ChannelNet CEO Paula Tompkins is a regular contributor to CMSWIRE.com, a web magazine focusing on customer experience management, digital marketing, social business and enterprise information management. Her June article, Convert Online Traffic into Showroom Traffic, talks about the important elements of the customer experience necessary to converting a website visitor into a buyer in your showroom. Below is an excerpt of her article.

Convert Online Traffic into Showroom Traffic

By Paula Tompkins

ChannelNet CEO and Founder Paula Tompkins

Consumers are buying online more than ever, and online stores are continuing to proliferate. On the other hand, foot traffic to retailers’ storefronts is shrinking. For companies in the considered purchase category, the competition for showroom traffic is fierce.

Whether it is an offline or online purchase, most buyer journeys start with a keyword search online. Consequently, companies are spending more than $25 billion annually to convert consumer search inquiries into website traffic. In contrast, website usability investment lags far behind SEO spending.

Developing a great user experience that converts website visitors is just as vital to revenue generation as search engine marketing. For brands in the considered purchase category, the user experience is the secret sauce for converting online traffic into foot traffic. Poor ease of use and poor navigation will stop your traffic dead. A great experience will deliver your website visitor right to your brick-and-mortar showroom.

A web visit that triggers an in-store visit and a purchase requires that brands accomplish 5 user experience priorities.

Read about the 5 user experience priorities on CMSWIRE.com.