10 Red Flags That Will Cause Potential Customers Not To Purchase From You Online

Posted by Jason Kienbaum on Jan 3, 2011 in Business Done Now, Small Business Marketing | 4 comments

Trying to make a sale on the web is becoming harder with more and more people trying to do the same thing you are which is ultimately, making a profit online. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that you could be up against some of the biggest players on the web like Amazon depending on what you sell. Many web entrepreneurs will right away focus on driving traffic to their website, but web traffic alone does not guarantee success in sales. There are many other elements that come into play. Each potential customer that visits your website will have their own set of red flags that go off whenever they see or don’t see something that they have required as a must have factor when purchasing. Here are a few of the most common red flags that will cause anyone to take their business elsewhere when buying on the web.

1) No blog = No business

We all know that search engines love blogs and having a blog can help form your online community of loyal followers. A blog incorporated into you website is also a known standard piece of any website to have. It’s where visitors go to see if your company is serious about what you are doing and if they don’t find a blog on your website it is going to raise some doubt in their mind as to whether your company is legit or not. It’s not enough to only have a blog, but you must also use it, meaning posting on a regular basis. There needs to be consistency with blogging otherwise your blog is useless.

2) Where are you on social media?

This might seem pretty elementary, but still many businesses neglect how important it is to participate in social media websites. Back in 2008 60% of Americans regularly interacted with companies on a social media website. Well now it is 2011, can you imagine what the percentage is now? With social media it really doesn’t matter which one you use as long as you are interacting and helping your customer and not tooting your own horn.

3) Requiring a credit card for a free trial

Yes! Many of you know how much I love free trials and so does everyone else online. As potential customers, what could possibly be better than having the opportunity to try a product before you buy it? Nothing! However, some companies will misuse the free trial system by requiring their free trial users to give their credit card information. This is a huge red flag to many potential customers and they will go somewhere else because they understand the scam here. After the free trial is over the company is going to automatically charge you at the end.

4) Do I really have to fill all of this out?

Time is valuable to everyone so don’t expect your potential customer to give up too much information about themselves. I understand you want to get as much information about a lead as possible, but you won’t get any leads if you require unnecessary information from them because most of the time that’s what it is – unnecessary information.

5) Is anyone running this company?

You should be looking to establish a connection with everyone, but that can’t be done if there is not a face to your business. Making your business human is a core part of marketing to the social user of the web.

6) How good is your support?

So if I run into any problems while using your product am I going to be able to get a hold of you? Or once I show an interest in your company am I going to be thrown to the wayside? Do you have multiple options for support? Can you be reached via live chat, email, or phone?

7) How accessible is the purchase?

Don’t make the people jump through hoops just to get to the product that they are interested in. Many won’t even bother to click through more then two web pages just to find the product that they thought they were interested in. Potential customers don’t appreciate the wild goose chase just to make a purchase. If the product or service is not easily accessible they will find it somewhere else.

8) What are other people saying? (Reviews)

At the end of the day what other people have to say about your brand matters. That’s why having good customer reviews on your website will help you convert the sale, but they have to be real and authentic. Individuals are very good at detecting the BS on the web. Have reviews from real people and then have them present on the web. Check out what others have to say about your company offline as well.

9) Is your website design not up to par?

One of the quickest and most simplest way to scare a potential customer off is to have a poorly designed website. I’m talking about the old one-way communication non CSS website that looks like kindergartner made it. Make the investment to have a professionally designed website or use one of the content management systems with templates.

10) Security (private policy, terms of use)

Everyone wants to know that the information they are giving you is not going to be misused. If you want a customer to provide you with their email address and check the little box saying yes they would to receive email updates from you make sure you state you will not share their email address with any other company. Plus have links to your terms of use and private policy documents easily available whenever a customer is buying or providing information.

Receive Updates Via Email From Business Done Now