Uncertainty: Your conversion killer N°1 and what you can do about it
The perceived uncertainty or concerns of your potential customers is one of the main reasons why they leave your site, abandon their shopping cart or postpone their purchase decision.
Imagine you want to buy a stand-up paddleboard. You get five good reasons why the stand-up paddleboard you've chosen is just right for you. You are almost ready to buy it. Then you're asked to choose a size.
And now you're unsure: what size do I need? Is it even the right stand-up paddleboard for me? If not, can I send it back? Is return shipping free?
In this blog post, you'll learn how you can eliminate uncertainty for your users and increase your conversion rate at the same time.
What does uncertainty avoidance mean and what consequences does it have for you?
How Zalando and Netflix take away concerns from their potential customers at every step of the purchase and registration process.
What you can do to guide your customers through your online shop and buying process on autopilot.
Unanswered questions lead to uncertainty and your potential customers leave your online shop
When users feel insecurity or concern, the questions they have about your product, service or process are not yet fully answered. And it is precisely this uncertainty that is very unpleasant for your customers, which is why they try to avoid this type of situation.
The result is that your potential customers not only simply leave your online shop, but they leave it with a very dissatisfied feeling and the probability that they will return to you is very low.
Back to our example: You quickly look to see if you can find a hint about which size of stand-up paddleboard is best for you, but you don't find anything on the page. You briefly start researching on other sites, decide that it will probably take a while until you have your answer and cancel the ordering process.
At the bottom of the page of the online shop it was explained what the right size is, but not where you expected and needed it.
Your task as an online shop owner is to take away your users' uncertainties, doubts and fears at exactly the point in time when it is relevant for the customer journey and thus to control the performance of the online shop.
Many of your potential customers don't ask, so you need to answer all the relevant questions on your page
According to BEInside, only a few of your potential clients contact you when they have a question. Two of the reasons for this are:
They are uncomfortable because they think they should know the answer.
They expect a quick answer. Not knowing and waiting is an unbearable situation not only for you but also for your potential clients, and they try to avoid it by not writing to you.
That's why it's important to ask friends or colleagues to take a look at your online shop and note down any questions that come up. You can then answer them on your page.
When your users contact you with questions, it is important that you let them know when they can expect an answer from you.
You can do this by stating in your contact details that you usually reply within 24 hours, or you can set up an automated process and as soon as you inform your users that you have received their enquiry, you also state that you will reply within 24 hours.
This way you take away a lot of uncertainty from your potential customers and they have a time frame to orient themselves by.
Psychologists Claude Messner and Michaela Wänke have found out that the quicker we decide on something, the more satisfied we are with the decision we have made. And when your customers are satisfied, they are happy to recommend you to others.
Wie Netflix seinen potentiellen Kund:innen in jedem Schritt des Registrierungsprozesses Bedenken nimmt
Netflix does not advertise that users can watch millions of films without advertising, but how easy their registration process is.
Their goal is to take their potential users on autopilot mode through every step of the registration process, so that they don't even start asking questions and thinking about what they are doing.
The first question potential customers ask is: how can I cancel again? And Netflix immediately answers the question 'cancel at any time'.
In the next step, Netflix confirms once again that you as a user can cancel the contract at any time and what you get - endless entertainment on all devices you own. And so continues to address your uncertainties, concerns and fears: can I only unlock one device?
In the next step, you will be asked to select your subscription. You can also change and cancel this at any time. Again, Netflix takes away the uncertainty of deciding whether standard is not enough, as you probably can't judge whether the better or best video quality is enough for you.
When it comes to choosing a payment method, it also looks like you are always in control and can choose the payment method that suits you best and that you trust the most.
As a Netflix customer, you know that you can 'undo' your decision at any time. IKEA uses the same principle. What if the product doesn't fit in your room after all? Then you simply return it within 365 days.
Zalando gives customers a size recommendation based on the items they have ordered so far, the return rate and feedback from other customers
You've probably experienced it yourself: you've found a jacket or pair of trousers that you like, but you're not sure which size is the right one. Zalando analyses which items you have kept and returned in which size and recommends the right size based on feedback from other customers and the general size specifications of the brands.
This not only gives you the confidence to order a certain size, but also reduces the returns rate at Zalando. A win-win for both sides.
You have a new product on the market and your potential customers don't even know what it is and how to use it?
Buying an unknown product means that your users are taking a higher risk in testing your product than if they buy a known product.
To make matters worse, if you don't address the concerns of your target audience, your potential customers will stick with what they already know.
Uncertainty avoidance is why Uber, unlike its competitors, specifies the colour of the car that picks up the passengers, or why booking.com says 'Don't worry, you won't be charged yet' when making a reservation.
You can come up with 100 good reasons why your product/service is the best. But if your potential customers have doubts, they won't buy the product or use your service.
On the other hand, if you take away all the insecurities and fears of your users, you only need one good reason to sell.
4 things you can do to ease the concerns of your potential clients
Go through your online shop step by step and think about what questions your users might have at each step, write them down and answer the questions exactly where they appear.
Ask your friends and acquaintances to do the same.
Conduct user tests, because only from your real target group can you hear what might stop them from ordering from you.
Be transparent: customers today are well informed. And if there is a problem with your products, they will read about it on a test page at the latest. Address the fears and use the opportunity to explain to your potential customers why your product has this defect or why the defect is acceptable.
Are you interested in having your online shop analysed by us or in using psychological concepts on your online shop? Feel free to write to us or call us and we will arrange a free initial consultation.