Your living room, sitting on the couch, Sunday night, iPad in hand, and you are researching the perfect sound system to enhance the movie watching experience when you stumble across what looks like the perfect solution.

You dive in, but you can’t find many reviews. You go to another site and the site has a lot of reviews and you filter through them and make up your mind. Yes, this is exactly what you are looking for.

Boom!

You go though their sales process and it’s done. Purchased.

The first site didn’t have enough reviews and lost your sale.

68.01% of people abandon their cart for a myriad of reasons. They go to a third party site that doesn’t look anything like your site. Or maybe they stay on your site, but aren’t sure what to do next. Or they were hit with an unexpected cost (expensive shipping or tax).

Let’s say a potential customer got to your offer and they were excited to buy. They click the button but it’s a let down.

The reasons will differ for you, but as long as you can measure and refine your process, you can lower your cart’s abandonment rate.

A clunky user experience can kill your conversion rate. If they feel let down, they aren’t willing to finish the buying process. So let’s look at what you can do to help make each conversion a smooth and even a fun process for your customers.

We are going to analyze a very well thought out buying process from the brilliant team over at Fizzle. They help entrepreneurs stay sane in a stressful world. They helped me out when I felt overwhelmed and had trouble figuring out how to get my business to the next level without having a mental breakdown.

1. Make the first step easy

One of the hardest parts for any online business is to make the first step so easy that they can’t say no. You can make this possible at any price level.

You can offer payment plans or answer all their objections that they have as they look through your sales page.

In Fizzle’s case, they decided to make their online education and community site $1 for the first month. Their thought process is simple. Give it a try, fall in love, and keep growing your business with us. If we don’t wow you in the first month, you are only out one dollar.

Think about what barriers that people have before they buy from you and see what you can do to make the first step so easy that they just can’t say no.

2. Make sure payment options are clear and easy

Many people just want an excuse not to pay you money. Not because they don’t see the value in your offer, but because it’s just hard to part with their money. They worked hard for that money, and if your purchase process isn’t designed well, they think that your product or service isn’t created well either. This congruency is how you earn their trust through their buying experience. We’ll talk a little more about this in #4.

3. Show them that you are secure

This is the only step where Fizzle falls a bit flat. I would like to see why their buying process is secure. Most of the people that buy are very online savvy because of the products Fizzle is selling, but it would help to have an image that shows they keep their payment information safe.

a. You will protect their information

What image or promise could you add to your checkout process that makes them feel safe when they hand over their payment information?

4. Understand the importance of a congruent experience

Now once they buy from you, what happens after? How do you deliver the product? The reason I’m including this as part of the check out experience is you’ve probably noticed that people who buy from you will buy from you again if they have a good check out experience that makes them feel welcome and comfortable.

Fizzle excels in this area. Once you buy, you are taken to a really fun page that shows off their personality. It’s an animated gif that shows you how excited they are to have you as part of their community.

What can you do to roll out the welcome mat for your customers when they purchase?

5. Use this on-boarding process as a chance to deepen the connection

So now that they bought from you, it’s your job to make them feel special. This is where you will generate most of your referrals. If they feel like you exceeded their expectations, they will share your awesomeness with their friends.

Fizzle also excels at this. In an interview with Chase Reeves he told me he wanted the customer experience to feel like they were joining a family.

The first image is a quirky video that is a simple intro to the online training you are about to receive for your business. It helps welcome you and explain how you can get started. This is where so many companies also fall short.

How often have you spent a lot of money on a TV or another high priced item only to get a manual that is in black and white and more confusing than a calculus text book? They got your money and don’t see how important it is to create a set-up process that also delights you.

The next step on Fizzle is a video that explains where to begin and how to get started so you can get the most out of the community as possible.

The last two images are emails that were sent out after I bought. You can see the simple instructions in the subject line. Then once you open the email, it’s a simple step by step process about what is most important for you to get started.

 

They hold your hand through the process and make you feel like you are a VIP. They create this effect for every person that buys from them. And the cool part is that it’s all automated.

Now go and look at what happens when people buy from you. How is your checkout experience? Does it delight or fall flat? How do you onboard them and make it so easy for them to get started using your product that they are excited and can’t wait to begin?

If you notice there is fun, clarity, and thought put behind each step that they go through.

If you need help with your UX (User Experience) just set-up a consultation with me or if you need help right away then call me at 512-669-5476. I usually am able to return your call within a few hours.