A brands website is a huge part of a company’s success. A good website can establish credibility and serves as the foundation for digital marketing efforts. With that in mind, a pleasant customer experience when visiting your website is crucial to your company’s success. The first factor in customer experience is a positive first impression.

Here are some numbers to get you thinking:

• 70-80% of consumers check a businesses website before making an in-person purchase
• By 2021, global retail ecommerce sales will reach $4.5 trillion
• 94% of first impressions are based on design

After a favorable experience, users are ready to spend a little more time on your website. In only takes 2.6 for a user to fully absorb your web page. You have a short period of time to make a positive first impression on your visitor. Additionally, when it comes to first impressions, visual appeal trumps usability. Luckily, there is a lot you can do to make users spend more time on your website to increase your chances of conversion.

Reduce Distractions

Keep your landing page clutter-free and straightforward with a distinct call to action. A clean webpage design can help increase conversions and establish credibility. Multiple offers can decrease conversions by 266%, so decluttering your site can have a noticeable impact.

Best practice and modern design indicate that brands should use plenty of white space on a landing page. Since most people are simply browsing, the right amount of clean space will help keep your website legible and uncomplicated. Airbnb offers inspiration galleries featuring UGC to keep a clean but approachable design to their site, which a clear actionable call-to-action (CTA).

‍Practical Tips: A snappy headline, a powerful image, or an intelligent call to action may be just what you need on your website to persuade visitors to take the desired action. Keep the key benefits and CTA above the fold so that your visitors don’t need to scroll down for more information.

Make Use of User-Generated Content on Your Site

Did you know that online reviews influence purchase decisions of up to 93% of customers? Reviews and UGC are word-of-mouth marketing at scale – use those to your advantage to drive more conversions on your website. Leverage UGC directly on your website to provide social proof and build consumer trust in your product or service.

Offer Co-Browsing Support to Customers

The reason why co-browsing works so well is that it allows your support staff to solve user issues in real-time while also enabling the users to follow the actions of the team. They can then tackle the problem on their own in the future. Acquire reports that businesses using an integrated co-browsing solution can see an improvement of over 18% in first call resolution and a 14% reduction in call handling times.

Conversion Rates and Personalization

Most websites have an average conversion rate of less than three percent. However, top-performing sites boast of a conversion rate of well over eleven percent. That’s quite a large window of opportunity. Conversion lies in an understanding of your customer base. Customers are the heroes of your story and adopting a customer-centric approach can give your business an unprecedented boost. Annie Selke, a luxury decor company, doubled their conversion rate by using Pixlee’s UGC technology. By offering customer content to new visitors, Annie Selke was able to convey a level of relatability and personalization that scales with their team.Customization is key to connecting with customers and bringing more awareness to your brand. Today, both B2B and B2C customers demand personalized content and are willing to pay extra for it. It pays off for your brand in the form of improved conversion rates.

The Power of Live Chats

According to a study, 44% of consumers said that having the ability to talk to an online agent is great for their user satisfaction. After a positive customer experience, 69% of Americans will refer that company to others. Customers are much more willing to share a positive experience than a negative one, so a favorable customer experience can bring awesome exposure to your brand.

Speed Up Your Website

People like fast websites. In fact, load time is a significant factor in building positive customer experience. But how fast should your website be? According to Google Webmasters, “Two seconds is the threshold for ecommerce website acceptability. At Google, we aim for under a half-second.” It is crucial to speed up your website because it has a significant impact on your bounce rate. In fact, 52% of online shoppers proclaim that a quick load time increases their brand loyalty.  

Create Self-Help Options on Your Website

In the era of instant gratification, customers seek immediate support on your website. Integrating self-help options on your site can boost your customer experience considerably. By introducing a chatbot on your website, not only can you ensure 24/7 query resolution on your website, but also win the hearts of visitors of all ages. Chatbots are helpful in the following ways:

• Chatbots offer 24/7 support on your website for simple queries.
• Chatbots can be trained to pass on qualified leads or more complex questions to support agents – saving time.
• Chatbots can improve sales and engagement by initiating conversations to inform customers about various offers or lead them to a new blog or video.

No wonder, using chatbots can reduce your operational costs by up to 30%.

Win Hearts and Minds to Convert

Companies will no longer compete solely on product or price differentiation, but instead on customer experience in the near future. With that, the design of your website and the success of your customer service experience will play an essential role in determining your leadership position in the market.

‍Ashwini is passionate about Business, Entrepreneurship, E-commerce, and Digital Marketing. She is working with Acquire (acquire.io) as a digital marketing executive. She is a free soul and adventurous scholar who spends her free time with herself, loved once, music, and watching & playing sports, on roads being a thrill-seeking traveler to get new experiences as she looks at life as our very own works of art.