5 Costly Conversion Problems a New Website Redesign Won't Fix

"If we just redesigned our website, all of our problems will disappear."

As an industry-leading growth team, we hear this kind of thing all the time.

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a website redesign will not solve all of your problems. The worst part is that this kind of thinking can cost your business hundreds or maybe even thousands of dollars per year.

There are a hundred other conversion problems that you're probably not thinking about. The good news? We've compiled a comprehensive list of the top five things your businesses needs to "figure out" before redesigning your website.

5 Conversion Problems to Solve Before a Website Redesign

Let's face the facts – it doesn't matter how incredibly your site looks or how many flashy "click here" buttons you add to your homepage or sales page. There's simply no substitute for a strong brand narrative and intuitive buyer journey.

Before investing in a new website, kickstart your website redesign project by honing in on these important conversion problems:

1. Failing to Understand Your Target Audience

Do you know who you're selling to? It might seem like common sense, but you'd be surprised to learn that a lot of the companies that we work with have no real understanding of their target buyers.

In this scenario, creating a buyer persona is the obvious next step. In short, a buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer. Without an intimate understanding of your buyers, redesigning your website is pointless. Use the buyer persona document as a blueprint during content generation, product development, customer acquisition, and eventually, your web redesign.

Related: 5 Buyer Persona Question You Absolutely Must Ask

2. Misrepresenting Your Product or Service

If your product or service is misrepresented or confusing, you're bound to have conversion problems, even with a newly redesigned website.

What is it that you sell? What is your unique value proposition? Can you explain what your business offers in laymen's terms? Your prospects and customers need to know what you do before you can even hope to sell to them.

Vidyard does a great job of giving us their unique value proposition. The brand promises to help clients "turn viewers into customers" through wildly compelling video content. The value proposition is simple, compelling, and to the point.

3. Failing to Earn Customer's Trust

The most successful brands are gaining attention by earning customer's trust. Unfortunately, earning your customer's trust requires much more than a website.

You need to show prospects that your business is aligned with their unique wants and needs. In this scenario, try speaking their "language." For example, a designer fashion retail shop might use phrases like "boho twist" or "spring-fresh shades" to appeal to customers ingrained in the fashion world. In this way, the retailer is showing prospects that it understands them and what they want.

Related: Customer-Centric Marketing: How to Deliver What Your Customers Want More Than Your Product

4. Poor Pricing Strategy

According to recent reports, most customers are actually willing to pay more for a product when they know that they'll be treated with a great customer experience. That's the power of a great pricing strategy when paired with high-value in-person and digital experiences.

If your pricing strategy is falling short, know that you're probably leaving money on the table. Moreover, you can't hope to build a new website without understanding how to price your products or services appropriately.

Here are three proven steps to price your products/services effectively:

1. Find your base price by getting to know your competitors
2. Capture market share by experimenting with different pricing models
3. Make sure your product delivers long-term business profit

Patagonia does an excellent job following the "loss-leader pricing model." In this model, the store sells selected goods below cost in order to attract customers who will, according to the loss-leader model, make up for the losses on highlighted products with additional, ongoing purchases.

5. Zero Testing

Finally, to maximize your conversion opportunities, you need to have some historical data to validate choices made during the website redesign. In fact, trying to build a new website is like flying a plane blindfolded – how will you know where you're going without the "vision" to get there?

For this reason, testing is absolutely necessary. We've found that A/B tests are one of the most powerful tests that you can run before, during, and after a redesign. In most cases, these kinds of tests are designed to test conversion rates through typography, colors, font size, typefaces, design, and much more.

Related: 5 Data-Driven Design Tips for Improving Site Performance

Here's How to Start Your Website Redesign on the Right Foot

As an industry-leading team of growth strategists, designers, and developers, we know a thing or two about building high-conversion websites. It's this experience that has given us the opportunity to work alongside some of the world's most exciting and innovative businesses and brands.

So, what does this all mean for your organization?

In a perfect world, the best solution always wins. Sure, your product might build a ton of customer loyalty, but without high-value marketing and a killer sales system, your sales efforts will always fall short.

That's where we come in.

We marry an out-of-this-world web experience with marketing and sales to help deserving brands acquire more customers in less time.

It almost sounds too good to be true, right? Here's how we do it: