How to Reduce Friction Points for More Sales
Having a great product or service is just a part of leading a successful enterprise. Getting the product from your warehouse to the customer is a whole other story and not only from a logistics point of view. What we are talking about is making it easier for your customers to purchase your products in the first place.
Sales are the ‘life-blood’ of every business, there’s no doubt about it. Even if you managed to raise your brand awareness and attract more customers, making your product or service more accessible will play a key role in your overall success. Every business has a sales friction point; some even have several of them. It’s just a matter of identifying them and resolving them. If you’re wondering why your product isn’t selling as well as it should, you might want to look for these friction points.
If you are a business owner looking to finish this fiscal year with good momentum, then this article is for you! Read along and find out how to identify and reduce customer friction points.
Why Is Friction Bad?
Simply put, friction points affect the overall customer experience in great measure. These friction points are also called pain points for a good reason. They interrupt the flow of sales and directly hinder the success of your business. The most common friction points include:
- Good lead generation via multiple channels, bad lead conversion, and missed opportunities.
- Well-optimized website for SEO, horrible user interface, and user experience design
- Great product, unmotivated and uninformed sales team
- Competitive price, dreadful customer service
These are just some of the examples where the foundation of a business is solid, but the execution and delivery are lacking. In other words, no matter how good your product is, if acquiring it is a hassle, customers will just find an alternative.
How to Reduce Friction
There are several ways to reduce friction, and every one of these ways has the same goal – making the purchasing experience as hassle-free as possible both in online and offline situations. On top of that, you want to provide excellent support and make sure your staff possesses all the required information related to your product or service.
But to streamline your sales, you’ll need to figure out who your customers are and what they want. Putting yourself in your customer’s shoes is essential for pinpointing friction points and eliminating them. Once you’ve figured out who is most likely to be interested in your product, you’ll have a better understanding of how to communicate with your clients concisely and efficiently. Even if your product is selling decently, avoid getting complacent, and always look for ways to provide a frictionless pathway to your product.
You should also focus on:
The Look of Your Website, Especially Your Landing Page
Website design, in terms of user experience, plays a crucial role in keeping your customers from closing your page and moving on to a competitor. You should primarily focus on your landing page and make it as concise as possible, yet interesting. Studies show that a lengthy landing page that shares too much can scare away potential customers. Keeping it too short might give out the impression that your company is inexperienced and unprofessional. A happy medium should be your goal, so focus on finding the right balance between length and quality.
All the content you publish should follow this rule. Figure out what people care about when deciding to purchase a certain product or service and focus your content around that need.
Customer Satisfaction Is Important
Word of mouth still has the highest conversion rate and plays a key role in establishing a positive public perception of your company. You want to invest resources in measuring customer satisfaction because not having this kind of feedback will be detrimental to your business. You’ll also want to focus on improving your customer service department to provide the best possible experience when your clients deal with your business.
Empathy in Sales
With all the competition out there, your sales team has a difficult job, without a doubt. They can get so carried away with trying to achieve their goals, that often they forget that a little bit of empathy can go a long way in removing barriers and making the sale. A salesperson who can relate to the customer is more likely to break through the defenses and create interest. Vice versa, a customer who can relate with your salesperson is more likely to hear out the unique selling propositions and commit to your business.
Invest in Relationships
Lack of trust is one of the most prominent friction points that you need to address to keep your business afloat. Avoid friction slowing things down by investing in relationships with current customers will build trust and turn them into repeat customers.
If you’re serious about strengthening your sales and customer service teams, Answer Hero can provide you with a high-quality solution that will ensure your business is running smoothly. We cover a variety of industries and have fully bilingual representatives. Feel free to visit our website and check out our plans for more information.
