What does the consumer want in a B2C website?
The first thing a consumer wants in a new B2C website that they are visiting for the first time, is to be able to find the product they want to buy or the information that they were searching for in the first place. The Web simply is too easy to use the back button on the browser to not focus on supplying the relevant information in the first place.
For example, if a company were to talk about a particular product and not show, or have any information related to the product, then that company is not likely to hold the customer’s attention but for a second. There is a prerequisite for a landing page, (the actual page a consumer lands on when arriving from an Web based ad or even a page through the search engines) that the page needs to stay focused on the topic at hand.
That is only the starting point for the website. Once a consumer decides to make a purchase using some form of eCommerce they want to know two very important things. How secure is their credit card data that they are prepared to give, and are they going to receive spam or have their personal data or email address shared with outside sources.
Not showing, or having quick access to the privacy policy of a website sends up a red flag with many consumers online. Consumers are getting much more Web savvy, and are beginning to understand that some websites have better forms of security than others. They want to be reassured that the information will remain private.
Certainly there are other aspects of a company selling online that a consumer would want to know about. Like the product return policy, and can the customer talk directly with a business representative. But while these are important from a customer service perspective, they are later thoughts in the mind of the consumer in regards to the company.
The process of making a purchase online involves a kind of pipeline. If the pipeline from the beginning to the end is not solid, but has holes in it, a consumer is likely to fall out of the pipe before they actually become a customer. So, think like a consumer when having your website designed and ask yourself the questions that will be going through the consumer’s mind.
Once you focus on the foundation of the website, then it will be much easier to send the customer flow through the pipeline, converting browsers into buyers.
Signed Jim
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