Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello,

I am looking for some advice on how to improve the conversion rate for GlucoMax.net.
http://www.startupnation.com/NET_ROOT/community/www.glucomax.net

Our site has been up since late 2007. Most of the sales come from the organic search but the conversion rate is very low - 0.85% to 1.35%. I am currently working on adding additional suppliers which will allow us to compete much more effectively on price. Could our current pricing be blamed for very low conversion rates? Are there any additional things we should consider changing in our site structure, navigation, communication with the visitor? Too low of a product offering? Font size too small? Complicated check out process? Any other ideas on how small establishment like us could compete with giants like these:
http://www.startupnation.com/NET_ROOT/community/supplies.dlife.com/
http://www.startupnation.com/NET_ROOT/community/www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Adam

Hi Adam, :-)

I don`t believe it`s a problem with your site, but maybe more that you`re not being "seen" by the people you want as customers. Remember that diabetics can get just about anything over-the-counter that they need, just about anywhere. So why shop at your site?

Where are you mostly visible? Are you selling in locations where people with diabetes frequent? What can you provide as an online store that would make it a compelling reason to shop there, as rather shopping at Walgreen`s?

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Adam, I think you have a nice website.

Ways that you can consider improving conversion rates and taking the site to the next level would include:

• Differentiation
  How are you different from DLife.com or AmericanDiabetesWholesale.com? It`s not clear. What unique value do you offer that they do not? As Craig mentioned, why is it better to purchase from you than from a local offline store?
  

• Benefits
  Remember to accelerate the purchase process by speaking to benefits. If I click on GlucoMax PLANS in your navigation system, I am taken to a page that merely lists a number of products along with the prices. There is nothing on this page that explains benefits of purchasing a "plan". What`s in it for me? Sell me on your plans!
  
  The same problem exists if I click through on the "testing twice a day" plan. On the corresponding landing page, you list the product, price and what`s included in the package. You do not speak to any benefits of buying this plan from you or of buying from you right now.
  

• Testing
  If you are seeking to increase conversion rates, revisit your website testing plan. How often are you testing the headlines on your different web pages? How often are you testing the imagery and the Calls to Action in your site? How often do you test incentives and product pricing? How often do you test different elements of your shopping cart? Testing and making corresponding changes to the website is one of the most reliable ways to increase conversion rates.
  
  A quick and easy way to test different elements on your web pages is through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. You can setup highly focused landing pages (apart from your main website) and see which elements work the best at increasing conversion rates. Then, you can apply these learnings to your actual website.
  
  Through Google AdWords, you can easily test one landing page vs. another. This is known as A/B testing. Another, more sophisticated way to test landing pages is through Google Website Optimizer. Both of these testing options is free within the Google AdWords program.
  

• Going Beyond a Product Website
  Your current website is essentially a list of undifferentiated products. There really isn`t much more on the website. How about offering healthy lifestyle information, or a cookbook for diabetics, recipe exchanges and ratings? How about creating a Daily Recipe widget that users can download? How about offering a tool that helps diabetics plan and manage meals? How about hosting a forum about diabetics, rather than just linking to other sites? How about publishing interviews with experts?
  
  You can also learn a lot from other successful product websites. Harley-Davidson.com does a fantastic job of going well beyond a product website in differentiating itself and engaging with its audience. You can read further about this in an article I just wrote for StartupNation at http://www.startupnation.com/series/108/9175/customer-lifestyle-website.htm.
  

Hope that this feedback is helpful!
-Tom