So you’ve successfully developed your mobile application. Your app starts getting loads of visits. You’re living the dream. And then… in creeps the feeling of missed opportunities when these visits don’t always result in transactions. Plenty of people are on the cusp of completing the transaction, but you’d like a few more to hit that ‘confirm payment’ button.
We call this conversion, the simple ratio of sessions to transactions.
The average eCommerce conversion rate ranges between 1% and 4%. If your figures are looking a little below average, don’t start panicking just yet. We’ve put together a list of low-to-no-cost ways to engage your prospective buyers and remove any obstacles between them and a completed transaction.
1. Add a human element
Firstly, it’s easy to sit back and enjoy the efficiency and reliability that your app provides you with. However, when a user has a problem, there’s nothing more efficient, reliable, or reassuring to them than a human touch.
This can be easily achieved by incorporating a live chat within your app experience; the opening message simply lets the user know that one of your trained colleagues is standing by to help should they need anything. The opening message, of course, can be automated. However, do not fall into the trap of automating the lot! As anyone who has experienced this can attest, nothing will get someone off your app quicker than a ‘helpful bot’ going in circles…
An additional (or alternative) way of keeping things personable, is to populate your ‘help’ section with the names, contact details and even photos of your customer service personnel. This simple addition reminds the customer of the people involved with supplying the service and again reassures them that any queries they have will be dealt with by a human.
The human element is one aspect of the buying experience that often doesn’t survive the transition from commerce to e-commerce. An effort to avoid this omission can help you to turn more app visits into app purchases.
2. Make the big push — Utilise push & SMS notifications
Making the most of available data to trigger push notifications can make a huge difference to your conversion rate. Below I have listed a few options for you to explore:
The first, and perhaps most obvious option would be to send a push notification alerting the user that a promotion is running. We’ve all seen these pop up on our phones before; ‘FLASH SALE: 20% off backscratchers ordered today on the backscratchersworld app!’ Believe it or not, this method is highly effective, and many businesses out there would not last long without this crucial part of their operation.
Some (perhaps) more imaginative uses of push notifications are as follows. A reminder notification sent to those who have abandoned a basket, or exited the app midway through filling in field after field of payment information (more on this later) can help to bring the user back to the app to complete checkout. You may have seen this used by your favourite food delivery company — I certainly have, and I’m too ashamed to admit how often it works on me!
Another would be to request that converted customers fill out an app store review, or even rate the app experience from 1 to 5 stars. This will generate more trust in your app for prospective users and will improve your ranking within the app store search engine. Do not neglect this area! As all who are in the business of ‘selling things’ know, greater exposure and credibility means greater adoption, and greater adoption means greater conversion.
3. Incorporate a direct carrier billing (DCB) payment option
First of all, what is direct carrier billing? DCB is the function of paying for a service through your mobile phone bill. Do you remember voting for your favourite dancing dog on a popular TV competition in 2012? Or texting in your donation to one of the annual charity telethons? — well DCB works on the same premise.
This tactic to increase conversion revolves entirely around removing obstacles between your prospective customer and a completed order. Including DCB alongside your other payment options can speed up the payment process, requiring less effort from the prospect to start using your services!
One of the many benefits of carrier billing is that it requires only the user’s mobile number to accept payment. This can help you to remove unnecessary form fields, especially if you have taken the mobile number as part of a registration process, and encourage the user to complete their order and check-out. This reduces the risk of basket abandonment, and typically increases conversion by around 15–40%, however, Fonix clients have seen improvements of anything up to 800%!
Additionally, a payment can be processed via DCB even when the user has no internet connection or even a phone signal. This will prevent such issues stopping your users from completing their orders!
Another amazing thing about this is UBIQUITY. If a prospect is using your app, they have a mobile phone! However, not everyone has complete (or any) access to banking services — whether that’s no account, no credit card, or simply not having access to the details at the time of purchase. The latest data suggests that 1.3 million UK adults may be classified as un-banked, with many more under-banked — that’s a huge market that’s being missed out as cashless e-commerce continues to come to the fore.
Mobile phones are almost a necessity in modern society, and so using DCB, your app (and services) can be available to the largest possible customer base! The nature of the modern phone bill also extends a kind of short-term credit to potential users, allowing less affluent demographics to enjoy the benefits of your service without the immediate expense.
Finally, returning to suggestion number 2; an aggregator like Fonix (or any aggregator worth their salt) can also enable you to send your push notifications via SMS, which remains the most trusted mode of e-communication.
Including DCB as a payment option on your app will ensure you are offering maximum accessibility and streamlining your payment flow to prevent fall-through and basket abandonment.
4. Add a basket timer
Once you’ve taken the above steps and made your payment pathway as streamlined as possible, create some urgency among your prospective users by implementing a basket timer.
You’ve seen these used before perhaps when browsing for flights or buying concert tickets, and they’re extremely effective!
If a customer has shown their interest in using your services, and now has no obstacles between them and their purchase, it’s imperative that you compel them to follow through on their order. A basket timer is a tried and tested way of doing this.
There you have it! We’re sure you’ll find the above suggestions as useful and effective as our clients have. If you’re looking for a better way to increase your mobile e-commerce conversions without spending a small fortune, you’re now in the right place. Fonix is the UK market leader for Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) and mobile messaging services. Contact us today to streamline your payment flows, and boost accessibility and customer engagement to the fullest! Contact us.