Friction in online sales (products or services) is the reluctance, on the part of the visitor, to do what is necessary to complete the process.
Click… click… click… goodbye!
How many clicks does it take to close this deal anyways? If your visitor asks themselves that question they are gone. If you are selling a product it should take less than three clicks to make the purchase. If you are gathering leads it better be fewer than that. Making your potential customer jump through hoops to do business with you is a really bad idea, you better jump through hoops to simplify the process.
Is this an IRS form or what?
The first page is only the information I need to contact the visitor, at the bottom is a “submit” button / link - NOT A - next button / link. Now if the visitor abandons the transaction I can at least contact them and have not lost the lead. If you think about it there are other techniques you could use but the most effective solution I have found is only ask for what you really need.
Where the hell is the buy button?
This one is a pet peeve of mine. You go to a web site, find what you want and then cannot figure out how to buy it. If your designing the site and the intention of the site is to sell a product then make it clear how you want the visitor to accomplish this feat of magic! Nothing is more annoying. (If you work for Amazon.com… this paragraph is for YOU).
Do you have it or not!!!
Navigation to the product of interest must be simple, clear and quick. If a visitor cannot find the product they are looking for quickly they will go somewhere else, probably to a site that quickly shows them the item they want. Take care in this area, for a great example of what not to do AT ALL COSTS visit Microsoft.
True story… I attended a SES conference and exhibit in Manhattan last year and was able to pin down an Microsoft Ads salesman. He asked me if I used they’re service, my response was no, I could not figure out how to access it. He had a laptop, used a bookmark and went to the pages I needed. I told him that was cheating, spun the laptop, typed www.microsoft.com and then asked him to navigate there without looking at the bookmarks. HE COULD NOT DO IT!!! LOL. It was great.
Make what you want the visitor to do easy and painless and you will reap the rewards. Treat your visitor like an honored guest in your home, lay out the best towels in the guest bath, put out a stand for their suitcase and make sure you leave a light on in the bathroom at night so they do not stub a toe in the dark.
I apologize for the tone of this post but it is a fair representation of how most people feel as they try to accomplish something on the Internet. Since we make the Internet experience we can change the frustration to satisfaction.
Brick and mortar stores have finally figured this out, one of the rising stars is Target, they call the customers “guests”.
Aim for the Target model, your customers will reward you for your efforts. Good luck out there.
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