Business > Merchant Voice

Could a new slogan increase sales?

My Wedding Decor has gradually evolved in the 10 months since I launched the site.

Four weeks ago I made two simple changes that may have been responsible for increasing my sales.

First, I changed the headline that appeared at the top of the site. The previous headline read: “Buy and hire unique themed wedding decor you’d want for your own home.” Being an ex-housewares journalist, I aimed to appeal to couples that wanted interesting decorative mementos they would display in their own homes after their wedding.

After a meeting a website strategist in my local business networking group in mid-January, he commented that this headline might be merely a secondary motivator or driver for consumers looking for wedding decor.

Retailers must appeal to their shoppers’ most pressing emotional need or want, and then, ideally, their second (and third) needs to ensure the best fit.

The primary emotional driver might be that my type of decor delights guests (satisfying the shopper’s need to impress), with a secondary logical driver might be a mix of cost, availability, location, and ability to be customized.

Secondary drivers can appeal to emotions and logic. They offer an added bonus, but they are not typically the first reason you buy items. On reflection, I agreed brides would not pace around their living rooms, saying, “I must find wedding decor that goes with all this!”

After some thought, I changed the headline to, “Buy, rent and bespoke unique themed event decor” to widen the market scope. Below this headline, I also added a new slogan: “We sell, source, custom-make and rent themed event decor from beach to vintage for Australian couples, stylists, florists, wedding planners and event designers.” This was the second change.

How quickly did it make a difference?

In the four weeks following my headline change and slogan inclusion, my proportion of custom orders has become 29 percent — more than double the 13 percent it was for the nine months following my website launch when it wasn’t obvious I offered this service.

November 2015 was my best sales period. But I had only a 0.40 percent sales conversion then. In the four weeks following my home page update my sales conversion has risen to 0.73 percent.

Even better, there has been a 27 percent revenue growth in the period January 21 to February 18, 2016 over November 1 to 29, 2015.

Your company, too, may experience an uptick in sales by adding an explanatory slogan to your home page.

Elizabeth Hollingsworth
Elizabeth Hollingsworth
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