- Original Poster
- #1
If at first you don't succeed,give up and save your energy.
The poll on how to become rich beyond your wildest dreams.:|
The poll on how to become rich beyond your wildest dreams.:|
I would say product as even if all of the other factors are top of the class, can you really make a living out of selling poor products?
You should try and rearrange the poll so that we can all have a go at ranking them in terms of importance.
Lord knows how to do that though
Mister B
You should try and rearrange the poll so that we can all have a go at ranking them in terms of importance.
Lord knows how to do that though
Mister B
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- Original Poster
- #4
I would say product as even if all of the other factors are top of the class, can you really make a living out of selling poor products?
You should try and rearrange the poll so that we can all have a go at ranking them in terms of importance.
Lord knows how to do that though
Mister B
Look its taken me three goes to get the bleeding poll up,and you want brains to.
well you can list things in order of importance in your posts.?
Earl
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Conversion is the most important factor. If you don't have that then you don't have any sales. Not a single penny.
It's pretty much on-par with traffic. You need both, and if you have one but not the other then the income won't exist.
It's pretty much on-par with traffic. You need both, and if you have one but not the other then the income won't exist.
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Look its taken me three goes to get the bleeding poll up,and you want brains to.
I see the home help is on the ball!"!!
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Dear me. How can some people vote for website design over some factors like conversion, traffic and price? 
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Dear me. How can some people vote for website design over some factors like conversion, traffic and price?
How did I know you were going to say that*, it's like...UKBF hog day all over again.
* tip there are some real nutters on the forum, just don't tell them I told you.
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Product
Traffic
Site design
Conversion (in tyhis order as design is a key part of conversion)
Quality images
Price
Not ideal but here goes
You need to get the product right, the real money is made by anticipating what people want and providing it first to market as this allows a higher price initially.
Traffic is important as without it the rest is irrelevant
Site design is a key to conversion, so these go hand in hand. This includes the content copy which again is part of conversion, BUT a crap design with a unique product at the right price will make a shed load
Images are important to allow buyers to ensure they are getting what they are looking for, more important if your product is priced lower than competitors.
Price, while important, being the cheapest doesn't mean you will make the most money.
Traffic
Site design
Conversion (in tyhis order as design is a key part of conversion)
Quality images
Price
Not ideal but here goes
You need to get the product right, the real money is made by anticipating what people want and providing it first to market as this allows a higher price initially.
Traffic is important as without it the rest is irrelevant
Site design is a key to conversion, so these go hand in hand. This includes the content copy which again is part of conversion, BUT a crap design with a unique product at the right price will make a shed load
Images are important to allow buyers to ensure they are getting what they are looking for, more important if your product is priced lower than competitors.
Price, while important, being the cheapest doesn't mean you will make the most money.
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Look its taken me three goes to get the bleeding poll up,and you want brains to.
I got a question maj, how come this is in general, not "anorak" forum?:|
(now, where did I put me tame clever bloke??)
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Strange list of choices: conversion and a bunch of things whose role is to help conversion.
Steve
Steve
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That was why I had to add some comments as I did. It is not a simple list is it.
I mean if you are the only one selling the product that has just hit the news, then price doesn't matter (as long as they can afford it and are willing to pay it) If however you are entering a saturated market or as and when competition arrives, price becomes an issue
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Is it not that conversion encompasses all of the others. If the product is wrong it won't convert, if the design is wrong it won't convert, if the pricing is wrong it won't convert, if the images are porr it won't convert, and if there's no traffic it can't convert. You could get conversion with all of those factors there, or there in part, or partially working. But to get best conversion you need all of the above.
You also forgot shopping cart, Earl. That too is a highly important factor, because if everything else is perfect but your shopping cart is long winded, unnecessarily complicated, subject to failures, hard to read, doesn't inspire confidence when it comes to parting with credit card details, or is just generally not there and you have to write down an order code on a bit of paper, find a paypal screen enter the order numbers and hope that what comes out the end is what you want to order, then you won't convert.
So, if you concentrate on conversion as a measure of a websites sucess, it should lead you to examine each and every other element of the website.
That's wot I reckon!!
You also forgot shopping cart, Earl. That too is a highly important factor, because if everything else is perfect but your shopping cart is long winded, unnecessarily complicated, subject to failures, hard to read, doesn't inspire confidence when it comes to parting with credit card details, or is just generally not there and you have to write down an order code on a bit of paper, find a paypal screen enter the order numbers and hope that what comes out the end is what you want to order, then you won't convert.
So, if you concentrate on conversion as a measure of a websites sucess, it should lead you to examine each and every other element of the website.
That's wot I reckon!!
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Conversion isn't an element for a successful website - it's the indicator that your website actually is successful. Success means you have good conversions, failure means you have poor conversions. Every other element contributes to your conversions/success.
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They're both the same thing.
Not quite.
Conversions are when you take a visitor and convince them to buy your product or service. Simple as that.
There are many smaller factors involved but the main point in most circumstances is the sales copy. It's that raw information which tells a visitor what your product/service is and why they should buy it.
Nothing else can directly answer those points except worded information or direct sampling of the product/service.
Other factors (such as design, images, price etc) are parts which will logically/emotionally influence a visitor and thus influence the sales conversion rate.
I.E:
-This product is so cheap!
-This product is too expensive
Or:
-The design of this site is amazing! (sub-consciously creates a sense of trust and quality).
- The design of this site is crap. I don't trust them.
Increasing your sales conversion rate is a logical part of increasing your sales and isn't just an indicator. It's the percentage of visitors converted into paying customers. Your website's ability to do this, along with other smaller factors, will influence this percentage.
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Blimey looks like most of you are going to be working hard for your money.?:|
Earl
Come on then Granddad.
What is in that there snake oil???
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Now the thing is, a naff product can be sold with the right sales copy.
In fact, any person who has fallen to a scam or rubbish product/service has been sold on it by the right copy and sales communication.
It's rare nowadays for a person to be able to directly sample something they could buy (especially when it comes to the Internet) so they must rely on what they are told and what they are convinced of.
Of course, having a great product at a good price makes it significantly easier to sell it and make money, but money can be made without that (and successfully too).
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C
Colin Parker
Lets first define 'success' in a website.
For anyone who has a business website that definition is simple ... to earn money. That may mean selling directly off the site, or building a subscription list to market to, or whatever.
Therefore, the more you earn, the more successful your site.
So ... what is more important to success ... your product or how you sell it? UKSBD (and Earl) believe it is the product. I know it is how you sell it ... and here's why.
If two websites ... sold exactly the same products ... at exactly the same price ... with exactly the same guarantees and after sales service ... with two different designs ...one site would convert higher than the other.
Depending on the headline, copy, pictures, font, colours, shopping cart process etc., it would not be unrealistic for one site to out convert the other by 2 to 1 or more. For the same product!
And there is absolutely nothing unusual in this fact ... because this is exactly what happens offline. I worked in direct sales for nearly 20 years and a group of salesmen selling the same product, at the same price, for the same company etc., etc., will get different conversions.
Why? Because it depends on how they sell the product. The better their presentation, the better their sales skills, the more compelling their reason to buy ... the more they sell.
The vast majority of UKBF members (and anyone in business) is selling a product or service which is very, very similar to that offered by your competitors. In fact ... in many cases ... your potential customer can't tell the difference.
What separates the winners from the losers ... online AND offline ... is how you present your product or service and how you sell it.
That is why online there can be only one 'most important' factor in judging the success of your website ...
Conversion. Conversion. Conversion.
Colin Parker
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R
Rhyl Lightworks
This seems to be a poll for website designers not owners.
My comments would be:
Conversion depends on all the other things listed and a whole lot more - what about customer service giving return purchases, testimonials, product knowledge if people phone up.
It is hard and expensive to continually try to get one off purchases, but becomes much easier if you get a lot of people coming back.
I suppose what I am saying is that a well designed site will take you so far, but in the end it is the people who actually sell the products that are the major factor.
Barrie
My comments would be:
Conversion depends on all the other things listed and a whole lot more - what about customer service giving return purchases, testimonials, product knowledge if people phone up.
It is hard and expensive to continually try to get one off purchases, but becomes much easier if you get a lot of people coming back.
I suppose what I am saying is that a well designed site will take you so far, but in the end it is the people who actually sell the products that are the major factor.
Barrie
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I believe that is the key to the question.
Why are the vast majority selling the same thing?
If I was selling a product competing against a handfull of others I would
work on marketing more to improve conversions.
If all of a sudden a 1000 other people started selling the same product
I wouldn't.
I would look for another product to start selling.
I believe one of the most important things is timing, knowing when to sell
a product, 2nd most important thing is timing, knowing when to stop
selling a product.
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C
Colin Parker
Try telling that to Google, Ipod,Dyson,Twitter,Facebook,Youtube,Mac,BMW,McDonalds,Apple.............E.t.c.:|
Earl
Earl - you are talking here about brands.
Reaching true brand status sets you apart from 99.9% of all other businesses and allows you to short cut many of the selling processes which 'non brand' businesses need to employ.
However ... let's take two BMW franchises and imagine that we sent the same 100 potential buyers to each one. I guarantee that one franchise would sell more cars than the other. And I also guarantee that BMW would know which franchise would more than likely come out on top!
Which again proves the point ... that even for brands ... the product does not sell itself everytime to the same degree.
Offline a major factor in maximising conversion is the salesman.
Online a major factor in maximising your conversion is your website - and for webbsite read 'online salesman'.
Colin Parker
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C
Colin Parker
Yep the one who sold its cars at the lowest price.
Guaranteed.
Earl
Nope ... same price you would still get different conversions.
Plus ... some salesmen would sell cars on BMW finance, some would upsell the customer from a 2.0 litre to a 3.0 litre, some would give less in part exchange, some would give more in part exchange, some would offer test drives, some would give the customer the car to try out for a weekend etc., etc., etc.
Are you trying to imply that if the price was same you would get the SAME sales conversion?
And conversely that the only reason the conversion would be different for the same product is if one company sold the product at a lower price?
Colin Parker
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C
Colin Parker
Earl - you are dead wrong.
If that was the case in our BMW example the cheapest franchise would cream all the business ... and they don't.
There are many salesmen who are so poor at presenting the product that they never even get to the stage of pricing the product for the customer.
By your rule of thumb big brands don't need salesmen ... they just need a price ticket.
Colin Parker
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Agree with Oneportfolio, price may be a consideration but so is after-sales, financing, location, range of products and so on.
I can't remember where but I read a report that proved price wasn't the major deciding factor when buying a product. In fact the cheaper the price the less confidence there was in the business, the idea being that the the consumer would rather pay a little more to be assured of quality and the likelyhood that the seller wouldn't be a spiv.
I can't remember where but I read a report that proved price wasn't the major deciding factor when buying a product. In fact the cheaper the price the less confidence there was in the business, the idea being that the the consumer would rather pay a little more to be assured of quality and the likelyhood that the seller wouldn't be a spiv.
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- Original Poster
- #37
We are discussing websites.
If I want a BMW M5 I look for the cheapest price first and I don't care where the dealer is as long as its UK.
You are talking about customer loyalty to the litttle village garage where people will spend a couple of thousand more for the same product in the mistaken belief they will have more security.
Earl
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C
Colin Parker
Of course I'm not talking about the little village garage etc.
I'm talking about websites ... your online salesman.
We'll just have to agree to differ here. You believe that the quality/uniqueness of the product dictates conversion. I don't.
I know ... from testing ... that the same product, at the same price, with the same features and benefits ... will convert differently online and offline depending on how it is presented and sold.
And I also believe that it is far harder to convert online than it is offline because often you don't get the opportunity to speak to your customer and answer their questions and objections.
Your poll is about 'website success factors' and IMO nothing is more important than conversion because unless I, you or any other business have totally exclusive rights to a unique product we are all competing with similar products/services to the same potential customers in our sector.
And because of that the winners will always be those who combine great traffic generation with great website conversion.
And the reason why conversion rates higher than traffic is because you can always buy traffic ... but often (as many UKBF members will know) you cannot buy conversion.
I put this post on another thread yesterday which clearly shows how a 1% increase in conversion can double profits ... just try doubling your profits with a 1% increase in traffic!
If you have any doubts about the worth of testing fonts, font size or anything else on your site take a look at the figures below ...
I am assuming a PPC campaign purely because it is easier to demonstrate the visitor cost (CPC - cost per click) to your site.
I am assuming a CPC of £1 and a profit per sale of £100.
CPC £1 £1 £1
Clicks 100 100 100
Cost £100 £100 £100
Conversion 1% 2% 3%
Sales 1 2 3
Income £100 £200 £300
Profit NIL £100 £200
In other words ... a 1% increase in conversion can turn your site from 'zero to hero' ... and the next 1% increase can double your profit!
That 1% increase just might be down to font and font size ... or it may be found by testing a headline, a picture, a colour etc., etc.
There is a saying known to all golfers ... drive for show, put for dough.
For site owners read ... traffic for show, conversion for dough.
Colin Parker
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- Original Poster
- #39
Ok here's my list and why.
Product The single most important thing in any business,trying to sell crap is an uphill struggle.
Traffic without customers your dead in the water.
Quality images for many this is there only time to see the product,make them go WOW.!!
Conversion make it easy peasy to buy what they are drooling over.
Site design as long as its got wheels on it will go.
Price not so simple if your competing with a known product then price is going to come after traffic.
If your leading a niche market have a nice day.
Earl
Product The single most important thing in any business,trying to sell crap is an uphill struggle.
Traffic without customers your dead in the water.
Quality images for many this is there only time to see the product,make them go WOW.!!
Conversion make it easy peasy to buy what they are drooling over.
Site design as long as its got wheels on it will go.
Price not so simple if your competing with a known product then price is going to come after traffic.
If your leading a niche market have a nice day.
Earl
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I think you're confusing "conversion" with "basic usability".
Real conversion is mainly about making people buy - so, it includes copywriting, images, proof, credibility, usability, readability, establishing value, differentiation, price justification etc. ... and all the "find out what they respond to and give it to them" that only comes from split-testing.
Steve
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