If your online store has a 1% conversion rate, it means that 1 out of 100 visitors actually makes a purchase, and that particular buyer had a purchasing behavior that led them to finally decide to buy. But you have surely wondered why the remaining 99 visitors did not decide to make a purchase.
Most online store owners focus primarily on buyers, yet still too few ask themselves, what happens with the rest who visited the online store and left without actually making a purchase (which usually represents a cost for the online retailer).
Often, online store owners think primarily as merchants and not enough as actual visitors to their online stores, which leads them to put all customers in the same basket. But the truth is quite different, as customers are no different than in everyday life; we are all different, and each customer is just as different and requires a different way of communication. Our goal should always be as personalized communication as possible, which brings the best results.
Consumer decision-making process
Before you actually start any communication with visitors to your website, it is good to know in which purchasing phase your potential customer is. Although every consumer is different, based on their decision-making process, we can divide consumers into 5 categories:
- Recognition of need - When an individual faces the problem of an unmet need, which triggers discomfort or tension.
- Pre-purchase research - Begins when an individual realizes that they can satisfy the need by purchasing a specific product.
- Evaluation of alternatives - When they have already determined what they need and have gathered all the necessary information, they face evaluating alternatives.
- Purchase behavior - When an individual decides to make a purchase at a certain point.
- Post-purchase decision - If the individual is satisfied with the purchase, there is a higher likelihood that they will buy the product from the same brand again.
Now that we understand that we cannot treat all visitors to our online store the same, it is clear that it is very important to adjust the way of communication according to the stage of the purchasing process in which the consumer is located.
Still, quite a few online store owners communicate with their potential customers as if they are all in the purchasing phase, but in reality, visitors are in different stages of the purchasing process. When we consider that consumers are in different stages of the purchasing process and actively include this fact in our marketing strategy and communication across all channels, the conversion rate increases. This way, we can also focus on the remaining 99% of visitors to your online store who have not yet decided to make a purchase.
