It happens more often than you think. Something on a web site confuses the visitor and they freeze up. Whatever process they were in – researching, purchasing, etc. – has been brought to a dead halt.
A handful of these visitors might proceed to the FAQ page (if one exists) in hopes of finding clarification. An even smaller amount might fill out the web site’s contact form asking for an explanation.
Most, however, will leave.
It’s been pounded into us that the layout, colors and navigation should be consistent throughout the web site in order to avoid confusing the visitor. However, just as important, but often overlooked, is consistency in what the web site says.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
Inconsistency in the Product Guarantee
During a recent online shopping experience, I noticed that the product I was interested in came with a 30-day guarantee. When I got to the shopping cart, however, the company had a statement claiming all their products came with a 90-day guarantee.
Even though it really didn’t matter to me one way or the other, it distracted me. Instead of continuing with my purchase, I flipped between the product page and the shopping cart, trying to figure out why one stated 30-days and the other stated 90-days. Eventually, I did make my purchase. But I still don’t know which guarantee is the correct one.
Inconsistency in the Shopping Cart Options
In another situation, I was checking out an item I was thinking of purchasing, but hadn’t made a firm decision about yet. The web site said it was backordered, but was available for pickup at most stores. However, when I added the item to the cart, the option for store pickup was faded out.
In this case, I dumped the shopping cart. I wasn’t interested in waiting a couple of weeks for my purchase to be shipped to my home. I was, however, interested in purchasing it online and then picking it up at the store. But since their shopping cart wouldn’t allow me to select the “pick up in store” option, I would have had to call or visit the store if I wanted to make my purchase. And I had no intention of doing either one.
What We Can Learn
This lesson here is that inconsistency is a distraction that causes confusion. It has the potential to cost you the sale.
If you state you offer a 30-day guarantee on all your products, then make sure that the verbiage consistently states “30-days” throughout your web site. If the product is available for in-store pick up, then the customer should be able to choose that option and continue with their purchase.
How You Can Improve
Take some time to review your web site today. Are there inconsistencies in what your web site is saying to your customers? If so, you’ll want to make an effort to correct them as soon as possible.
In addition, are there certain questions that you get asked time and again by your customers? Then end the confusion by taking time to add wording to your web site that answers those questions. The more informed your customer is, the more confident they will feel about buying from you.
Remember – it’s always about the customer.
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Hi Viki. I think you make an important point here in this post. And something I didn’t think about before… it is the customer that actually dictates what the content becomes on our sites. Most of us have an idea of what we think our customers would like to see and read, but when we get feedback from our customers, then we know specifically how we should target the copy we write. Our web sites then become a reflection of what our audience wants to see!
David, You’ve made an excellent point. Back in the days of static web sites, web site owners got very little feedback, if any, from their visitors on their content. Blogs changed all that. Now we’ve got an easy and highly accepted way of getting our customers to communicate with us. Smart web site owners will start investing more time in building up quality blogs that encourage people to leave comments and then they will act upon what they learn.