When I was little, my grandma’s next door neighbor worked in retail marketing. It was his job to consult with and ultimately arrange stores so that customers were drawn to inventory that needed to be moved, brands that were launching, promotions that were happening, and more. I was fascinated that someone could have an entire job arranging stores! It sounded so fun.
I recently did a marketing audit with a business who hired a firm to help drive traffic to their website through search engine optimization and paid traffic (social media ads). This business was receiving KPIs (key performance indicators) from the firm that showed a significant uptick in website traffic, but they weren’t seeing that uptick in website traffic translate into increased conversions. So, what was going wrong? My grandma’s old neighbor would have told them that their store (or website) isn’t sticky enough. In other words, customers have to have a place to go when they enter your store (or website). If they don’t, they will walk (or click) away.
It’s not just this business that has asked me how to convert traffic into conversions… this is a problem that many grapple with today. In fact, as you read this, you might be realizing that you put more energy into attracting traffic than retaining it when it should be the opposite.
Here are a few rules of thumbs to rectify that:
- Make sure there is an obvious email marketing opt-in on your homepage.
- Make your copy “sticky” by providing testimonials and transformational stories.
- Create content consistently.
Now that you are informed, next time you find yourself worrying about getting more website traffic, take a step back and make sure you have the infrastructure in place to keep that traffic in your funnel. Then build your traffic via paid traffic and search engine optimization.