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Friction
"By reducing the length of the order process from 9 pages to 3 and reorganizing the form fields, we increased conversion by 300%."
This increase in conversion was influenced by two distinct elements of Friction, which we will discuss later. First, we need to establish a clear definition; then we need to examine how friction affects sales conversion
1.Sales process friction: Psychological resistance to a given element in the sales process.
Friction arises from any element of the sales process that causes aggravation, fatigue, or confusion. Friction does not occur on the page but rather in the mind of the customer as a function, an effect, of something on the page.
Unfortunately, if you eliminate all sources of friction, then you eliminate the sale, for we must eventually ask for a credit card number, address, and other information.
Friction in the sales process consists of two components: Length and Difficulty
Length relates to fatigue, irritation, or aggravation caused by forms or processes that ask for more time or information than feels reasonable to the prospect, such as an email newsletter sign-up form that asks for physical address, telephone number, or gender.
Difficulty-related Friction is the result of website elements that cause confusion or require an undue intensity of effort to complete, such as asking for a driver's license number or social security number, or only quoting a price in pounds, rather than Eurois and Dollars if you require overseas sales.
Sales process Friction is psychological resistance to any element of the sales process. Friction can be broken down into components: length and difficulty. Length is related to aggravation or fatigue, while Difficulty is related to confusion or extra effort. But friction is often easy to address and for the effort invested can yield a disproportionally high return.
In answer to our last question, "How can I use my understanding of Friction to maximize the conversion rate of any sales process?" you will find that consistent application of the four principles below will reduce your pages' tendency to aggravate, confuse, and exhaust your customers and allow the investment you have made in advancing the other elements of web page conversion to take hold and boost your site's sales performance.
RELATED MEC REPORTS:
o Optimizing Site Design: Eight Ways to Increase Site
Conversion by Reducing Customer Anxiety
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/osda.html
o Optimizing Landing Pages 2006
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/lpoa.html
o Optimizing Landing Pages 2006 Part 2
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/lpob.html
o Long Copy vs. Short Copy Tested
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o Transparent Marketing Tested
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o Ideal Subscription Path Tested: How Implementing an
Improved Subscription Path for an Online Content Offering
Increased the Monthly Revenue of our Test Site by 14.74%
http://www.marketingexperiments.com/ispt.html
The Marketing Experiments Journal is published by
Dr. Flint McGlaughlin.
MarketingExperiments.com
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Hamilton House Mailings plc
Telephone:
01536 399 000
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, Northants NN17 4HH
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This site is written by Tony Attwood. You can talk to Tony and his colleagues without charge or obligation by calling 01536 399 000. If you'd like Tony to take a look at one of your promotions just fax it to 01536 399 012 or call 01536 399 000 to get details of other ways of submitting your copy. There is no charge. |