What happens when making a purchase is quick and easy? You guessed it — people tend to buy more often. D’uh.
It’s one of the most important marketing principles, especially in online marketing. But making it easy just as effective in the offline world. Here’s a great example.
Despite the economic gloom, student applications to the the tiny College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY, have soared 25% or more every year for the past few years. Remarkable. How’d they do it?
Simple. They adopted a technique long used by credit card companies. (At least they did back in olden days, when credit card companies mass-mailed pre-approved applications. Remember?)
The college application is packaged in a bright, shiny package to catch the eye. The forms are already filled in with the student’s name, address, etc. They don’t have to do much more than sign it and send it in. The school even waives the usual $40 application fee. Talk about making an ordeal easy!
They’re not the only school using this approach, of course. More than 100 other colleges and universities, including Marquette, Minnesota and Rensselaer, sent out variations of these fast-track applications last fall. For many, applications have doubled or even tripled.
Impressive results, but it’s no surprise when you consider the simple principle behind their success.
What about you? Is your business making it as easy as possible for customers to buy? Or are there roadblocks that require thought and effort by the prospect?
If so, maybe it’s time to take a fresh look at your business processes, especially customer-facing ones. What obstacles can you clear out to speed and simplify the process of making a purchase?
Is there confusion you could eliminate, or objections you could overcome, by re-writing and clarifying your copy? “Don’t make me think” is just as important as “Make it easy to make a purchase.”
Source: NY Times