A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Bucks

Why imagery matters, Part 1

Your customers trust you with their garments because you have a sharp eye for detail. But when it comes to new customers, your website may be the only opportunity you get to distinguish yourself from your competition. The facts show that your opportunity is fleeting if not properly seized:

• Your site has 0–8 seconds to convince a customer to engage with your product or service.
• Approximately 96% of visitors that come to your website are not ready to buy.
• It takes on average 7 to 9 visits to your website for a customer to feel comfortable with your brand to make a purchase.

These facts may seem scary, but they should encourage you to provide the best digital experience for your new customers. Are you using that sharp eye for detail to ensure that your website has great imagery?

Who Are Your Customers?

Knowing your customers by name when they walk through your front door is just as important as knowing who is visiting your website. It requires you to understand your target demographics. Consciously designing your website with images that meet the emotional, economical, and cultural needs of your target audience will set you apart from your competition.

These two images feature a parent and a child, but the environment, clothing, and even the people can affect the emotional investment of the viewer.

These images both portray people enjoying the great outdoors. One picture eludes to the joy of family and connection while the other evokes the feeling of oneness in a moment of reflection.

Your Look and Feel

According to a recent study by Stanford University, 46% of Web sales are lost on websites that lack the critical elements that build value and trust with visitors. The number one reason people indicated why they wouldn’t buy from a website, “it had an unprofessional look and feel”. Another article by Forbes determined that 50% of online shoppers say that large, high-quality images are more important in their buying decisions than product information, descriptions, or even reviews. The bottom line is that a professional look with trust-building images help convert significantly more of your website’s visitors into new customers.

These two websites each deal directly with the financial sector at a state level. The first site has an overwhelming amount of options and a small image covered with text. The second site uses a large, well-lit picture of a local building at an uplifting angle giving the sense of enlightenment and minimalism.

Perfecting Your Imagery

As visual creatures we are drawn to images that reflect who we think we are and who we aspire to be. This sense of belonging and connection allows our customers to feel trust and comfort around purchasing our services. Our next post will provide simple tips for using imagery on your website to connect with customers.

About Starchup

Starchup builds branded, garment care-focused websites for dry cleaners and laundry services. Using research and data gathered from cleaners, garment care customers, competitive analyses, and market and analytics, we have determined and implemented techniques that work best for this market to drive revenue for our customers.

Ready to get the most out of your website? Get started today at Starchup.com.