Creating a friction-free product or service is essential in converting leads into customers. If you are not familiar with the term, friction-free refers to a product or service that is easy to buy, consume, and switch to.
Here are 4 simple ways to make your product or service friction free:
1. Value (or ROI) Is Clear
Many businesses overcomplicate their value proposition or ROI calculation. Most consumers are not looking for a sophisticated value or ROI explanation. For example, GEICO’s tagline “In just 15 minutes, you could save $500 or more on car insurance” is extremely effective, because the message is simple and clear. If you invest 15 minutes of your time, you will likely save $500 or more.
2. Offer A Low or No-Cost Alternative
Regardless of the strategy (free trial, free version, discount, etc.) the objective is the same. You are trying to nudge a potential customer into a purchase. Low or No-cost product strategies sometimes get a bad wrap, but this is mainly because they have not been implemented correctly.
Timing is everything. No-cost or low-cost promotions are pointless if a lead is early in the buying cycle (e.g. Awareness phase). However, a low or no-cost alternative can be compelling if targeted at the right moment (e.g. Consideration phase).
3. Demonstrate Value Quickly
If your product or service can only demonstrate long-term value then your product/service is not friction-free, friction-free products/services must show short-term value as well.
For example, fitness trackers are ultimately trying to help customers reach their health and fitness goals, but this is not enough. For that reason, Fitbit, Garmin, and Suunto are careful to demonstrate value quickly with notifications, reminders to move, all-day activity tracking, and so on.
4. Minimize Disruption Fears
The word “disruption” is all the rage in Silicon Valley; however, most businesses are not looking to disrupt their day-to-day business. This is especially true in the B2B (Business-to-business) world. Most B2Bs are looking to improve a specific area of their business, and this is a challenge in itself, so trying to sell a “disruptive” product/service is extremely difficult.
For example, asking a business to change their accounting and product inventory software to accommodate your amazing CRM (customer relationship management software) is not realistic.
On the other hand, if you can integrate your product/service seamlessly with existing systems or processes, then you will have a much higher rate of success.
Summary
Converting a lead into a customer is difficult in itself, so having a friction-free product/service is of vital importance. In fact, having a friction-free product/service can be the difference between a “surviving business” and a “growing business”.
