Oct 16 2008
We’re not making sales, because we need a new website.
Organizations (actually, the people inside the organizations) often complain about their website hindering sales. They don’t like the look of it or there isn’t enough information available for customers. Usually, there is a simple explanation - they’ve just heard someone complain about their website and now they are parroting back what they’ve heard. In actuality, these complaints are hiding an underlying problem. There is no understanding of the buying process.
{Note: In a few cases, there are companies who’s online presence is novice. If this is you, fix it.}
The buying process describes the steps that a person goes through before they actually make a decision in your product. There is a human process (mostly brain/decision-making theory) and a company process. The company process also contains variations for the industry, product, and market. The buying process is not something we consciously do, but we all go through it nonetheless. Unfortunately, problems in the buying process will pop up as random complaints about random things.
So when someone complains about the look of the site, they really mean: “Our website is very important in the initial discovery stages, and we aren’t creating a good enough first impression.”
And, alternatively, when someone complains about the lack of information, they really mean: “Our website is being used later in the process for qualification and we aren’t providing enough information to keep us under consideration.”
Once you understand the buying process, you’ll fix many of those complaints.
