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Want to increase the conversion rate on your website?
Fri, 31st May 2013
FYI, this story is more than a year old

If you are getting visitors to your website only to have them hit the back button soon after they arrive, you need to look at your unique value proposition (UVP). If there is one thing you should do on your website to try and increase your conversion rate, it is test your UVP.

What is your UVP?A UVP is, as its name suggests, a distinctive and succinct statement that sets your business apart from others. It is what defines you in a marketplace. It is crucial to the success of your business, especially on the web, where a visitor makes a three-second decision if you are what they are looking for. Your UVP should take pride of place on your website and be the first thing visitors see on your homepage and all other major point entry points to your website.

What makes a good UVP?

  • Simplicity – is it clear and easy to understand?
  • Explains the benefits of using your product or service
  • Demonstrates how you are different or better than a competitor
  • Avoids exaggerated, over-the-top and jargon explanations
  • Clear language that your customer uses – join their conversation!
A UVP is more than a line of text. It is a group of reasons that persuade visitors to take notice of your business and take the action you are asking them to. The text and the supporting images should guide the decision making process for your visitor. They need to know if you have the solution to their problem. Once you have a crafted your UVP it can become the base for all your marketing messages.

What makes you valuable?This is the question you must ask yourself when crafting your UVP. Think about what sets you apart and why your customers choose you, or should choose you. It could be helpful to ask your current customers why they picked you.

You don’t have to be the best in every way. There will no doubt be a competitor who can beat you on some level; price, delivery, customer service. But you are the best at something and you are the best to people who value that thing above all others. So don’t try to be all things to all people, the UVP is about being specific for a specific target market.

Before you proclaim to be the best at something, make sure you back it up. If you have survey data, won an award, testimonials; use it to back up your claims.

Help your potential customers see what you see. What sets you apart from your competitors? Are you asking people to buy from you, before telling them what you sell? Don’t spend too much time trying to be clever, it is better to be clear; you’ll never have someone complain that it is too easy to understand what your do!

Repeat your UVP wherever you can. It is your job to make people understand why they should buy from you, instead of someone else.

Your UVPTo find your unique value proposition, you need to get to the core of your business. What are the ideas that make you the best option for your target market? What sets you apart from your competitors? Answer these questions and you could be well on your way to becoming a market leader in your field.  And remember, like most things on the web, a UVP is not stagnant and set in stone. If your business changes, your target changes or your product changes, so too does your UVP.

For advice on how you can improve your website, create a unique value proposition and increase your business results talk to Zeald about a free website audit.