How to reduce conflict in teams

 

If you’re finding that despite well-defined team processes, your projects are still late, people aren’t holding each other accountable, trust is an ongoing issue, and you’re spending more time resolving conflicts than you’d like, you’re not alone.

Most successful teams reach a crisis point where the team performance suffers.

It is a truism that successful teams are made up of successful people who have strong personalities, are very determined/motivated and are comfortable expressing their opinions.

The same personal drivers and strengths that make individuals successful will also cause conflict that affects overall team performance.

New research suggests building a successful team isn’t just about having a corporate team concept or well-defined roles and responsibilities, although those are important.

Building a successful team is all about the people and 3 key factors that a team must have to ensure it is a high performing team.

Researcher Jeroen de Jong of the Open University of the Netherlands and his colleagues from Tilburg University, examined over 70 management teams from eight European organisations to discover what the underlying people factors were that affected a team’s success or failure.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the results showed that almost half (44%) of the teams had at least one person who caused negative feeling and conflict between individuals that affected the team cohesion and performance.

These results highlight that having one bad apple in a barrel…. or rather having one person with negative emotions or bad feelings is enough to cause significant conflict that will impact on the team performance.

Importantly, the research pinpointed the 3 main factors that every successful team must have to reduce the impact of negative feelings and conflict and improve overall team performance.

These factors were:

1) Frequent in-team communication

2) Interdependent working

3) High-quality social exchanges

Teams who had these 3 factors were able to manage individuals who expressed negative emotions or caused conflict and improve the overall team performance.

In other words, successful teams had team members who regularly communicated with each other. This provided them with more opportunities to respond to tensions and conflicts as they arose.

Successful teams worked together on tasks and were used to jointly finding innovative solutions (i.e work interdependently). Therefore, they were comfortable working together to develop new ways to live or deal with issues that they found troubling in others.

Finally, successful teams who consistently had high-quality social exchanges (i.e. their social exchanges were based on a good understanding of each others’ background, their motivations and their personality), were more orientated towards accepting and understanding others different perspectives and finding a mutually beneficial solution. So those teams had people in them that had developed their Emotional Intelligence and used it to understand others.

Interestingly, further analysis showed that that for teams where members worked together to solve a task and were able to have high-quality social exchanges, the harmful effects of negative feelings and conflict on overall team performance completely disappeared.

However, those teams that enjoyed frequent in-team communication but without the two other factors, did not enjoy the same benefit.

The EBW View

The implication of the research findings is clear: not surprisingly, frequent communication is helpful in preventing negativity and conflict among team members.

Leaders who create situations/teams that have to work together and importantly have high-quality social exchanges will have teams that are more resilient and better able to find a solution to conflict that impacts on their performance.

Like a lot of things in life it sounds simple, but in our experience many team leaders (in this research 44% of teams suffered with conflict) find it difficult to implement a successful developmental strategy for the team.

They spend too much time and effort managing unnecessary conflict or not focusing on areas that will make a team more productive and function as a high performing team

So how do make sure a team’s productivity and performance does not suffer through miscommunication, lack of understanding of others and inability to cope with conflict?

Our research and experience with leadership teams all over the world has found that focusing on 6 team drivers is key to improving how people work together.

Above: EBWt Team Effectiveness Model

Our approach works by using assessments and tools that build a team's ability to have high-quality social exchanges about the team's:

• Vision and goals

• Trust levels,

• Team identity (loyalty & accountability)

• Commitment to team goals

• Communication levels (Psychological Safety)

• Capability to work together

Teams that use the EBWt Team Toolkit are better able to move forward, grow and overcome the significant challenges they are facing.

https://www.ebwglobal.com/

Activity relationship chart. Part 2

 (Part 1 you can see here -  https://cutt.ly/g7A8a6f)

Published byDominick Lemmons

https://cutt.ly/F7A7Wbt

https://cutt.ly/K7SqtpK

As an example of usage ARC tools you can see during the improving the efficiency of an Emergency Department

Full text of article you can find here - https://cutt.ly/V7SevoT

7 signs your process isn't working

 

When it comes to product and project management, best practices, proven methodologies, and workflow strategies abound. Like any tried-and-true approach, many tips on building a highly efficient and functional process are sourced and learned from experience over time. After all, mistakes are a highly effective teacher. 

While there's plenty of discussion on how to make sure your processes are working, how to avoid issues in the first place is discussed less. Understanding and recognizing when things have strayed off course, or when you're not working as effectively as possible, can save you valuable time and resources. Let's look at seven tell-tale signs that your process isn't working as well as it could be. 

1. Projects aren't getting completed in a timely manner

"Done is better than perfect." "Perfection is the enemy of progress." "Perfect is the enemy of good." Much has been said about getting work across the finish line, even if it's done imperfectly. And the job of a successful project manager is to balance quality output and critical deadlines. 

This idea is backed up by the "launch and iterate" philosophy, too. The theory is that by getting work done, and then testing and learning from the end result, you can iterate and improve more quickly. The result is better insights and a culture of continuous improvement. It also takes some of the pressure off your teams to get things perfect the first time, which frees them to think more creatively while mitigating risk. 

According to PMI's 2018 Pulse of the Profession report, about 48% of projects don't meet initial timelines. It may seem obvious, but if projects regularly hit a stalemate or your team cannot meet timelines, it's a sign that your team may  be held up by too much bureaucracy or the burden of perfection. Whatever the reason, any delayed timeline indicates that something needs to be improved  in your process. 

2. Your process requires a lot of resources with little ROI 

Some projects are worthy of a significant time, budget, and resource investment—that is, if you can prove the ROI on the end result. However, even the most well thought out projects can be a bust if they take too much time to launch, with too few results to show for the energy and resource expenditure. 

Time and people are your most valuable resources, but spending too much of either on any given project, is a sign that some inefficiencies exist in your process. It's important for the project manager to appropriately allocate resources to maximize ROI. 

3. The process is inconsistent across teams or departments

Process standardization eliminates confusion, mitigates risk, and helps teams use the time and resources at their disposal more efficiently. However, too often, processes are inconsistent across teams and departments. This not only makes it difficult to quickly identify where projects stand but makes valuable, cross-functional collaboration next to impossible. 

It's not always possible to fully align processes across departments and disciplines. Your creative team, for example, will have different milestones to hit than your engineering team or  your legal department. Yet, if your team isn't aligned on objectives, or if you're struggling to track and synchronize approval flows, it's a sign that your process might be holding you back. 

4. The process has recurring bottlenecks 

Some process complications are tough to solve—and not every challenge during a project is avoidable. Legal or compliance approval, for example, is often a lengthy process. Company strategic shifts can also interrupt feedback loops. 

Successful project managers are less concerned with these one-off bottlenecks. The bigger concern is the roadblocks that continuously and consistently block the path toward successful project completion. Pay close attention to recurring issues in your process, and don't write them off as "just the way it is." It's not possible to avoid every bottleneck, but tracking what repeatedly goes wrong and when, can help you create a smoother path for your next project. 

5. Busywork and repetitive tasks aren't automated 

Process improvement is all about protecting your most valuable resources: your time and people. If your team members are tied up on menial, repetitive tasks, they won't have the headspace or energy to think creatively about their work. The result is overworked employees and mediocre results. 

If busywork takes up too much of your team's time, it's a sign that it's time to automate some tasks.

6. Your team members have provided constructive criticism of the process 

Often, employees choose to deal with frustrating processes rather than risk airing their grievances. Elements Global Services found that 49% of workers don't share complaints about their work for fear of the repercussions or being labeled as difficult. 

Given this dynamic, if a complaint or constructive criticism of your processes does surface, there is likely some weight and truth to it. It's important to listen carefully to this feedback for insights into your team's frustrations and less visible bottlenecks in your process. 

Consider giving your team members an anonymous way to provide input. The opportunity to share feedback in confidence will build trust and help you gain the type of radically candid feedback you need to improve your process, increase satisfaction among your team, and even prevent employee turnover.

7. The process is not clear to those involved

When processes are documented clearly and communicated well, workflows run more efficiently. If you're noticing more questions than usual about who's in charge of what, next steps, and how to know when a project is complete, you likely need to define your process more clearly. 
 

Awareness is the first step to solving any problem. Look out for these signs that your process isn't working so you can actively identify what needs to be fixed. Once you've removed major roadblocks, you can start to pay more attention to what's going right and continue to optimize the way you work. 

https://bit.ly/3yNFMlf

Evidence Planning

 

INSPIRED BY : Nesta (2009) Worksheet 2b: Evidence Modelling. In: Creative Enterprise Toolkit

What is it & why should I do it?

Why do you do what you do? The Evidence Planning tool is a quick way to help articulate and improve what you are trying to accomplish. It gives you an easy way to define and share what it is that you’re trying to do, and the assumptions and evidence upon which this is based. By making you think more broadly about your work’s effect on target beneficiaries, society, other activities and organisations, Evidence Planning helps you construct an evidence-based case for the impact you want to have.

 

The Evidence Planning tool provides a structured way to project the effects of your activities onto the future. This will help you reflect on what you may want to change or retain. This tool also helps to highlight at an early stage any potential problems or easy to make mistakes.

How do I use it?

Start by filling out the key focus for your work or organisation in the middle of the worksheet. Then use the questions in the four quadrants to reflect on what your key focus enhances, replaces or even limits. Think of changes that your work would make in the sector, on other public and private bodies, as well as the effect it would have on the society. This offers you a mirror to consider the impact your work may have.

 

Look at the key aspects from diverse points of view. While filling out the four quadrants think of :

• The wider world. (Think as big as possible.)

• Your particular field or area of interest. (e.g. How it might impact current practices)

• Your beneficiaries (What benefits will it bring them?)

• Yourself (What impact could it have on your work/life?)

https://bit.ly/34CECfo

The 3 C's of Effective Marketing

 

Sammi Caramela

Running an effective marketing campaign doesn't have to be complicated. Just remember the three C's of marketing.

A good marketing strategy is a must-have, especially for a small business with a limited following. To truly build brand loyalty, you have to appeal to your customers while staying true to your company and keeping your competitors in mind – in other words, follow the "three C's model" of marketing. This model focuses on three key factors every marketing strategy should prioritize. Here's how to use this method to boost your business.

1. Company

Marketing is all about branding. Start by defining your company's mission and building a brand that accurately represents it. That way, people understand who you are and what to expect from you, and you'll feel more confident in your marketing messages.

"2020 has been a year where employees and consumers want to know what your brand, company or business stands for," said Jessica Garrett Modkins, president of Hip Rock Star. "This is the time to build your strategy around the issues that matter to the very fabric of your service. This is an opportunity to evaluate your corporation's heartbeat."

By doing so, you're reminding your customers who you are beneath the surface, which is crucial in today's socially responsible business climate. However, consistency is a key factor, said Daniel Foley, director of Assertive Media.

"Having strong values and ideals for the company is important, to make sure that all marketing [for]  a business is done in the same way each time," he said.

2. Customer

Your customers are the reason for your business and the driving force behind all you do. It's important to communicate with them in a personal way, rather than simply buying ad space or pushing your products and services.

"You have to know your customer base well and make sure you are pitching to them; make your product exactly what they need," Foley said. "Your marketing should speak to them, not just be shown to them."

This is especially true on social media, where many customers vet businesses before investing. You can get to know your customers by engaging with them on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

However, creating a social media account shouldn't be something you just check off your list. To really benefit from it and connect with your customers, you'll want to dig a little deeper.

"Your customer is relying on you to communicate with them – staying top of mind," said Garrett Modkins. "Run a campaign using social media, requesting your customer base to provide their name, email address, telephone number and other industry-specific information you need to stay in touch with them when they are no longer active on social media. Use this database to expand your communication with coupons, testimonials and how-to videos exclusive to this platform."

It's crucial you meet your customers where they are, rather than simply hoping they'll come to you. Find ways to express your appreciation, and support them through their buyer journeys.

3. Competition

Regardless of the industry your business is in, you'll always have competition – and that's a good thing. You're doing something right if you have direct competitors, but you'll want to understand how they market themselves, as well as any gaps they fill that you don't.

But while it's important to keep up with your competitors, they shouldn't be all you think about.

"Competition should be evaluated but not stalked," Foley said. "Remember, your competitors should be worried about you, not the other way around. Continue to innovate, and they will not be competition anymore."

To really stand out from your competition, personalize your messaging whenever possible. Storytelling is an instant way to connect with your customers, Modkins said.

"This is the surefire way to give a point of differentiation between your company and the competition," she said. "Seek out success stories with your customers. Take these stories, and amplify this message through marketing tactics to bring in new customers. Every brand has a good success story which can lead to deeper customer engagement."

Additional C's of marketing

 We put together some more C's to help spice up your marketing strategy.

Compelling

The word "compelling" is defined as evoking interest or attention in an irresistible way. It's also the opposite of boring. From the marketing angle, it means that your brand messaging needs to capture your audience's attention (and, of course, that it doesn't bore them like those hundreds of cookie-cutter pitches they are bombarded with daily).

How do you do that? At a time when people's attention spans are so short, what are you doing to ensure that your marketing message or the content you create truly resonates with your clients in a convincing, powerful and credible way? It is important to genuinely understand what your clients are interested in and to offer them a compelling reason to notice you.

If your content is quickly forgotten – or, worse, not noticed at all – it's a red flag you're doing something wrong. Here's how you can fix that:

• Dig deeper into your marketing metrics from a recent campaign.
• Evaluate how much or how little you've achieved your goals.
• Conduct customer research and/or surveys to determine your customers' biggest pain points and challenges.
• Collect relevant data, and turn them into actionable insights.
• Create marketing campaigns based on those insights.
• Test the effectiveness of your content. Your readers will indicate what they like by responding, sharing and taking action. The content that fetches the best results will tell you what type of content you should write and share in the future.

Consistent

Marketing requires a consistent drumbeat to steadily build up your firm's awareness and credibility. You can't expect overnight results, and you certainly can't expect to get thousands of followers despite never posting a second article on your LinkedIn page. When it comes to your marketing efforts, frequency matters a lot, but what's even more important is to make sure that everything about your brand looks, feels and sounds consistent.

Often, companies struggle in this area. They throw different (and inconsistent) messages against the wall to see what sticks. Unfortunately, this confuses your customers and leaves your company riddled with brand-awareness and identity issues. In contrast, when your target customers hear the same core message several times, they are more likely to spread the word in the way you want.

Millennials – currently the most lucrative market, with $200 million in annual buying power –  demand a consistent experience from brands, a global SDL survey  revealed in 2015 . Clearly, if left unchecked, inconsistency can become the weakest link in your marketing strategy.

A content audit is a great place to start. Assess blog posts, whitepapers, bylines, case studies, social media posts and other forms of content to check if every aspect of your brand's presence looks and feels consistent across every channel. Also, check for consistency in every customer touch point: email signatures, business cards, letterhead, invoices, envelopes, fax sheets and all other things related to your brand.

Cohesive

Your clients find you and interact with your company in a variety of ways, including PR, social media, websites, videos, email, sales meetings and events. However, your efforts across all marketing channels should weave together a cohesive story.

This doesn't mean repeating the same message mindlessly over and over again, in a way that borders on spamming. Instead, it's about finding the central theme that will resonate with your clients and then carrying that golden thread throughout your campaign. Simply put, presenting a marketing campaign that isn't thematically united is like arriving at a party wearing mismatched clothes: People may notice you, but they certainly won't take you seriously.

Instead, take your clients on a journey. Tell them the story of how your company can help solve their problem, and make sure every story has a beginning, middle and end. Don't reduce your brand stories to merely marketing materials or sales pitches. Rather, treat them as opportunities to let your brand's personality shine through and connect on a deeper level with customers.

For B2B businesses competing in today's rapidly changing digital economy, the customer may seem like a moving target, constantly flitting among myriad channels and displaying an incredibly diverse range of behaviors and preferences. The three C's of marketing will help you develop solid engagement strategies and highly relatable content to capture mindshare, build market share effectively and dominate your industry.

https://bit.ly/3q7lnBE

12 Ways to Increase Online Sales

 

Apple, the Apple logo and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Derek Gehl

One of the core values at my company is "Test everything; assume nothing!" That's because we know that after all these years on the internet, you just never know what strategy or angle is going to work best for you...until you test it. This applies even to your star-performing strategies, because there's always room for improvement.

The bottom line is, testing is the only way to discover what works--and what doesn't--on your website, and it's the best way to start increasing your sales exponentially. And if you take the plunge and use just one of the following tests, you'll learn just how true this is, especially when you start seeing a dramatic improvement to your bottom line.

Test #1: Offer just one product or service on your home page

Image credit: Shutterstock

Do you sell a number of products or services on your website? If so, I'd strongly recommend you test whether or not this is the best strategy for you. We've found that offering fewer products in one place with more copy describing those products always translates into higher sales.

It's all about focus. Instead of trying to please everyone who visits your site by offering a large range of products with minimal detail about each one, if you offer just one product--or one set of related products--you can really focus on one key set of benefits and answer all the possible questions and doubts your visitors might have about your product. And you don't have to stop selling your other products--you can always offer them to your customers from other web pages or by using follow-up offers ( see Test #12 )

Of course, the only way to find out for sure if this will work with your target audience is to test it! Write a sales letter for your lead product, and put it on your home page. Then run the test for a week or two to see how it increases your sales.

Test #2: Reposition your opt-in offer to boost your opt-ins and build a bigger list of loyal subscribers

Image credit: Shutterstock

Your opt-in offer is your tool for gathering your customers' e-mail addresses and building your e-mail list, which allows you to regularly keep in touch with your subscribers, build relationships of trust and loyalty, and sell them your products or services.

But did you know that where your opt-in offer appears on your site can have a huge impact on how many subscribers you attract?

If you don't use a long sales letter, test placing your opt-in offer in as prominent a position as possible on your home page--the top left of a page is where visitors' eyes are often drawn first. At the very least, test placing your opt-in in the "top fold" of your home page--the area of screen first visible to a visitor before they scroll down the page.

If you have a long sales letter, you should test placing your opt-in offer within your second "page" of text--after you've grabbed your visitors' attention by identifying a problem they have and established your credibility by impressing them with your credentials, experience and glowing testimonials from happy customers.

You should also test placing your opt-in offer on every page of your site so it's always in front of your visitors, and try placing it in a "hover ad" (see below). The more sign-up opportunities you provide, the more subscribers you're likely to get. Test it and see.

Test #3: Add impact to your promotions with hover ads

Image credit: graphicstock

I'm sure everyone's familiar with pop-ups: They're the small windows containing a special offer or other information that sometimes "pop up" when you visit a website. Love 'em or hate 'em, pop-ups have been a very useful, online marketing tool for years. However, because a percentage of internet users disliked them, Google, AOL, Netscape and others developed pop-up blocking software to combat them.

Of course, internet users should be able to choose whether or not they want to view pop-ups. However, much of this software automatically blocked pop-ups, meaning visitors to a site started missing out on valuable information that could benefit them.

But that was before we discovered a very impressive technology that actually lets you use ads that behave like pop-ups but that aren't pop-ups--so they don't get blocked. They're called hover ads, and they're well worth testing on your site.

In fact, when we tested adding a hover ad to our site, sales increased by 162 percent! These ads are effective because they put important information, such as your opt-in offer or a special limited-time promotion, right in front of your targeted visitors.

You can test placing your opt-in offer in your hover ad to see if that boosts subscription numbers. When we did this, 86 percent more people subscribed to our newsletter. You can also test how many more people click through to a special offer page on your site through a hover ad vs. through a regular link on your home page.

Test #4: Feature different benefits in your headline.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Your headline has a huge impact on your sales. It's often the first thing visitors to your site see so it must grab their attention and compel them to read your sales letter.

A successful headline should highlight a problem your target audience faces and stress the main benefit of your product or service in solving this problem. Let's look at an example that illustrates how a headline can be changed for maximum impact.

One of our clients was using the following headline on his site: "Box4Blox--The Amazing Toy Storage Box For Lego." The problem with this headline is that it tells you what the product is, but not what it does for you. It doesn't give a visitor any good reason to continue reading the rest of the page.

Contrast that one with this: "Finally! Discover the Secret That's Got More Than 50,000 LEGO-Crazy Kids Worldwide Actually LOVING Clean-Up Time!" This headline presents a major benefit of the product and a solution to a problem--in this case, how to get kids to clean up after themselves and actually enjoy it.

Test #5: Establish a problem in your copy and show how you can solve it

Image credit: Shutterstock

In the first few paragraphs that appear on your home page, you need to go into more detail about the problem you introduced in your headline--showing your audience that you relate to them. (Only when your audience feels you understand their problem will they feel confident that you can solve it.)

Once the problem is established, you can then begin introducing your product or service as the solution to this problem. By emphasizing exactly how your product or service will solve your reader's problem, you're guaranteed to see a boost in sales.

Test #6: Add credibility to your copy--and enhance your visitors' trust in you.

Image credit: graphicstock

It's vital that your sales copy establishes your credibility: It's through this process that your visitors come to trust you and feel comfortable enough to buy from you. There are several ways you can do this effectively and we'll talk about two of the quickest and easiest ones here. If you're not already using these techniques, revamp your copy and test it against what you're using now. You'll be surprised by the difference.

One of the best ways to establish your credibility is to include customer testimonials in your sales letter. These should be excerpts from genuine e-mails or letters from customers expressing how your product or service helped solve the particular problem they faced. This last point is important: A customer testimonial that states how your product benefited them is much more effective than one that just says something like, "Your product is great!"

You can also enhance your credibility by adding a section to your copy that outlines your credentials, experience and any background information that makes you qualified to solve your target audience's problem. Your aim should be to effectively convince readers that you are the best person to offer them a solution to their problem.

Test #7: Focus on your site visitors--not yourself

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

The most successful sales copy focuses on the reader. Too often, business owners neglect this simple golden rule. Look carefully at your sales copy. Is it filled with references to "I," "me" and "we"? Instead of using sentences like "I designed my time-management software with the busy homeowner in mind," try "Your new time-management software will free up hours of time for you to spend with your family." So try searching for "I," "me" and "our" in your sales copy and replace them with "you" and "your."

Test #8: Instill urgency in your copy--and convince readers they need to buy now!

Image credit: graphicstock

It's very important that your sales copy instill a sense of urgency in your visitors, compelling them to buy now. The best place to do this is toward the end of your sales letter, near the call to action (when you ask for the sale). Here are a few of the most effective ways to create a sense of urgency. Try testing each one against your current copy:

• Offer a limited-time price discount where visitors must buy before a certain date in order to qualify for the discount.
• Offer additional bonuses for free if visitors buy within a certain time frame.
• Offer only a limited quantity of your products or services.
• Offer a limited quantity bonus.

Test #9: Remove any references to "buying" from the top fold.

Image credit: Shutterstock

People usually go online looking for free information. If you start your sales pitch too early in your copy, you may end up losing them before you've had the chance to hook them. You first need to get them interested in what you have to say by relating to a problem they're facing--as I outlined in Test #5 --and how you can solve it. Once you've accomplished that, you can start to sell to them.

Here's an easy way to improve the tone of your sales letter: Try removing references to "buying," "cost" and "sale" from the top fold, and compare the results to the copy you're using now. Remember, don't mention anything to do with making a purchase or spending money until after your reader is interested in your product and trusts you enough to buy from you.

Test #10: Boost your product's desirability by adding images.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Images of your products make them seem more tangible and "real" to your visitors and are a powerful sales tool. But sometimes revealing what the product is too early in the sales process can kill the sale--you may need to highlight the product benefits and value before you reveal exactly what it is.

Test placing images near the top of the page vs. placing them near the call to action at the bottom (where you're asking for the sale). You should also test adding images to your order page, and test the response to using no images at all. By carefully analyzing sales during each test, you'll learn exactly where to place product images for maximum impact.

Test #11: Grab the attention of "scanners" by changing the formatting and appearance of your copy.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Very few visitors to your site will read every word of your sales copy from start to finish. Most will "scan" your copy as they scroll down the page, reading only certain words and phrases that jump out at them or catch their eye.

That's why you need to test highlighting your key benefits to find the right combination that will grab the attention of people who scan rather than read online. These include:

• Using bold, italics and highlighting (sparingly) to emphasize the most important benefits of your offer
• Varying the length of your paragraphs so the page doesn't just look like a block of uniformly formatted text
• Adding sub-headlines that emphasize your key messages and compel your visitors to read the paragraphs that follow
• Leaving the right-hand side of your text ragged (as that's easier to read than "justified" text that uses the whole width of the page)
• Centering important--but short--chunks of text or sub-headlines to further draw them out of the main body of text
• Using bullet lists (like this one) to emphasize key points

Test #12 Fine-tune your follow-up process to maximize sales and attract more repeat business

Image credit: Shutterstock

Following up with your customers and subscribers using autoresponders (automated e-mails) is crucial to generating more sales as it often takes several contacts before someone buys from your site.

In your follow-up e-mails to new subscribers who haven't bought from you yet, you can restate your offer and ask for the sale again. Try sending an immediate follow-up after new subscribers sign up, giving them a reason to return to your site the same day they subscribe. You can test this against sending a follow-up three days after subscribers first visit your site to see which method works best.

Following up with existing customers is just as important. In fact, tests show that 30 percent of customers will buy again if they're given the chance. It helps you develop profitable, long-term relationships with them and allows you to offer "backend" products relating to their original purchase. You can test sending a backend offer immediately after they make a purchase against sending one three days afterwards to see which approach generates more repeat business.

The Benefits of Split Testing

Image credit: Shutterstock

When testing your site, it's vital to test just one thing at a time so you know exactly which change influenced the results. A method of testing known as "split testing" does just that. It allows you to split your audience into two groups and test, for example, one headline with one group and another headline with the second group--both at exactly the same time.

It's an ideal testing strategy for any online business, but especially for newer websites with less traffic, as it provides an excellent method for generating accurate test results no matter your level of traffic. Let's look at an example to illustrate how this works.

If you want to test elements of your sales letter, you need to use your top performing sales letter as a "control"--a benchmark against which all tests will be measured.

To test a new headline, for example, you need to create another web page that's identical to your top performing one but which includes the new headline. Using special testing software, you then redirect half your customers to the old page and the other half to the new one--over exactly the same time period. For example, if you have two customers named Bob and Jane, testing software ensures that Bob sees sales letter "A" at the same time Jane sees sales letter "B"--both on the same URL. Your other customers are likewise split evenly between the two different sales letters.

If you discover--through tracking how many visitors go to each page and how many sales each page makes--that the sales letter containing the new headline converts 15 percent more visitors into sales, you know that the new headline is more effective. Then you can test other elements of the sales letter one at a time and gradually fine-tune your sales process.

The software gives you the great advantage of testing the two different letters over the same time period. If you instead test one headline over a few weeks, then the other headline over the next few weeks, what if one of those test periods includes a major holiday like July 4th, while the other doesn't? Or what if a major TV event happens during one test period but not the other? Both of these factors could significantly skew your results if they resulted in fewer people being online during one of your tests.

It's easy to set up a few basic tests using software like the following:

• WebTrends 7 offers a range of testing services for a one-time cost or monthly fee, and you can road-test their services for free. WebTrends 7 also allows you to go beyond split-testing and start testing a few different things at one time. You can analyze exactly which combination of elements (for example, a particular headline and opt-in offer placement combination) works best.
• Like WebTrends 7, Offermatica allows you to conduct split testing and multivariable testing. Pricing is based on a per-visitor fee, and you can try their services out first through their free demo.
• ClickTracks allows you to track the response to your tests and understand where your visitors come from, as well as how they travel through your site. You can try their products for free, then pay a one-time or monthly fee depending on your needs.

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