Contactability: the Hidden Key to Better Conversion Rates

Conversion rate optimization is a goal every business strives for. After all, whether you are looking to sell more stock or increase your email list: you need website visitors to convert in order to be able to grow. 

And while we often work on improving our product page copy, making our CTAs stand out more, or improving the layout of our menus, we forget that there is another aspect of our online presence that could do with a tweak: our contactability. 

Let’s examine this hidden key to better conversion rates and offer some advice on how you can improve yours. 

Why Is Contactability Important?

Customers are likely to have some concerns when dealing with a new brand. There may be trust issues they need to overcome. After all, how can they know you’re not going to sell their personal information or that your products are good? 

They will likely wonder whether your business is legitimate and whether they can trust the claims you’re making. And they might just consider shopping from a better-known brand. 

To ease these worries, you need to be available and ready to answer questions. Otherwise, you may miss out on a conversion you could easily have secured simply by answering a straightforward question. This is vital if you are to provide a great customer experience. 

Being easily contactable allows you to interact with your customers at every stage of the buyer’s journey, and you can address any specific concerns that arise in real-time. That way, you can inspire conversions with shoppers who have just landed on your website for the first time, as well as repeat customers who have a question. 

How to Maximize Your Contactability 

Here are several ways to maximize your contactability, and ensure your customers have the best possible time shopping with you. 

Have a Great Contact Us Page 

The first page anyone looking to contact you will visit is, naturally, your “contact us” page. By making it as great as it can possibly be, you won’t just increase the chances of being contacted. A solid contact page will also help build trust between your brand and your visitors. 

Your contact page should be:

  • Formatted well, but stick to a simple and straightforward design, without too many bells and whistles
  • Written in a compelling way: this is your chance to use your brand’s voice
  • Easy and quick to use: don’t ask visitors to fill out too many form fields
  • Responsive and workable across all devices and screen sizes

Make sure to always provide several ways of getting in touch. Some people will prefer to give you a call, while others will want to send an email. Even if you are using a contact form, make sure to still have an email address listed. If the form breaks, you will cut off communication with your shoppers, resulting in a horrible experience. 

Here’s a good example from Famous Footwear, which gives you a couple of ways to contact them. Plus, they also provide their working hours, so you know when to expect a reply.

Or, you can take a look at Sweaty Betty. They have three different contact emails, plus the option of a live chat. 

Have a Dedicated Email Address 

In order to ensure your customer service inquiries are seen as soon as possible, create a dedicated support email address. This email will be reserved exclusively for customer inquiries. 

Now, maybe you don’t get too many support requests, so you believe that your regular “info@” email address will suffice. Nonetheless, play it safe and provide that extra email address. Having more than one inbox to handle will make it easier for your staff to prioritize emails, and they won’t have to go through a long list of emails to find the most urgent ones. 

If you are using a contact form, the same principle should apply. Ask your visitors to specify their reason for contacting you and go through the support-related emails first. Check out Fresh Pet’s contact page for a great example. 

They first provide answers to some of the most common questions they receive, and then they ask you to be specific about the reason you’re contacting them. This way, the right people can see the right emails. Customer support won’t need to forward marketing-related emails to the appropriate department, for example.

Promote Your Social Media Presence 

Another way visitors and leads can get in touch with you is, of course, social media. In fact, a large portion of your audience may prefer sending you a casual DM over an email or call. 

To encourage this avenue of communication, you should clearly list all of your social media accounts on your contact page as well. Placing them in the footer is welcome too. It will provide a bit of social proof as well as encourage new followers. 

Check out the Spores website’s “Contact” section in the footer. They’ve listed all of their numerous social media accounts, giving their visitors plenty of choice when it comes to getting in touch. 

If you encourage this line of communication, however, you need to make sure that you are very responsive on your socials. Your mentions, comments, and messages need to be monitored daily. Be aware of a potential downfall, too: if you don’t reply to a public support request, there could be some fallout. 

Don’t Hide Your Phone Numbers 

No matter how much we rely on digital means of communication, there will always be customers who prefer to give you a call and speak to a human being over the phone. In fact, questions can be answered much quicker this way, and they are much more likely to walk away satisfied with the experience. 

Having a phone number also lends you a lot of legitimacy. After all, fake businesses rarely bother with setting up a phone line and staffing faux customer service reps. 

When you list your phone number, also try to include your working hours, so customers know exactly when to expect a response. You can also set up an answering machine that will pick up all messages outside these times.

Take a look at how Get Safe presents their contact number. It is clearly visible right at the top of the page, and it’s also clickable. The brand realizes that their audience prefers to speak over the phone rather than having to figure out how to use live chat or send an email. As a result, they did the smart thing and made contacting them over the phone super simple.

Use Live Chat 

Live chat is one of the most straightforward ways a customer or client can contact you. And while chatbots can be of great help outside working hours, do your best to have at least one human member of your customer support team present during working hours. 

Even though the AI that powers them has become incredibly sophisticated, talking to a chatbot will never be quite the same as chatting with a human being. You can certainly deploy them to sift through queries and help out when you’re not there, but don’t omit the human touch either.

Intercom is a great example here because the website offers great live chat. They use a clever combination of AI and human agents to provide some of the best support in the business, further showcasing the benefits of using their own software solutions. 

What to Remember When Interacting with Customers 

Whether you interact with your customers over email or over the phone, there are some key points to remember:

  • Always be personal and pleasant. Make the customer feel heard and valued.
  • Respond to any concerns in a considered manner, no matter how trivial they may seem to you.
  • Show your appreciation for the customer and thank them for getting in touch.
  • Go above and beyond whenever you can. Show that you care about the individual.
  • Follow up on the interaction. Make sure the issue has been solved and that the customer is satisfied.

It may take some time to perfect your customer service approach. As long as you keep learning from your interactions, your customers will appreciate the effort.

Final Thoughts 

Improving your contactability can certainly improve your conversion rates. So, do your best to ensure you’re easy to get a hold of and that each interaction with your brand feels personal. 

 

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