Conversion Optimization

Chapter 6. FUDs

IT’S EASY TO PUT CUSTOMERS OFF.

Imagine that as you walk into your local supermarket to purchase some cheese, a store representative jumps out at you, greets you, and asks if you have any questions that he can answer. Would you find that to be helpful or creepy? Then, as you select your cheese, he asks if you would like other kinds of cheese, or maybe some pizza dough to go with the cheese. Are you feeling the pressure yet? When you get to the register, the cashier says that you must become a member of the store to purchase the cheese. And just as you think it’s all over, the cashier asks for your phone number, address, business name, and a few more personal details to complete the purchase. Why should the store retain sensitive customer information? By now you are completely spent and full of anxiety. Is this a typical sales experience?

Online, it is.

Offline, you are not likely to encounter such aggressive sales tactics. Of course, we may all be able to relay a story about a horrible experience with a pushy salesperson. A friend experienced it firsthand at a fitness center. They placed her in a room and put a lot of pressure on her to sign up for a membership. They left the room several times to “negotiate” a new price and then applied lots of pressure in hopes that she would sign a costly, non-negotiable or reversible membership with them. Not only did this experience give her a lot of anxiety, but it also made her hate the fitness center, vowing never to return. ...