I agree with CraigL about grey text on grey background. The text is also too small and hard to read. You should try different colors, even change the direction a model poses -- left vs right, just by flipping the photo. You`d be surprised at how tiny things will have a large effect.
I used to run a print shop and one of my regular customers printed a weekly sales flyer. He tracked the response based on paper color. Goldenrod paper drew 5 times the sales as the next best color. Some colors looked nice but drew very few sales. (After employing the psychology comments below) try changing colors for a week at a time and track your conversion rate to see which has the most pull. But you need to deal with the psychology of selling first. All the SEO in the world won`t make up for a poor sales pitch. SEO can help get people to your website. Conversions are the hard part, and that is almost entirely about developing a strong sales pitch (sales program) Do some internet research on the psychology of selling. It should really be called the psychology of buying, because that`s what it is.
Your home page, and every other page, should focus on *selling*. You have to employ a sales psychology from the first word to the last. Everything should say *Buy Me Now*. Your website looks nice, but it does not stir a strong emotional response, except for the hot chick on the home page -- now *she* stirs a response. But all your models are posed. I suggest some action shots -- happy, beautiful models frolicking in the surf (or pool) as handsome men gaze on them adoringly. Emotion and tension are necessary parts of the buying process.
You must hammer home *Benefits* -- I see no benefits mentioned anywhere. Selling is business, but buying is an emotionally driven event. People buy benefits, not products. Think of all the reasons someone would benefit from buying your bikini then hammer those points home in Large Text and Bright Colors. Lots more pictures, with both overt and covert messages about beauty. If you`re not a salesman, then find someone who is and get some help with the psychology of making a sale.
Every salesman has a sales program, and your *selling* website needs one too. These are the steps that lead a customer from looking to buying. You must try for a sale conversion at every point along the way. Your pitch should be a series of the following: benefit, offer (to buy), another benefit, another offer, etc, etc.
Who is your target market? And what are the benefits of owning your product that would make your targets actually buy them? What are the benefits of buying from your website rather than go to a store to buy? Give some guarantees -- 100% satisfaction. Benefits are emotional -- beauty, prestige, feeling hotter and sexier than other women on the beach, getting the attention of men, quality, favorite colors, attractive designs, comfort, economy, savings (a huge motivator).
You might try this: List Price $149 - our price $99 - save 1/3. Show me a woman and I`ll show you someone who loves a bargain.
To develop a powerful sales program think of the sales steps as though someone walks into your store. "Hi! How are you today? You are obviously here to buy a bikini. Ours will make you look HOT and SEXY. All the other women will envy you. Men will desire you. Our bikinis will make you beautiful, powerful, feminine, etc, etc. They are a bargain at this price. They will last forever. This will be your favorite bikini. Now what is your favorite color, and what size can I get for you?" You have to keep the sales psychology working constantly. It should not all be in words either. Photos are worth 1000 words. A man drooling over a beautiful woman stirs powerful emotions (like jealousy and competitiveness -- I want him drooling over ME.)
The impediments to sales are called *objections* -- and you have to overcome those, even without hearing them from the customer. Don`t list objections directly on the website, but use the psychology of selling to overcome objections in your buyers` minds by hammering home all the benefits.
You have negative information on the home page -- all the "How to care for your bikini" section. It starts off by saying "No swimsuit will hold up forever..." then talks about how colors fade, etc. That is information, not selling. If you went to buy a car and the salesman started by saying the car was going to wear out and then he tells you all about maintenance costs... well, that`s poor salesmanship. It is good information, but it needs to be buried on another page, or given as a freebie *after* the sale.
I also like the comment above about the sizes. Don`t list XS first. Have your dropdown start somewhere in the middle of the size range. Or introduce size selection later in the sales process. Make the sale first (create the right emotional environment), then deal with size later in the process. Women in your country may be smaller than US women, but they still want to feel small and dainty.
Also consider these things: instant savings for buying today, upselling companion products, coupon for % off next purchase, bonus $ for sending a friend to buy from you, free gift for buying today.
Do a walk-through of your entire sales process. Track customers (use your logs) and see where you lose them. Then fix the process at that point. The last few steps are the most important. Go to this website and read their free articles on building effective websites.
http://www.uie.com
mwhite12497/22/2008 1:56 PM
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