8 Powerful Strategies Luxury Brands Use to Convert Website Visitors into Raving Advocates

Are you a luxury business that thrives on immaculate service and glowing testimonials from your clients?

Is your website designed for maximum impact and focused on high-converting tactics to maximize every single visitor?

Are you making each interaction a visitor has on your website memorable?

The luxury market is obviously lucrative, however, the clientele can certainly be more keen and demanding than most industries. They know exactly the level of service they deserve and expect white-glove treatment no matter what your good or service is.

"Your website needs to be your most effective and debonaire salesperson because it's working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no need for vacations or time-off for hangovers." - Dalton G. Alfortish

So how do you ensure that every potential customer is enticed to become a paying client?

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the answer and it should be at the forefront of your online business strategy. It's no secret that small businesses need every edge they can get when competing against larger companies and each other, and optimizing website conversion rates is one way to level the playing field. Especially in the ultra-competitive markets of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, and Beverly Hills, where you're dealing with highly educated and experienced clientele. You need to ensure your website not only flawlessly performs and exudes the prowess of your brand, but also turns those discerning visitors into clientele.

Here are 8 elements to keep in mind when starting your CRO journey:

1.)?SEO should be your technical scaffolding

Ensure your website is designed for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) from the ground up and that you're regularly publishing blog content that has dual intent of education and conversion. While also correctly tagging images, using profitable keywords throughout your site (no "keyword stuffing"), and making sure all your meta data (the text you don't see) is properly structured to ensure Googlebot properly indexes all the valuable information you have on every page. There are so many aspects of on-page SEO that are important, however, once you get the hang of how to format and what to pay attention to, the process becomes second-nature. Yes, there are volumes and volumes of material on this one aspect but take a deep breath and stay focused on the basics because most local companies do not, so it's a simple edge to gain and will result in a higher ranking on search page results (SERPs), thus increased organic traffic.

Global consultancy group Bain & Company forecasts that by 2025 online sales will indeed become the single biggest channel for personal luxury goods, making up?30% of the global market. So, making sure you're website is a highly curated and fine-tuned sales machine will ensure your survival as online competition becomes more fierce at every level; local, national, & international.

2.)?Your social proof is everything

Especially if you're not bringing in a substantial amount of leads from your website, which according to?BrightLocal...

"13% of local businesses receive fewer than 100 users to their sites each month. 55% receive fewer than 500."

An important factor contributing to these dismal numbers is the limited number of spots on the first page for searches that bring in high-intent customers ready to purchase. With such little organic traffic, you'll want to bring out the heavy-hitters in terms of pieces of content that will convert visitors into leads or customers.?95% of people say that reviews – whether positive, or negative – influence their purchasing decisions, says wyzowl.com. With there being countless forms of social proof, which ones can you use to differentiate your brand?

3.)?Use the most effective type of social proof

Text reviews with a tiny picture next to them are very 2018, can be easily faked, and have been losing trust year after year. Yes, reviews on social platforms like Google, Yelp, and Facebook are very important and should not be overlooked. However, if you're really looking for that competitive edge for your luxury brand, you want to give that "white glove" experience to make them feel truly special so they'll sing your praises, and even be excited to share their testimonial with their social circle (unlocking the coveted Word of Mouth marketing channel).

So, what's the best way to achieve this level of social proof?

By giving your clients the experience of being in the spotlight by having a small filming set-up at your office or retail location.?Here's my favorite set-up?by DSLR Video Shooter which is simple, compact, and can be deployed in almost any location (Check out the budget-friendly version?here). Utilizing this type of installation will make your clients feel even more VIP and create a real impression that their experience and opinion matters to you. This is how you transform mere customers into advocates.

Imagine how you would feel?if you rented an exotic car for the weekend and when you returned it, they presented you with a hand-written thank you note, a chilled Pellegrino, and asked you to record a high-quality video testimonial in front of a set-up like the one I shared above?

Now that's a memorable experience that you couldn't help but talk about.

4.)?Speak directly to your visitor with your copy

Make each website visitor feel as if they're the only one in the world. I'm taking a page from Bill Clinton's political playbook here;

"make each person you meet at an event feel like they're the only person in the room by giving them your 100% undistracted attention."

(This article?by Fast Company goes deeper on this aspect) This is how you want each visitor to your website to feel. They should be able to see that you're different from the other luxury brands out there and that you truly value their business by "speaking TO them, not AT them." This is a philosophy I've put on a sticky note in front of my computer every time I sit down to write copy for a client's website or other marketing materials. It's easy to get caught up in writing to the aether and miss the opportunity to genuinely connect with the person reading?as if they were sitting across from you. Writing in this way will set you apart from your competitors and give humility to your brand that will pay dividends indefinitely.

5.)?Implement a clear and concise process of how to work with you

It's safe to say that ALL customers no matter the industry, especially in the luxury market, are looking for a seamless experience from start to finish when working with a company. They're not looking for complicated on-boarding processes, long wait times, or flimsy follow-up. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and provides all the necessary information on how to work with you in a order that not only educates but elicits the burning desire to become a customer. It should be broken down into a 1-2-3 process that can be envisioned by your potential client all the way until the end. The more vague your workflow seems to a client, the harder it will be to convert them without talking to them directly and explaining everything in detail. You'll lose a vast majority of clients who will pass on your company if a competitor does a better job of walking them through their purchase journey from start-to-finish.

6.)?Have a custom automated flow in place to nurture leads

Yes, having a message that says, "Thank you for your submission. We'll be in touch shortly." is better than nothing, but honestly, it's 2022 and people deserve more from businesses. I mean, don't you feel like just another number when that pops up on the screen? Part of you realizes that they could have added any sort of message here, but left this generic response instead. Clearly a missed opportunity to make a potential client feel excited to do business with them just by changing a few words. Also, in recent years it has become increasingly more difficult to convince people to share their information online so when they do, make sure to let them know just how appreciative you are by creating custom messaging for the submission message and the follow-up email (that should be fired off immediately). Write it as if a salesperson was taking the phone call, it really is no different. Each interaction, no matter how small, can make or break the entire sales cycle so take the time to customize each step and make them "wow moments."

7.)?Ask for meaningful testimonials at the perfect time

There's a very annoying common practice of online businesses to ask for testimonials or reviews less than a few minutes after you've been on their website. How valuable do you think those reviews really are? Does it feel like they actually care about your experience? OR does it feel like they're just trying to extract as many reviews from their visitors as possible without any genuine concern for their experience? This is exactly what you want to avoid like the plague to protect the reputation of your luxury brand.

So, when is the best time to ask for a testimonial?

After they've been fully serviced, they're happy with their purchase, and are already talking about sharing their experience with friends or family. Have they been taking pictures along the way? That means they plan on sharing at some point. So, when you offer to spotlight them on your website with a HD video testimonial where they can show-off your product or service, they're going to be more than happy to jump in front of the camera to sing your praises.?As a bonus,?you can offer a discount or perk as a thank you for their time and for sharing their experience on their social media channels.

8.)?No amount of copy is too small to have an impact

Elements such as micro-copy and button design for example, might be smaller in number and take up less real estate on the page, but they're some of the most important elements that persuade visitors to convert. According to Acrolinx.com...

"Microcopy is like poetry for the interface. Just like writing a good haiku, you’ve got to carefully consider the message you’re trying to deliver within certain constraints."

So, when thinking about your businesses website; what do your call to action buttons say? Are they generic or do they have intent behind them? You know when a brand has put effort into these details when it's cohesive and seamless. If they're asking you to download an eBook with 17 secrets to a higher converting landing page and the button says, "Yes, I want my free eBook ?" that is the exact phrase you may have said to yourself when looking at the eBook. Thus, your likelihood of taking action increases dramatically.

This is how you increase your conversion rates and close more business without increasing the amount of traffic to your website (assuming you have some sort of traffic flowing in). These are just a few things that should be taken into consideration if you want to make sure your website is set-up for conversion excellence as there are so many more moving pieces to this puzzle, as well as small nuances that have significant impact.

By following these best practices and implementing these upgraded standards for leveraging each client's experience, you can ensure that your website is an?elegant conversion rate optimization machine?that will do the heavy lifting in convincing your visitors that you're the right brand for their needs. Which translates into, not only more deals closed, but a more pleasant and smooth transaction for every single one of your valuable clients.

If you have other methods you've used to increase your website's conversion rate and make your client experience unforgettable, I'd love for you to share your expertise in the comments below.

At the end of the day, we're all just here to serve one another, right?

I appreciate you taking the?time?and?energy?to read my article as I know those are our two most valuable commodities as humans.

To your future domination,

Dalton G. Alfortish

P.S.

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