoy browsing my content. Thank you
Say: Hi, I am Aleksandar Lazović, a web developer and designer from Belgrade. Call me if you want a professional website that will take your business to a higher level.
The offer of services and products must be simple and clear
What do you want visitors to see when they come to your website? "Buy the product" or "Hire me" should be in a visible place. Present the product or service attractively, so that it is "interesting" to click the BUY button. Do everything you can to make buying your product easier for them.
Show them what you sell and how
If you sell a product, show customers its dimensions, its characteristics (the ones that matter to the customer - do not overdo it), how the product reaches the customer after purchase (shipping method, personal collection etc.), the delivery time, the refund process, the payment methods and so on.
If you provide services, show the customer how long the service takes, what exactly you will do, how you will do it, and if the customer needs to do something, make that clear to them. Naturally, this kind of presentation will vary from project to project and from service to service, but try to create a template that simplifies the whole process of your business for the customer.
Keep in mind that something that is obvious to you is not obvious to customers. If you provide them with a lot of information in a simple presentation, the chance that visitors to the site will work with you is greater.
To show the price or not?
If you sell manufactured products, creative products or services, I suggest you put prices on the website. For example, the price of a painting can be anywhere from 1,000 to 1,000,000,000 dinars. Nobody wants to feel uncomfortable or poor for asking about a price. Showing prices will select your customers and immediately eliminate those who cannot afford your products (without any awkwardness).
If you sell services that you know can vary from client to client, and you still want to select your clients, offer them packages of your services at different prices. That way you will let every client know which services they are entitled to and at what price.
If you sell services or products to large companies or wealthy individuals, or you sell works of art, I do not advise showing prices at all, because your target market is specific and such clients mostly do not want it known how much money they spent on a product or service.
Recommendations from the customers of your services
You may think that customer recommendations are a worn-out feature of websites, but the statistics show otherwise.
Ask your best clients for a recommendation - you will be surprised how much it helps. Try to persuade them to be as precise as possible in their statement (what they liked about doing business with you, which of your products they use most, and so on). Pictures, links and even video clips will make your recommendations more credible.
Offer them free information about your products
The truth is that hardly anyone buys something on their first visit to a website. This is especially true of sophisticated products and services that take a lot of thought.
Besides a clear buying process and a clear presentation of the products, offer them free newsletter sign-up, free registration or the chance to follow you on a social network. Later, through these channels, you will inform the potential buyer about new products, new services and news from your business, and try to attract them to become your client.
It is an open secret that mailing lists are still one of the most powerful sales channels for small businesses. Building a large mailing list should be one of your priorities if you want to do business on the internet.
Try to think like a customer - that is also the most valuable advice you would get from any marketing expert. Only that way will you manage to meet the needs of the users of your website and make a profit on the internet.
