At Limio, we look every day at how the best marketers create compelling conversion experiences for subscription products. We see some of the best - we wrote about how Drover, Spotify and Sky do it here. But unfortunately, we also see some of the worst. So we compiled the 10 most common mistakes we see.
1. Too much scroll: Sure, you need to explain what your subscription is, core features, why it’s great, the terms and conditions etc... However, if a subscriber needs to scroll more than two full-screen length to hit subscribe, that’s creating more friction than necessary. Ideally, place a CTA on the above-the-fold hero. Put more CTAs along the way. Or have a floating CTA the whole way.
2. Too many redirects and clicks: Funnel drop off rate is key. Some conversion funnels are so complex it is no wonder the conversion rate is low. Say a prospect comes from a social or PPC ad for a specific offer and has to suffer through the following: Homepage > Offer Page > Detailed Offer Page > Login > Create Account (no Facebook or Google log-in) > Billing Address > Delivery Address > Payment Methods > Recap > Confirm. This is exhausting. Reduce friction. Create one clean landing page for your ad (and see point 3 below). Detect phone or browser and suggest an express checkout with Apple Pay or Google Pay. Otherwise, make it really easy to take an address and offer the most popular payment methods for your industry (usually offer Credit Card, PayPal and Direct Debit). Show the basket the whole way of the checkout. Postpone account creation to the end if possible. Be clear on the number of steps (ideally no more than 3). Keep it simple.
3. No consistency in the funnel: Once someone clicks on your ad, you've just paid Facebook or Google for this, so make the interaction count! Create a landing page, consistent with the messaging, visual and offers displayed on the ads. Don't throw them back to your homepage where they have a high chance of getting lost or frustrated they can't find the offer they came for.
4. Lots of potential for bouncing off the conversion funnel. Burgers, ads, social icons. All offer potential to bounce off the page. The only redirect you’d want is to an offer that may have a better conversion rate or an upsell. In all cases, try to eliminate any potential for dropping off your conversion funnel or keep them at the bottom of the landing page. And please, god please, stop annoying your prospects with ads, futile pop-ups and notifications - you are trying to get visitors to pay in full for your subscriptions, not to squeeze a few ad dollars off them.
5. Too much text: Most customers are visual learners. Visuals are must faster to absorb (600,000 faster than text apparently) and more likely to be remembered. Text is particularly hard to digest on mobile. Put visual upfront and keep text down below. Don't go too minimalistic though, your prospects still need to understand what they are signing up for.
6. No social proof: Your customer just got to your landing page but they may not know much about you. Are you for real? Where are your reviews? What do people say about you on Facebook? How many people ordered this recently? Plug-in your Trustpilot or Feefoo ratings, your Facebook and Instagram page, or Twitter feed (not upfront, but at the bottom where the sceptics will go to).
7. One offer for everyone: Not all customers are the same. Students can afford to pay less but may promote more of your products. Family plans are more sticky and have lower churn. Some people may commit for a year if there’s a good deal. Others always need a discount or a little freebie to be convinced. If you have multiple products, try to bundle them. If you have one, see if there are part of your value proposition you can unbundle. Not sure? Partner with a non-competitive company to create a new bundle. Different offers will cater to different demographics. In all cases, put your main offer at the top of your page and offer a wider selection lower down the page.
8. Not using location data: There is no need to go crazy, but localisation can be useful depending on what you sell. You always have the IP address of the person hitting your landing page. Selling gym subscription? Show the gyms closest to the IP address. Selling content? Show the latest local news. Food subscription? Show what people ordered nearby recently. Sports? Show the local fixtures. More reason to subscribe.
9. No explainer or help: Some people need a bit of reassurance that they won’t be stuck forever with the subscription you are selling and get hit by cancellation charges. Some just want a chat to understand your features. Be ready to help. Again, don't lose valuable real estate putting this information on top, keep it in a footer or at the bottom of the page. Or put it at the top if it's core to your proposition like Netflix.
10. Not using urgency: Got limited stock? Last chance to order this month’s box or gift? A special deal about to expire? Let the customer know with a countdown. It can be surprisingly effective.
(One last one) Not being able to run A/B tests
Conversion is both art and science. The 10 mistakes we outlined should be taken with a pinch of salt. We don't hold the truth for your business. If your conversion experience is suffering from one of those mistakes, it may not matter. It may have a dramatic impact. The only way to know is to experiment, preferably with an A/B test.
Limio can help you avoid making those mistakes
At Limio, we don’t hold all the answers. We understand that there is no silver bullet to conversion, only rigorous, systemic, data-driven conversion optimisation. We can help you put in place a rigorous conversion optimisation program, plus give you the tool to actually create those experiences. Our headless CMS empowers you to flexibly create granular landing pages with compelling components. Our product information capabilities make it easy to create dynamic offers, pricing and bundles. And our identity and campaign management capabilities means you can personalise the experience end-to-end and run A/B tests. Limio comes with 1000s of pre-made components, which you can customise the feel, the look and the content.
Keen to improve your conversion rate without breaking the bank and your operations? Get in touch to get a free conversion diagnostic and trial of our solution.