What Is a Good Sales Conversion Rate?

Two words: first impressions. Every day, we are constantly introducing ourselves to new people. We are (hopefully) putting our best foot forward with the intent to establish connections. In actuality, it is through these connections that businesses thrive. When you are running a business, you are telling people why it matters and what it can provide to your intended audience. According to Forbes, you have seven seconds to prove to any prospects that you are worth their time. It is paramount to any business when trying to gain customers. 

Positive Customer Interactions Increase Your Conversion Rate 

So, why bring up first impressions in an article about a good sale conversion rate? For a sale to take place, there would have to be an item a customer sees enough value for money. Though that sale can only happen if, through that initial interaction, you made a good impression. That positive interaction led to a better relationship, which in turn, converted your lead into a sale. Leads are important because they are people interested in what your company is selling. The more involved you are with the journey your customers have throughout your business can greatly boost conversions for your business. However, to what extent this conversion would have to be considered good requires some understanding. Through this article, you will find out what a good conversion rate is for your business.

What Does Conversion Mean?

Well, we have established that a sale means successfully turning over funds for products and services. Conversion refers to the point at which the receiver who had been impacted by the company’s marketing mix, performs the desired action. The two sound oddly similar, right? In both cases, the customer follows through on an action that is beneficial to the company. To understand the difference, look no further than the mind who has coined the difference between the two beings, qualification. In digital marketing, that qualification can be anything a customer does that improves the business’s ROI. That can be something along the lines of signing up on their email list. The benefits of observing your conversions are one tool of many that show customer engagement, though you can take that a step further by understanding your business’s sales conversion rates.

What Are Sales Conversion Rates?

The sales conversion rate is the measure of how effectively your team converts leads into new customers. It will show what amount of customers are engaged. It also assists marketers by diversifying channels within your business and keeps track of which channels contributed to the converted lead.  Your sales conversion rates add that extra layer of information when company decisions are being made. Especially if that information counts towards obtaining a higher ROI. When using sales conversion rates with an e-commerce website, it will do wonders as it can keep track of who bought what. When studying your metrics, be sure to note that it is not just a numbers game. You should take into account the quality of conversions as well. With some studying, you can see how that metric is calculated.

Sales Conversion Rate Formula

Sales Conversion Rate = (Number of Converted Sales / Number of Leads) *100

Using conversion rates to track customer interaction with your business’s CTA or click-through action methods is a part of the entire sales funneling process. 

What Is the Sales Funnel?

The sales funnel are steps that a customer will take before they become a buyer or a converted lead. A good reason as to why prospects do not convert may lie along with any discrepancies within the funnel. Reliable Soft has structured a more recent take on the sales funnel. It is explained as such: 

• Awareness – The visitor’s first interaction with your business makes them a prospect.  
• Discovery – The prospect, if interested, will continue doing their research on your business.
• Consideration – The customer has not only read further into your business but has developed questions that need to be answered before they make that plunge.
• Conversion – The customer has resonated with your mission statement and believes that you are worth their money and buys your products.

Of the actions mentioned above, you will have to decide which ones are the most beneficial. Between marketing and sales, the information provided will help you answer this question. Although, it would be remiss for this article not to mention the importance of competitor targeting. Of course, what one business will find successful, may not be where yours will find success. It does, however, help to see where your business aligns with industry competition. It will aid in future changes and improvements to successfully garner more customers. The end goal of your campaign should not just be to make a sale but to nurture a loyal consumer base who will be willing to return. 

What Is a Good Sales Conversion Rate?

When it comes to information about numbers, there is going to be an average. It should not be so farfetched for there to be an average when it comes to sales conversion rates. Though, the average is not the end-all-be-all for every industry. Each one will have their average within that particular field. For instance, do not expect to have a similar average to a restaurant if you specialize in appliances. Not only that, but you have to see how easily obtainable the item you are selling is. One question to keep in mind is how willing are they to buy my product as soon as they enter my website? There will be more people willing to buy pizza from a restaurant than a lawnmower for their backyard. One requires more of a commitment than the other and is more expensive. 

On average, a good conversion rate is around 2.35% for all industries. On the higher end of that spectrum, it is roughly 5%. Though anything above 10% is where you will see the top 10% of high conversion businesses. In digital marketing, obtaining a full 1% or even a 0.5% increase is a considerable jump. Referring to the pizza/lawnmower analogy earlier, a conversion rate for a restaurant may be higher than your home maintenance and machinery company. Where a higher conversion rate for pizza is great and all, the much lower conversion for machinery might still be good for that industry. Earlier we mentioned that competitor targeting helps when analyzing how your company compares with others, looking at industry stats will show how you measure up. That should put into perspective just how important high conversion rates are. Suffice to say, if you are starting, you are probably on average. This is not a bad thing, just that you can improve your ranking.

How to Improve Your Sales Conversion Rate

Based on your findings, you can just as well be in the opportune moment to boost conversions for your store. For you to reach a boosted goal, it will be helpful to look at how you can improve your UX or user experience. There are the usual suspects, making sure your website is easily accessible, navigable, and has an interactive design. Think of your website as a doorway to a house. What would you want your first impression to be like? Utilizing CTAs is a good way to raise the likelihood of people wanting to go further in your website. They can be alluring and satisfies the interactivity that your website might need.

After a customer signs up for your newsletter, your marketing does not stop there. It is during this time that they will be more likely to buy your product if they value it. Using remarketing can get prospects to return to your store, days, weeks even months later. It can have those very customers who signed up with your business can receive ads via email or even ad campaigns.

Although, there is a more direct route to go, in which CTA is a smaller portion to greater optimization. Conversion rate optimization or CRO is the act of increasing the percentage of users who performs positive actions towards the business. What makes CRO so effective is that it is essentially search engine optimization for your funnel. You are gradually trying to grasp what makes customers want to stick around. Numbers are important to your business, but worrying about numbers is only the tip of the iceberg. You are in business for people, not the bottom line. Focusing on customer satisfaction can eventually lead to an improved bottom line. 

SEO Design Chicago Can Help You Boost Your Sales Conversion Rates

Whew! That was a lot of information. To think, many will look online trying to see what conversion means for their business and wind up in a funnel themselves. There are a lot of topics covering conversion rates and when you are working on your business, reading through article after article can be time-consuming. Here at SEO Design Chicago, we will take the load off that comes with optimizing your sales conversions. Our experts will help you decide out which rate is the right fit for you.

FAQ:

• What are sales conversion rates?
• What is CRO?
• How can I boost my sales conversion rates?
• How do you calculate sales conversion?
• What is a good sales conversion rate?