Eliminate Barriers for Your Customers

Every business owner knows that the key to success is delivering value to customers. In addition to delivering value, businesses must also eliminate barriers. Many of these barriers take the form of unanswered questions and awkward user experiences that cause unnecessary friction.

Clear Up the Confusion

Whether you’re selling a t-shirt or a hybrid hardware subscription service, your prospects need to feel comfortable with what they’re getting before they buy. Every moment of uncertainty lowers the likelihood of purchase. Of course, overwhelming prospects with information can produce the same paralyzing indecision. So how do you find the sweet spot between confusion and overload?

1. Understand What Shoppers Want to Know – You don’t need a market research firm to tell you what customers are confused about – they will tell you themselves! They will write, call and chat when they need more information. Capture these requests and find the trends. Taken together they will reveal deeper insights, like they’re afraid to choose the wrong pricing plan because they don’t understand what’s included.
2. Test Ways to Educate Them – Identifying a problem is vital, but knowing how to solve it can take some experimentation. Using the pricing plan example, there are many ways to tell a prospect what’s included. You could list details below the price, do an informational video, create a rollover – the possibilities are endless. Use your best judgment to narrow down the options and test your best bets. The “winner” will depend on your business. At one company, we tested a pricing page where showing less information led to more conversions but at a lower lifetime value.
3. Continually Improve – Just because you find a winning approach doesn't mean things can’t get better. New questions arise and better solutions can be found. Try testing different wording or images on your most successful tactics and see if you can move the needle up.

Bite the Bullet and Fix Awkward Product Experiences

Good explanations and clear messaging cannot paper over awkward product user experiences. This is true online and in person. So, what’s to be done? Be honest about the problem. Everyone on your team probably knows if they’ve got a clunky process that customers are forced to endure. It’s worth the time and money to fix the root of the problem. The issue will keep returning forever like a zombie if you don’t!!

Make Sign-Up/Point of Sale a Breeze

Your customers have their answers, the product works like a dream – why aren't people signing up or buying? Take a look at your checkout process. For online services, consider both the content and layout of your form, as well as the rest of the page. Are you asking for a reasonable amount of information? Are your buttons clear? Have you distracted your buyer with additional information or focused them on finishing? Does your form work on mobile devices? When looking at in–person transactions you can apply the same thinking. Is the checkout area clearly marked? Are wait times short? Are salespeople available to provide guidance? I know I’ve walked out of stores where I was ignored, confused or confronted with slow lines.

Look Through Your Customers Eyes

Just because you launched something doesn't mean your customers will climb over mountains to buy it. Respect their time and take those mountains away.

Answer their questions; eliminate barriers. Make it easy to purchase and use your product – and as a bonus make them feel appreciated after the sale. Why not check in with them with a text or call and see how their doing? It’s so rare to feel like a brand cares that yours will stand out if you show you do!