Churn Rate Optimization: How to Reduce Customer Loss

CRO (conversion rate optimization) is a hot topic. And rightly so. Transforming visitors into buyers all starts with a single click. Any method that can increase your site's conversion rate is worth its weight in digital gold.

In this article, however, I want to dive deep into a lesser-known but profoundly more crucial CRO. This CRO is essential to long-term profitable success and oddly enough, you want to minimize it as much as possible.

This CRO is Churn Rate Optimization.

Customer churn rate — also known as "customer attrition, customer turnover, or customer defection" — is the amount of customers or subscribers who stopped using your product or service within a particular period of time.

The vast majority of both marketing budgets and marketing blogs are devoted to attracting new customers, instead of retaining the ones you already have. Ironically, the simple truth is this: churn rate optimization — reducing the number of customers who abandon your product or service — is far more essential to your profitability and long-term success than conversion rate optimization.

Why?

Consider the facts:

1. Acquiring a new customer costs 6-7 times more than retaining and selling to an existing one (Bain & Company).


2. 72% of customers who had a memorable product purchase took action to communicate about it positively to others (Harris Interactive).


3. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, while the probability of selling to a new prospect is just 5-20% (Market Metrics).


4. On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times more than their first purchase (White House Office of Consumer Affairs).

Obviously, the incentives to reduce customer churn are high. But so are the challenges. Lowering your customer churn rate means understanding what makes customers leave and then putting steps in place from the moment they become a customer to ensure their experience keeps them coming back.

To do that, here's a simple five-step plan to discover your churn rate and stop your business from losing out.

1. Measuring

Naturally, before you fix your customer churn, you have to figure out what your churn rate is. Here's a very simple formula for calculating customer churn rate:

While stating your customer churn as a percentage is the most commonly discussed method, it isn't always the best for SaaS businesses. This formula automatically assumes that all customers are equal and worth the same.

With a freemium business model, you can see how this could be skewed, especially if you're losing free customers but gaining paid ones, or the other way around.

For businesses that need a more detailed approach, customer churn can be stated in any of the following ways:

• Number of customers lost


• Percentage of customers lost


• Value of monthly recurring revenue (MRR) lost


• Percentage of MRR lost

The value these different numbers have to your business will depend on the type of products you sell. For example, if you sell subscription packages at different price ranges, the lost MRR figure will tell you more about your status than the bare number of customers lost.

No matter which formula you use, it is important to continuously monitor your churn rate for comparison and improvement. This is where an all-in-one business dashboard comes in handy.

Cyfe allows you to pull in data from various sources - both online and offline - and bring them together on one screen to get a clear picture of your business' overall status. Part of this overall picture must include how your churn rate compares to your acquisition rate, i.e. the number of new customers you gain.

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In addition to the big picture, Cyfe has three widgets specifically designed to monitor different types of customer attrition: downgrades, cancellations, and churn itself.

2. Understanding

To truly drill down into the mysterious world of customer behavior, you need some help.

When you've mapped out the sales cycle, it's time to see what visitors are doing on your site. For B2B companies especially, the sales cycle can be complicated and oftentimes the website is not utilized to its full potential.

Companies like Leadfeeder provide B2B companies a Google Analytics based tool to see which company the visitors come from.

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The platform shows a list of companies that visited your website and allow you to click on the company to see which pages were loaded and how they found your website. Once you identify a prospective lead, you simply email it to your sales team or upload it to the CRM.

When you understand the types of companies interested in your product, you are well-positioned to understand how to approach them. More importantly, you can tailor your product to cater to the right niche within the industry.

By narrowing down your focus you'll automatically decrease your churn rate and discover the real and sustainable potential of your service.

3. Onboarding

Decreasing your churn rate starts the moment someone becomes a customer.

This means the onboarding phase is crucial, because once a customer has made a commitment by signing up, particularly if they are spending money, they see things a lot differently. Namely, they experience what is called post purchase dissonance: a universal phase during which they are constantly assessing their purchase to determine whether they made the right decision.

In other words, you have a limited window to hook customers into your product and experience them as part of their daily lives. So how do you achieve that?

By getting them to invest time and effort in your product's key features and offering immediate and measureable results.

The best way to communicate to a customer immediately post-purchase is via email. The first email should be familiar: confirm their subscription/purchase and welcome them aboard. Some stop there, but you have the ability to do much more than that.

Instead, focus on building a robust onboarding process by creating a lifecycle email sequence. Here's a brief overview you can follow:

(1) The Confirmation Email

Welcome your new customer in a memorable and personal way. Include the relevant details, but above all stand out. The classic example of this is CD Baby's confirmation email, which started with the amazingly unique line: "Dear [Name,] Your CDs have been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow."

(2) The How to ... Best Feature Email

Follow up in the next few days by giving your customers a guided tour of your most beneficial feature. Keep it simple and just focus on one. Also, call attention to a customer success story of that single feature. Including a link to a case study is a phenomenal way to both promote your product and help them engage.

(3) The How to ... Get Even More Email

Next, highlight to 2-3 additional features and (again) call attention to the value they create. As a "PS," invite your customer to share their questions or successes with your product based on the best feature email you sent previously.

(4) The Time's Almost Up Email

If you offer a free trial period, send this email 72 and 24 hours before "time's up."

(5) The Bonus Email

This takes two forms. First, if your customer's free trial has ended, offer them an opt-in to extend service. Second, if they've already purchased your entry-level product, now is the time to ease them into the next offering. However, be sure your "upsell" builds on their previous success.

Unfortunately, lifecycle emails can be taxing to create and deploy, especially if you sell multiple products.

That's why it's vital to use an autoresponder like GetResponse that not only allows you to build and schedule drip campaigns but to insert "dynamic content" to personalize your emails. Dynamic elements can be done in one of two ways. First, variable substitution places dynamic fields in your email that can be customized based on your recipient's personal information. This is the most common form of personalization.

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Second, content insertion is one step beyond. With content insertion you can actually "switch out sections of content--phrases, paragraphs, even images--by inserting different content in different places within the text of your message."

Here's an example of two emails, based on the same template, that utilize content insertion based on their customer's interests (i.e., what offer they originally signed up for and what pages they've viewed in the past).

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4. Teaching

Once a customer is "on board," the next step is to keep them engaged. The best way to do this is through educating them even further, not just on using your tool, but on related disciplines to help them leverage your product for success.

Let's take a look at one SaaS company that's doing this excellently: Canva, an online-based design tool for non-professionals. Canva's interface is fairly intuitive, but can be rather daunting to a non-designer, so the first step they took is to teach new subscribers how to navigate the software and use the tools provided.

But that wasn't enough. Knowing how to use a tool doesn't mean you know how to create great, eye-catching, cohesive designs, and if users weren't feeling good about the finished product, they'd stop using the service.

So Canva created Design School, a series of in-product tutorials that teach users the elements of design and how to use them to create images for their blogs, businesses and personal use.

Another great email tool - designed especially for engaging your customers throughout their lifecycle - is Rejoiner. This email marketing automation platform specializing in recovering lost orders and reclaims profits through restoring customer's carts.

Rejoiner walks you through the entire lifecycle email process by breaking it down into four segments and then helping you build emails targeted at each one: New Customers, Existing Customers, Declining Customers, and Lapsed.

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To adopt the techniques of Canva and Rejoiner for yourself:

1. Be valuable. Don't just teach customers how to use your product; give them the knowledge they need tied directly to observable outcomes (i.e., results).


2. Be structured. Set goals for your customers and reward them - even via social media or on your own blog or forums.


3. Be positive. Highlight success stories and use case studies to help your customers discover ways to get more from your product.


4. Be timely. Map out and anticipate the lifecycle stages of your own customers and create content specifically for them.

5. Solving

Bad service, broken promises, and less-than-satisfactory products are all top reasons that lead to customer churn. Here, your job is to anticipate the most difficult challenges your customer will face and solve these problems proactively.

The best way to identify the challenges your customers face before they tell you is to assess their behavior when using your product. Tracking "in app" activity is especially important if you run a SaaS, and that's the focus of Kissetrics. Using in-app analytics and machine learning can help you make better-informed decisions to improve your product and retain your customers. By creating and tracking a behavioral funnel, you can evaluate your user's level of engagement:

Combining actual in-app use with your revenue and subscription rates lets you see exactly where the trouble spots for retention are:

After you discover what behaviors lead to customer churn - most notably, inactivity - you can take steps to adjust your product to satisfy unmet needs, or reach out to these customers directly and help them to get better acquainted with your product and achieve success. Again, autoresponder emails built around in-app activity - or lack thereof - is the first stage in this churn-reducing process.

Once you're armed with insight about exactly what the sticking points in your product or service are, you can also offer webinars and chat sessions specifically designed to address these customer needs. If you're a marketer, you're familiar with webinars as a lead generation tool. Here we're talking about personalized webinars as a way to increase customer retention.

Data like this, direct from your customers, is invaluable in assessing your teaching as well as catapulting them into the next step ...

6. Leveling

If your customers aren't paying for your best subscription level or buying your best products, it means there is room for leveling them up, i.e. upselling.

Upselling is often seen as a negative term, particularly because salespeople in traditional organizations tend to push unnecessary upgrades and additional products to make a higher commission. However, when upselling is done well, both the customer and the company benefits. Upsells should be recommended to current customers only when it will help them bring them a new level of achievement. In other words, when they win, you win.

If a customer has maximized the features of their current plan, an upgrade is the only logical step. If they stay where they are, they won't see any additional benefits. Therefore, when you notice they are approaching the limits of their current package, this is the perfect time to upsell.

So how do you level them up? By exposing them directly to the features available in higher packages and providing visual cues on what benefits they could be getting from taking the next step.

However, the most powerful tool for leveling up your existing customers is social proof, which means featuring reviews and recommendations that don't come directly from you. Managing social proof can be tricky, especially because - by its very nature - you aren't in control.

Enter Listrak, an omnichannel personalization and digital marketing automation platform. Listrak improves customer relationships through creating personalized experiences across multiple marketing touchpoints.

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Listrak offer a suite of tools that create an effective integrated digital marketing campaign, which can maximize your ROI.

For instance, Listrak's "Social Marketing" is a time saver and potential profit booster. This feature allows you to request and track social proof without any external tools or heavy lifting on your end. Even better, you can insert personalized social proof in the form of social media mentions as well as independent reviews directly into both your email campaigns and webpages.

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Reducing Your "CRO"

Unfortunately, we're all prone to focus more on customer acquisition than customer retention.

But the cold, hard statistics all point in the same direction: customer retention is insanely more valuable.

To optimize your customer churn (CRO), your business must:

• Determine your churn rate and monitor it constantly


• Help new customers to become familiar with your product with a robust onboarding process


• Maximize the results they get by providing additional learning resources and demonstrating how others are using the tool


• Identify those who have maxed out the benefits of their current package and help them to advance to a new level

With all these processes in place, you are certain to see a reduction in your churn rate along with customers who love your product and promote it to others.

After all, your existing customers are your best hope of bringing new customers on board, so you can focus on continuously optimizing and creating a better experience.

About the Author: Nadav is a veteran online marketer and the Founder & CEO of InboundJunction, an Israel-based content marketing company. Nadav helps well-known brands in boosting their online visibility through PR, SEO and Social Media.

How Employee Stock Options Work in Startup Companies

Stock Option Plans are an extremely popular method of attracting, motivating, and retaining employees, especially when the company is unable to pay high salaries. A Stock Option Plan gives the company the flexibility to award stock options to employees, officers, directors, advisors, and consultants, allowing these people to buy stock in the company when they exercise the option.

Stock Option Plans permit employees to share in the company's success without requiring a startup business to spend precious cash. In fact, Stock Option Plans can actually contribute capital to a company as employees pay the exercise price for their options.

The primary disadvantage of Stock Option Plans for the company is the possible dilution of other shareholders' equity when the employees exercise the stock options. For employees, the main disadvantage of stock options in a private company--compared to cash bonuses or greater compensation--is the lack of liquidity. Until the company creates a public market for its stock or is acquired, the options will not be the equivalent of cash benefits. And, if the company does not grow bigger and its stock does not become more valuable, the options may ultimately prove worthless.

Thousands of people have become millionaires through stock options, making these options very appealing to employees. (Indeed, Facebook has made many employees into millionaires from stock options.) The spectacular success of Silicon Valley companies and the resulting economic riches of employees who held stock options have made Stock Option Plans a powerful motivational tool for employees to work for the company's long-term success.

How Does a Stock Option Work?

The following shows how stock options are granted and exercised:

• ABC, Inc., hires employee John Smith.


• As part of his employment package, ABC grants John options to acquire 40,000 shares of ABC's common stock at 25 cents per share (the fair market value of a share of ABC common stock at the time of grant).


• The options are subject to a four-year vesting with one year cliff vesting, which means that John has to stay employed with ABC for one year before he gets the right to exercise 10,000 of the options and then he vests the remaining 30,000 options at the rate of 1/36 a month over the next 36 months of employment.


• If John leaves ABC or is fired before the end of his first year, he doesn't get any of the options.


• After his options are "vested" (become exercisable), he has the option to buy the stock at 25 cents per share, even if the share value has gone up dramatically.


• After four years, all 40,000 of his option shares are vested if he has continued to work for ABC.


• ABC becomes successful and goes public. Its stock trades at $20 per share.


• John exercises his options and buys 40,000 shares for $10,000 (40,000 x 25 cents).


• John turns around and sells all 40,000 shares for $800,000 (40,000 x the $20 per share publicly traded price), making a nice profit of $790,000.

Why Do Companies Issue Stock Options?

Companies issue options typically for one or more of the following reasons:

• Options can be used to attract and retain talented employees.


• Options can help motivate more dedication from employees.


• Options can be a cost-effective employee benefit plan, in lieu of additional cash compensation.


• Options can help smaller companies compete with larger companies in attracting great employees.

Key Issues in Stock Options

A company needs to address a number of key issues before adopting a Stock Option Plan and issuing options. Generally, the company wants to adopt a plan that gives it maximum flexibility. Here are some of the important considerations:

• Total number of shares: The stock option plan must reserve a maximum number of shares to be issued under the plan. This total number is generally based on what the board of directors believes is appropriate, but typically ranges from 5% to 20% of the company's outstanding stock. Of course, not all options reserved for issuances have to be granted. Also, the investors in the company may have some contractual restrictions on the size of the option pool to prevent too much dilution.


• Number of options granted to an employee: There is no formula as to how many options a company will grant to a prospective employee. It's all negotiable, although the company can set internal guidelines by job position within the company. And what is important is not the number of options, but what the number represents as a percentage of the fully diluted number of shares outstanding. For example, if you are awarded 100,000 options, but there are 100 million shares outstanding, that only represents 1/10 of 1% of the company. But if you are awarded 100,000 options and there are only 1 million shares outstanding, then that represents 10% of the company.


• Plan administration: Although most plans appoint the board of directors as administrator, the plan should also allow the board to delegate responsibilities to a committee. The board or the committee should have broad discretion as to the optionees, the types of options granted, and other terms.


• Consideration: The plan should give the board of directors maximum flexibility in determining how the exercise price can be paid, subject to compliance with applicable corporate law. So, for example, the consideration can include cash, deferred payment, promissory note, or stock. A "cashless" feature can be particularly attractive, where the optionee can use the buildup in the value of his or her option (the difference between the exercise price and the stock's fair market value) as the currency to exercise the option.


• Shareholder approval: The company should generally have shareholders approve the plan, both for securities law reasons and to cement the ability to offer tax-advantaged incentive stock options.


• Right to terminate employment: To prevent giving employees an implied promise of employment, the plan should clearly state that the grant of stock options does not guarantee any employee a continued relationship with the company.


• Right of first refusal: The plan (and related Stock Option Agreement) can also provide that in the event the option is exercised, the shareholder grants the company a right of first refusal on transfers of the underlying shares. Doing so allows the company to keep share ownership in the company to a limited group of shareholders.


• Financial reports: For securities law reasons, the plan may require that periodic financial information and reports are delivered to option holders.


• Vesting: How do options vest? Most companies provide a vesting schedule, where the employee or advisor has to continue to work for the company for some period of time before the optionee's rights vest. For example, an employee may be awarded options to acquire 10,000 shares with 25% vested after the first full year of employment, and then monthly vesting for the remaining shares over a 36-month vesting period.


• Exercise price: How much does the optionee have to pay for the stock when he or she exercises their option? Typically, the price is set at the stock's fair market value at the time the option is granted. If the stock's value goes up, the option becomes valuable because the optionee has the right to buy the stock at the cheaper price.


• Time to exercise: How long does the optionee have the right to exercise the option? The Stock Option Agreement typically sets a date when the option must be exercised (the date is usually shortened on termination of employment or death). Most employees only have 30-90 days to exercise an option after their employment with the company has terminated. This can be burdensome, particularly since the optionee may not have been able to sell any of the underlying shares to help pay the tax resulting from the exercise of the option.


• Transferability restrictions: What restrictions apply to the transfer of the option and underlying stock? Most Stock Option Agreements provide that the option is nontransferable. The agreements also state that the stock purchased by exercising the option may be subject to rights of purchase or rights of first refusal on any potential transfers. Increasingly, companies desire to implement more robust restrictions on both the options and the shares received upon exercise of the options to limit trades in the secondary market that may cause practical concerns in managing holders of the company's stock.


• Securities law compliance: The issuance of options and underlying shares requires compliance with federal and state securities laws. Experienced corporate counsel should be involved here.


• 409A valuation: The company needs to make a determination of the fair market value of its common stock in order to set the exercise price of the option, pursuant to Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. This is often done by hiring a third-party valuation expert.


• Cash usually needed: To exercise an option, the option holder typically has to pay cash out of pocket for the exercise (very few companies allow "cashless exercise").


• ISOs: An employee holding tax advantaged Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) does not have a tax (or tax withholding) event upon exercise. You report taxable income when you sell the stock, but will need to include the difference between the exercise price and the current fair market value at the time of exercise (the "spread") in income for purposes of calculating any additional tax obligation under the alternative minimum tax rules. If certain holding periods are met before selling the stock, all of the gain (back to the exercise price) may be taxed at the more favorable long-term capital gain rates.


• NSOs: If the options are not tax advantaged ISOs, they are "non-qualified stock options" (NSOs), and the spread upon exercise will be taxed at the more unfavorable ordinary income rates (as opposed to the capital gains rates). Additionally, as the exercise date is a taxable event, the company will have to report the spread as taxable income on the employee's Form W-2 in the year of exercise and withhold applicable taxes on the amount of the spread, which generally means that the employee will have to write a check to the company to cover the tax withholding liability.


• Illiquidity: Stock in privately held companies is typically not liquid and is difficult to sell.

RELATED: 8 Frequently Asked Questions on Stock Options in Startups

Author's note: Many thanks to Jason Flaherty, a partner in the Compensation and Benefits group of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in San Francisco, for his review of this article.

Copyright (C) by Richard D. Harroch. All Rights Reserved.

The post How Employee Stock Options Work in Startup Companies appeared first on AllBusiness.com

The post How Employee Stock Options Work in Startup Companies appeared first on AllBusiness.com.

Why Your Conversions Suck (And How to Fix It)

Average site conversion rates hover around 1-2%.

That means at any given time, you have another 98-99% of people just hanging out.

So... WTF are they doing?

They're looking, searching, procrastinating, hunting, browsing, considering, analyzing, evaluating, thinking, questioning, investigating, and comparing.

Basically they're doing a bunch of stuff — besides purchasing — that might, one day, hopefully, lead to a purchase.

Your goal, site owner, is to help move them along.

Here's how.

Are You Treating Different People, Differently?

When a site is struggling with low conversions, one of the first red flags is segmentation.

Or rather, a lack thereof.

(I've always wanted to use that word in a blog post.)

Specifically, are you treating all website visitors more-or-less the same?

The classic example is when AdWords traffic is going to your homepage. Or when your entire email database is seeing the same 'special offer' email.

If the best forms of marketing promotion are the right message, to the right person, at the right time, your website is no different.

The problem is that every single visit or session is unique (to a point). They're different people, with different levels of awareness, looking or searching for different things.

And when generic tactical decisions are applied to all, results suffer. Or are nonexistent.

But fear not. There is a way around this.

The key is to determine:

• WHO is coming to your site (specifically),
  
• WHY they're coming (motivation),
  
• WHAT is their intent (what are they going to do when they get there),
  
• And WHERE are they going to go (the next logical step)
  

Here's how to figure it out, and where you can improve.

Start Breaking Down Visitor Intent by Buying Cycle Stage

Most savvy readers are familiar with the buying cycle, or stages people go through before making a purchasing decision.

Typically your website visitors fall somewhere along the following:

• Awareness: Although they're beginning to recognize a related topic of interest, many times they still aren't even aware they have a need for your product or service.
  
• Consideration (or Information and Evaluation): Visitor begins to recognize a potential need for a solution, and is starting to evaluate potential solutions.
  
• Decision (or Purchase): Here (and only here), is the visitor looking to actively make a decision to work with you in some capacity to solve their problem.
  

The trick then, is to begin segmenting visitors by determining where groups of people might fit along this path.

Then, we can use this initial knowledge to help hypothesize the rest of the answers.

Awareness

Site visitors in the 'awareness' stage probably make up the bulk of your site traffic (assuming you're doing a lot of promotion and have at least a few thousand monthly visitors), making up anywhere from 40-70%

Because these people aren't need-aware quite yet (they might not even be brand-aware at this point), pimping sales offers is useless.

Instead, they're probably looking for some general information or education about some topic. That's why many of them tend to come into your site through blog posts (again, assuming you're actively promoting your site) and other unbranded pages.

For example, a visitor queries 'san diego restaurant week' and lands on a blog post on your site.

These people are so far removed from being a good sales opportunity, so your goal is to start setting up micro conversions, of different levels, to get something — anything! — from them so you're able to continue following up.

First and foremost, keep them on-site! The Hard Rock's sidebar features a Search bar, followed by Recent News to keep people clicking around (other topically-related content or events in this case).

They also feature a Tag Cloud with some of the biggest events also listed, including Comic-Con or the upcoming Valentine's Day.

The blog post itself features other guest's experience with instagram, and provides a way for the casual visitor to see more about the 'scene' or even join the fun themselves.

Last but not least, the blog post also features a Menu link to let people (a) browse to learn more and (b) entice them to recognize a need ("Hey – let's go get sushi!").

All of these little details have one goal in mind – keep people around long enough so they recognize that need and move into the next stage (of 'Consideration').

And if all else fails, you can use remarketing campaigns, like a restaurant week discount offer, to rope in visitors who're leaving without providing at least an email.

One awesome tip with shared external content is to create a server redirect that will fire a 'website custom audience pixel' within Facebook ads before ultimately redirecting the visitor. Then you'll be able to retarget these people on specific topics after they leave your site.

Check out this detailed guide on Facebook Ads cost if you're interested in figuring out how to get a campaign like this up-and-running.

Consideration

Once people have recognized some need in their life, a tiny little opening has been created that your brand might be able to fulfill.

Generally speaking, somewhere between 10-30% of your site visitors might fall here at any given time (don't check my math).

These visitors are beginning to consider their options and alternatives. Not only are they a little more knowledgeable about what you do at this point, but they're also beginning to recognize the jargon or local slang used to differentiate between things.

Like, for example, neighborhoods within a city when they Google 'Gaslamp hotels'.

Not only are they looking for a hotel in Downtown San Diego, but they've also narrowed it down to a specific neighborhood, (hopefully) eliminating their other alternatives or options within a few square miles.

These people are ripe for a landing page, covering one specific topic (the one they were looking for!) in detail.

When you've got someone on the hook, you can also use similar landing pages to keep them browsing around for a bit before bouncing. Here, Hard Rock uses the secondary navigation on the left of the content.

The opening paragraph of the landing page perfectly positions the primary point on the page (wow, that was annoying).

Prominent (there it goes again) links pointing to the Hard Rock's rooms and nightlife options help to take someone who's already evaluating their options deeper into the site while also providing them a chance to show off what differentiates them best (like, a good time!).

Decision

The main reason your website conversions suck is because only around 10% or less of current website visitors might be ready to make a decision.

The rest, as discussed, are chillin.

But the good news, is that these people know you. Chances are, they're looking for you by name with a branded search, like 'Hard Rock San Diego'.

These peeps have looked around. They've considered a few alternatives. And in this example specifically, they've also utilized influential 3rd party sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.

What better way to tempt someone so close to purchase with a special offer or package.

Hard Rock does a nice job highlighting the seasonal (and most profitable) ones first, while following it up with the more heavily discounted stuff at the bottom (so it's there, but... don't the other ones look way more fun!).

The drop downs help you quickly browse through the highlights of each package (even though it might be a bit wordy).

So you're telling me that I don't even have to think about or plan this Hallmark holiday and I can just check-in with my wife while you take care of the rest? Here's my credit card number.

Also, if that red button with decent copywriting (complete with typo – whoops) doesn't entice you, there's a global footer CTA on the bottom of the page that funnels you into their booking system where you're trapped for all eternity. Just kidding. I hope... :(

3 Takeaways to Increase Conversions

Phew. That was a lot of writing to make a very small point.

And that is: A/B testing a single element on a single page won't improve your site's conversion rate.

The way you make big conversion improvements it by making a lot of tiny ones, first.

Here's where to get started.

Tip #1. Make the Basics, Basic

Start by figuring out where you're at within each stage.

You know: user flows, page level user behavior, click tracking, surveys. All the 'blocking and tackling' of basic site analytics.

Then implement 'best practices'. A quick Google will provide amazing resources for all the basics, like the essential "https://blog.kissmetrics.com/landing-page-design-infographic/">landing page elements.

Also, make sure your S#!^ is fast. Ain't nobody got time to wait longer than three seconds for pages to load. Managed WordPress hosting company Kinsta has one of the best guides on the topic, in a Beginner's Guide to Website Speed Optimization.

Oh, also make sure you have enough traffic in the first place. Generally, that means A LOT. Most site owners would be better served by simply pouring more resources into the top of the funnel first, before over-prioritizing conversion optimization.

If you haven't got the basics covered, there's no point in moving on to the advanced stuff.

Tip #2. Form Hypotheses

After analyzing user behavior for a few weeks, the next step is to make some educated guesses about what they want, what's not working, and how you might be able to fix it.

Go on, stick your neck out. Come up with a few likely scenarios.

You may be wrong. But you also may be right. (Where have I heard that before?)

HOW can you improve a visitor's path and get them to logical 'next step'?

Should you remove pages, and make it easier? OR should you add options to increase Pages per Session (so visitors have a chance to become interested before moving onto the next step)?.

Convesrion XL has a thorough 'customer journey maps' guide if you're looking for concrete ideas.

Once you have 'path's and micro-conversions set-up, you can begin to drill deeper to see where stumbling blocks are, or gaps that can be improved.

And because you're focusing on the tiny interactions, it should be easier to iterate or make adjustments

Which brings us to…

Tip #3. Eliminate Distractions

It's impossible to improve overall website conversions from 1 to 2% in one fell swoop.

However it IS possible to begin fixing site conversions from Awareness to Consideration, and then Consideration to Decision. Optimize the little steps within the customer lifecycle to move the big needle.

Breaking it down into manageable chunks not only makes it easier to execute, but it also makes it easier to focus on making the right choices in specific scenarios to set you up for future success.

Execution is everything.

And in a world where options are limitless, constraints help prioritize that the important stuff — the biggest gaps or stumbling blocks along the entire customer journey — are addressed first.

About the Author: Brad Smith is a founding partner at Codeless Interactive, a digital agency specializing in creating personalized customer experiences. Brad's blog also features more marketing thoughts, opinions and the occasional insight.

Is the Honeymoon Over? 6 Ways to Fall in Love Again With Your Small Business

Starting a business is a bit like falling in love for the first time: it’s exciting, exhilarating, and new. You want to savor each moment and be your very best every minute of every day.

After the adrenaline rush subsides, however, reality sets in and you may discover that not everything about running a business is so wonderful. There will be tasks you don’t like to do, activities you find stale and boring, technical difficulties to test your patience, and clients and vendors who might challenge you.

Unfortunately, being a small business owner isn’t all red roses and Lindt milk and white chocolate truffles (my personal favorites).

Thankfully, however, you can rekindle the flames of passion for your business after the honeymoon is over by making a few subtle changes in how you work and think. Here are six tips for falling in love again with your small business.

1. Delegate tasks that you find monotonous

If they really don’t need your personal attention or expertise, consider handing them over to someone who is perfectly capable of tending to them. So, if entering expenses in your accounting software or proofreading proposals drags you down, lighten up by giving the responsibility to an employee or virtual assistant.

2. Streamline processes to make things run more smoothly

I feel energized when I find ways to “re-invent the wheel” and make my business more efficient. Take an objective look at how you’re managing your employees, producing your products and services, and running your business overall to identify where your productivity hits roadblocks. Then, brainstorm with your team to discover tactics and tools that can improve workflow and yield better results.

3. Take time to work not just “in” but also “on” your small business

Having started numerous companies, I’ve learned that business owners need to set time aside not only to do the work, but also to plan. No matter how small or large your business, you need to consider the big picture, identify goals and objectives, and create a roadmap to guide you toward success. I recommend scheduling time on your calendar, at least weekly, to review your master plan and check your progress toward achieving your goals.

4. Join a professional networking group with high-energy, enthusiastic members

Socializing face to face with inspiring entrepreneurs and professionals always motivates me. Energy and enthusiasm are truly contagious. Get out there to mix, mingle, and revive your business drive and determination.

5. Find new opportunities

When I look for ways to expand upon my business offerings and enter new markets, it invigorates me. And I especially feel alive when I can add new team members or promote my existing staff to higher positions. New opportunities, whether you’re on the receiving or giving end, can recharge your batteries like nothing else.

6. Remind yourself of the good stuff

When you’re in a bit of loveless lull with your business, put forth the effort to remember the positive aspects of entrepreneurship. Make a list of what you’re grateful for. As I remind myself of the perks (such as greater control of my schedule, ability to select the people I work with, limitless professional development opportunities, and others), the pitfalls always seem less significant.

Don’t lose hope if you’re not currently feeling fondness for your business like you used to. Although the spark of adoration may have dimmed as you face the day-in-day-out realities and challenges of entrepreneurship, all is not lost. With a little effort, adjustments, and patience, you can revive your affection and keep your love alive.

The post Is the Honeymoon Over? 6 Ways to Fall in Love Again With Your Small Business appeared first on AllBusiness.com

The post Is the Honeymoon Over? 6 Ways to Fall in Love Again With Your Small Business appeared first on AllBusiness.com.

Which Types of Content do B2B Tech Buyers Respond To Most?

It’s no secret: B2B decision makers have to slog through a lot of information. They need to be on the cutting edge of their industry yet still be adaptable enough to shift as the market’s demands and interests change.

Just getting to the key decision makers is an uphill climb, to be sure, but what if there were a shortcut?

A path you could carve, away from all the “me too” businesses and services aiming for a piece of that company’s profit pie – and still end up at the top?

Wouldn’t you want to know how?

The answer is all in the content.

But it’s not how much of it you produce that matters – it’s what you produce.

And these are the types of content that gets them to move ahead with a purchase.

How Much Content Do They Need to Make a Decision?

The recently revealed Eccolo Media B2B Technology Content Survey Report published by Eccolo Inc., pulls back the curtain on the buying habits of B2B technology decision makers. For example, they found that, on average, nearly half of those surveyed reported consuming only 2-5 collateral assets before making a decision.

Key B2B decision makers only need to consume as few as 2 pieces of collateral before deciding

That means if you’re pumping out lots of content in an attempt to sway them, you may be simply spinning your wheels in the mud. Instead, concentrate on creating less content, but making the content you do create better quality. Don’t just show why your service is a great deal or why your offer is irresistible – show the kinds of results it produces. Show how it performs “in the field.” Go the extra mile and do the research legwork that your competitors are unable, or unwilling to do.

What Kinds of Content Help Propel Their Decision?

Over half of respondents to the study reported reading an equal amount of emails and white papers. But when it came to influencing their decision, white papers were the clear leader:

White papers were more often used as an influence tool than emails

Before you set your staff to churning out white papers, keep in mind that it’s not that simple (it never is!) The study also went into detail on what types of content was consumed across 6 months to lead to a purchase. The results are pretty surprising:

Different types of content have varying degrees of success spurring B2B buyers on their decision

So What Can We Learn from This Information?

There are a few gold nuggets we can glean from the overall buying process of B2B decision makers. But what can we do with our existing content that will put the odds in our favor? Here are a few points to help:

Create a True Apples-to-Apples Comparison Chart

Having product/data sheets is all well and good, but notice that competitor vendor worksheets are also in the mix. Why run the risk of losing a decision-maker’s efforts when you can create your own comparison chart between your B2B service and those of your competitors? The more you can decrease the odds of them having to go offsite to see how your offer compares to others, the more likely you are to keep them engaged on what you do differently – and better.

Make Your Product Data Sheet Enticing

What’s more, a product/data sheet doesn’t have to be some boring overview. Make your best content work for you by bolding key phrases and benefits to stand out. Formulate your headers as questions to create a FAQ-style Q&A.

Make liberal use of bullet points to summarize key features, but include a link where more detailed information can be found. If someone read each of your bullet points and nothing else, would they understand the product enough to be able to make a confident buying decision about it?

Look at your product sheet not as data drivel, but as a way to address the B2B buyer’s key pain points. You have to know what they’re going through in order to present a solution that fits their needs. Talk about features, obviously, but don’t forget to include the benefits of those features in a way that makes sense from the buyer’s perspective.

Writing White Papers that Position You as the Authority

When was the last time you read a white paper that really stood out to you – like “These guys know what they’re talking about!” Never, right? First, don’t call it a white paper. It sounds boring and clichéd. Like a giant sales pitch – which is how many white papers are written. Remember, these are people who are actively looking for a solution. So present your paper in such a way as to address all of their concerns in a way that’s easy to read and understand.

You may want to re-brand it as a “Special” or “Insider” report. Take the time to answer the most common questions and back up your statements with clear, comprehensive proof. This is where the real meat and potatoes of your benefits comes in. Lay out precisely how the decision maker, their team, their company and their customers will benefit from your solution.

Think of your white paper not as a sales vehicle, but as a friendly guide – gently moving the decision maker down through each stage of your funnel in a way that doesn’t feel like a pitch, but more of a mutual understanding. You want the reader to come away with a deeper, fulfilled and complete picture of your solution and how it ties in with their existing needs.

Don’t Forget Your After-the-Sale Content

Oftentimes when closing a client, you’ve poured all your efforts into making their decision as easy and hassle-free as possible. Once they’re all set up and acquainted with your solution – don’t let them simply dry up and wither on the customer vine!

This is the prime time to follow up with upgrades or details on how they can get the most out of your product or service, as well as how to use it to build their business, retain their customers or experience growth faster or more fluidly than before. Remember that no one wants to feel like they’ve been duped or made a fool of. And if communication dries up after the sale, that’s precisely how they’ll feel.

By taking the time to not only write the kind of content that compels them to decide, but walk them through the process and guide them through each step – you’re showing these key decision makers that you’re not “all about the sale”, but rather all about the journey they’re taking to create a better experience for their own customers. And that’s the kind of journey you should take – together.

Do You Sell to B2B Companies?

What have your experiences been with using emails, white papers and data sheets as content to help spur their choice? Have you had different results than those reported on the surveys? Finding that a different method works better? Tell us about it in the comments below and share your story!

About the Author: Sherice Jacob helps business owners improve website design and increase conversion rates through compelling copywriting, user-friendly design and smart analytics analysis. Learn more at iElectrify.com and download your free web copy tune-up and conversion checklist today!