If given the choice between two equally amazing, similar products placed in front of them…which one does the customer choose?
They choose the one that’s easiest to order.
They choose the one that makes their life simpler.
Many entrepreneurs make it difficult (or near impossible) for the customer to pay.
This is known as “friction.”
I’ve been studying it for years!!! And I’ve seen it show up in so many strange ways…
Everything from clunky shopping carts, to confusing/convoluted funnels, to cluttered navigation menus… even to having a poor attitude!
…All of this “friction” repels perfect-fit customers from buying.
Nobody has time to decode what you’re doing or saying.
No one wants to sort through all the clutter on your home page in order to find the “Submit payment” button.
People just want to pay you…but are you making it hard for them?
Hell, I’ve done it myself… always unconsciously. Years ago, I made it hard for people to pay me. I put them through a convoluted proposal, intake, and invoicing process. I stopped doing that.
That was the #1 enemy of my business.
I’ve seen business owners unintentionally turn down profitable, positive opportunities to grow their business, due to them making it hard for customers to understand what the hell they even sell… let alone making it easy to pay.
Whether it was in their sales copy (or lack thereof)…or something else…
They were causing friction without realizing it.
On the “Profit First” podcast (tragically renamed “Entrepreneurship Elevated”), Mike Michalowicz interviewed Roger Dooley, author of the book Friction.
“Every year more than $4 trillion worth of merchandise is abandoned in e-commerce shopping carts. That’s more than twice the amount of e-commerce sales,” Dooley said.
WHY does this happen?
The top reasons are frictional in nature:
– You have to set up an account
– Checkout process is confusing
– Surprises during checkout
In my years as a copywriter, I’ve also seen friction due to things like:
– Not properly introducing yourself (through email autoresponders) after a new person signs up to your email list
– Not making full use of your email list by MEI’ing (motivating, educating, and inspiring) people… and therefore, having them forget that you exist
– Not having all the necessary FAQs weaved into your sale page…and ANSWERED!
– Offering or teaching too many things in one email
I write for some of the highest-performing entrepreneurs in the world who’ve made it super simple for customers to buy over and over again.
Their motto is, “Keep it simple” in everything…. and ditch the friction!
What can you do TODAY to make it 10% easier for people to pay you?
Michelle
Writer, Editor, Copywriter
Founder, The Anti-Marketing Manifesto
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 