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There’s no doubt that conversions are critical to any online business. Turning a visitor into a customer is what puts money in the bank (and, after all, that’s why you’re in business). But increasing your final conversion rate can be a challenging task, especially if you have a lengthy sales cycle. In this article, we’ll review five best practices for increasing conversion rates through microconversions.
These smaller conversions are often overlooked when you hear people talk about their marketing funnel and conversion rate. Yet they can actually be the most important since these are what moves your audience further along your sales funnel. It isn’t true that you can just “build it and they will come,” or in this case they will convert … you need to help your visitors along the way with smaller ways to connect and deepen the relationship.
When you think of traditional, face-to-face selling (or in person or on the phone, however you want to think about it), the sales process entails multiple touchpoints along the journey to conversion. These tend to be highly visible since it’s a direct action being taken by a person. What we are doing with digital marketing is recreating those touchpoints by using microconversions.
If you think about an American football game, it’s rare for the offensive line to snap the ball and immediately score a touchdown. They have four downs to move the ball ten yards. Sometimes when they score, it’s not a seven-point touchdown but a three-point field goal. Each play along the way is a microconversion towards a W.
A microconversion is a small, targeted conversion that leads to a larger, more meaningful conversion. These small steps or non-purchase actions that visitors take on your website that can be a great indicator of their eventual likelihood of a financial transaction.
Macro conversions are the larger, more meaningful conversions – getting the sale. Microconversions are the smaller, more targeted conversions that lead to better user experience and final conversion rates.
Micro conversions are important because they’re a way to connect more closely with your audience, remain top of mind, and keep them coming back for more. This is even more critical for any type of product or service that may have a longer sales cycle, where a prospect may be considering the decision for up to a year – or more – versus something quick & simple that as soon as they begin thinking about it, they’re ready to purchase and don’t even require much research.
These microconversions can help keep your audience on your website longer (proven to assist with future conversions), keep them connected to your business (such as via an email list or social media), and keep them aware of your business as they move towards an eventual transaction with someone.
They’re also a useful way track and measure the success of your online marketing efforts beyond only looking at hard sales data. This pipeline data can help you optimize your marketing campaigns and make decisions about which areas to focus on next.
According to Contentsquare’s 2021 Digital Experience Benchmark report, the average time on page for websites across all industries is 54 seconds.
Micro conversions are small changes that can have a big impact on customer behavior. For example, a customer who receives a free shipping offer may be converted into a paying customer. Likewise, if a customer is offered a discount on their next purchase if they provide their email address, they may have been converted into an advocate.
One of the most important microconversions is getting the visitors to your website to sign up to your email list. This is even more important now because of data and tracking limitations in place for some of our other digital marketing techniques, like pay-per-click ads. Your own email list is still one of the best places to reach your prospects and current customers, with a good overall CTR and conversion rate.
Another micro-conversion that is relatively simple to enact is adding easy ways you can keep a visitor on your website longer.
As a visitor interacts more with your website, psychologically they will begin to view you as more of an expert and develop more trust.
There’s also another marketing psychology factor in play, that when you provide something free to someone, they feel obligated to return the favor. This is one of the reasons that offering a freebie in exchange for their email address can be such an effective strategy.
Even a simple “learn more” button can be considered a micro conversion. It’s doesn’t sound as final as a “buy now” button to your audience, which will help get more clicks, yet still keeps them engaged longer, which helps move them along your funnel.
You need to consider which tactics to use, and where they can best be implemented.
When it comes to microconversions, businesses must be mindful of the various channels through which customers interact with them and make sure that every interaction leads to potential new business – if not today, planned for the future. By understanding how and where customers are converting, businesses can optimize their marketing strategies accordingly.
Implementing strategies like these can increase visitor time on site by 30% or more.
What are some tips for increasing micro-conversion rates?
Here are five tips for increasing micro-conversion rates:
When your audience understands what to do and why, it’s simple for you to increase those microconversions. Clear, concise copy can assist in getting visitors further into this micro funnel.
If I visit a page on your website, and I don’t know what you want me to do, I will likely do nothing. This is why even having a link to a related article at the bottom of an existing article, with a CTA of “read more” can be beneficial.
You want to tell them (1) what to do (sometimes it’s implied, such as clicking a button), (2) how to do it (important if it involves a second step after they take the initial action, such as completing a form), and (3) why (the most overlooked piece of a CTA). All three pieces should be included for the most effective CTA; sometimes it can be wrapped up into one simple instruction.
There is no single answer to the targeting question since the best targeting techniques vary depending on the specific microconversion goals. However, effective targeting generally includes using relevant keywords, demographics, and behavioral triggers. Additionally, it’s important to measure results regularly and adjust tactics as needed.
But it goes without saying that I would not target existing email list contacts and ask them to join my email list. Just like I wouldn’t ask existing social media fans to like my page. However, I can ask my social media fans to join my email list, which would be a microconversion and go a long way to getting them off social media and into my own marketing funnel, which is more important than ever.
How important? Seriously … this is important. Just a couple of days ago when I logged into Instagram, they told me my account was shut down and that I needed to verify. Keep in mind, I had done nothing other than the regular posting similar to how I always do, and had not even logged in yet that morning. No posts flagged. Nothing controversial or against TOS. I’m very careful with all of this since my business MUST use social media for our clients. Verification required me writing a generated number on a piece of paper, then taking a photo of my face and hand holding the paper (both face and hand required – it didn’t accept my first attempt because you couldn’t see all of my hand!) and submitting for their review. Luckily everything was restored within an hour … but what if Instagram was my only or primary platform for marketing (it isn’t) and suddenly I lost my entire account? Remember you have zero control over third party platforms.
Getting your audience into your email list is still one of the best ways to market. According to Mailchimp, the average email open rate for all industries is 21.33%. That’s still some of the most effective numbers around!
Micro-conversions are small changes users can make on your site that result in a big change for them. By driving user engagement through microconversions, you can increase your chances of converting more of your audience into customers.
One way to do this is to offer discounts or rewards for completing simple tasks or making small purchases. For example, if a user signs up for your email list, give them a discount on their next purchase. If they download your whitepaper, give them a free eBook. These types of bundled incentives will help keep users engaged and motivated to convert more leads into customers.
Another way to drive user engagement through micro-conversions is to encourage users to share their experiences with your brand online. For example, if you offer a free trial of your product, let users know how they can receive it by them sharing the trial on social media and using a hashtag like #freetrialforme. This will help spread the word about your brand and encourage more people to visit and convert more leads into customers.
If you think about it, we always hear on social media how important of a metric engagement is, and engagement itself is a microconversion, so consider how you can use both together in your marketing strategy.
4. Use compelling offers and incentives
Microconversions are the small, individualized transactions that occur on a website or app. They can be used to increase conversion rates, loyalty, and customer engagement. Offers and incentives can be used to motivate users to make microconversions. These can take the form of discounts, exclusive offers, or bonus points.
If you’ve lost a customer somewhere along the way – which happens to all businesses – don’t give up on them completely. Instead, use a microconversion offers as a way to win them back and get them re-engaged with your business. Offer them something small that feels “non-threatening” that they can’t find anywhere else and make it easy for them to complete the purchase or claiming the offer.
Did you know … you can book a single Fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) consultation appointment if you would like help strategizing through your options. Book a session now!
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