Trust & Ease of Checkout

The Key to Conversions = Trust & Ease of Checkout

TRUST

Lack of Information vs. Information Required to book

The information people like to know before they book are the dates and times available, duration, price, ages, where it starts from, what is included, how difficult (is it active?). There can be more questions based on the activity. Is alcohol included? Is hotel pick-up offered? Do I need closed-toed shoes? If people are not able to find the answers to their questions they may call or they more than likely will move on. In summary, anything that would create doubt or fear if you are unable to talk to someone at the company

By including necessary information that people look for when booking it increases trust in the tour/activity and the operator.

No evidence of previous customers vs. Reviews

Most people do not want to be the first person to try out a new tour. They would like to see that other people have gone out on a tour/activity and enjoyed it. The best way to establish this is with reviews. Google reviews are great for this as well as TripAdvisor (but be sure to make sure TripAdvisor is not linkable so they are not lead off the site).

When people see reviews they know that other people have gone out on the tour and have had a good time. This reaffirms their decision to choose that operator.*

No Photos and/or lots of text vs. High Quality Images w/People

There’s no question – pictures sell! The age old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is true for tour and activity websites. What is the best photo? A photo of a woman smiling. A great scenery also helps. Do you have a beautiful boat? Show it! No images or low quality images are a bad representation of the company and visitors to the website may think the tour is outdated.

Photos help increase trust because people are able to see others that have gone on the tour and envision themselves on that same tour.*

Lack of information vs. FAQ Page & Awards/Certifications

It is important to keep in mind if a person has a question that they call about they probably looked on the website already. It is super helpful to publish common questions on an FAQ page so that they can book right then with certainty. For example: Which tours are suitable for people with physical disabilities?

Certifications and awards also help reaffirm website visitors trust in you. Not only have you been reviewed but you have been recognized.

By offering answers to common questions and displaying awards and certifications guests have more trust in the tour/activity operator.*

Not SSL Secure vs. SSL Secure

SSL security allows sensitive information (like credit card numbers) to be shared through a website in a safe manner. SSL Security can be acquired through a client’s website provider (like WordPress). All FareHarbor Sites are SSL Secure.

When sites are not SSL secure then credit card information saved in a browser is not filled. This can decrease trust and ease of checkout for the customer as they may be scared to share their credit card information on that site.

Difficult Mobile Site vs. Mobile Friendly

Sites that are not mobile friendly kill conversions and also hurt you in Google rankings. Since 2015 Google has been including “Mobile Friendly” as a ranking factor. This means if your site is not mobile friendly Google will purposefully NOT show your website to mobile users. Mobile usage for tours and activities is rising over 50% so this is a major issue even before a customer reaches the site (because they won’t ever reach your site!). You can use Google’s mobile-friendly test to figure out if a website is mobile friendly.

Beyond being mobile friendly, tour and activity websites also need to make sense on mobile. Just because a website passes Google’s test does not mean customers will find it easy to book. Small changes like having a floating book now button, high quality photos, and a clear path to book make it easier for customers to book on mobile.

When websites are optimized for mobile customers trust that this company is reputable and it is easier for them to book online.

Slow Page Speed vs. Fast Page Speed

More recently Google has been including page speed in its rankings for websites. A slow page may cause visitors to bounce before they have even reached the page. Google considers a good page speed to be anything less than 2.5 seconds. And as the time goes up the probability that a user will bounce goes up. Users patience is even shorter on mobile devices.

What can an operator do about it? Luckily anyone can test their site on Google and it will give you recommendations of how to speed up your page. You can also compare it to competitors.

Having a fast website makes an operator look more professional thus increasing trust and can allow customers to find the information they need and checkout much faster.

Scary Cancellation Policy vs. Flexible Cancellation Policy

As users are booking they make look for the cancellation policy they may seek out an operators cancellation policy. If there is super harsh cancellation policy (No refunds or rescheduling for any reason) they may be hesitant to book with you and may not trust you as a reputable operator to go out with.

If an operator has a flexible cancellation policy it can allows more users to book. This is because they do not have to worry about if something were to go drastically wrong. They also trust that the operator is a good one to go out with because they will accommodate them in case of emergency.

Having a flexible cancellation policy allows customers to trust that it is an accommodating operator and make it easier to checkout because they are not worrying about if they need to reschedule or if there is an emergency.

Leave URL to make reservation vs. one URL throughout checkout flow

Please note that FareHarbor does go off-site on mobile checkouts.

When customers are directed to a second URL during their checkout process it can decrease trust in the checkout flow. They may wonder if they clicked on the wrong link, if it is a scam, or why they have left abctourcompany.com to another random website they have never heard of.

Staying on one URL maintains trust in the company and its branding while making it easier for the customer to check out in fewer clicks.

List of many activities vs. Activity Segmentation

Having too many activities can cause decision fatigue for many customers. This means they will not checkout as they will feel overwhelmed by options. Guiding customers through the checkout process by segmenting tours into categories, giving indicators like “most popular”, and listing important info like price or duration will help customers to make a decision. By guiding the customer through this checkout process it also establishes authority – by proving you are a tour company that knows their customers and what is best for them. It also allows customers to trust that the tour they choose is the best one for them.

Segmenting activities allows customers to find what is the best fit for them faster and trust that the operator is suggesting a good tour.

Old Website vs. Modern Website

Old/outdated looking websites are a bad representation of a company, an outdated website can make a company look like they may no longer be in operation. Or it could lead customers to think: if their website is outdated, is their equipment outdated too?

A modern website allows companies to better represent themselves and the tours/activities they offer. If a website is designed for tours and activities and conversions it can also then be easier to check out. Things like activity segmentation, SSL security, mobile friendly and page speed can help websites stay modern.

Outdated websites decrease trust and are harder to check out on, while modern websites allow customers to trust operators more and get through the checkout process faster.

EASE OF CHECKOUT

Lack of direction vs. Call to Action

When a customer lands on a tour and activity website they should know exactly how to book. They should be easily able to find to the book now button and the book button should be a call to action, like “Book Now” or “Reserve now” not “Inquire” or “All Tours”. The color of the book button should stand out from the rest of the website. You can use a blurry eye test to see if it is obvious where the book button is. There also is a Chrome extension that can be used on demos to make a website blurry. When a customer lands on the website they should have no doubt about what they should be doing next (hint: it is booking!)

A clear call to action that stands out allows customers to quickly make their way through the checkout.

Many clicks vs. few clicks to checkout

Have you heard the saying “every click kills?” well it’s true, everytime you add clicks to the checkout process it slows down the customer and makes it harder for them to checkout. Especially on mobile if you are having to load another load page that extra click can really kill. Making sure the website and book form are designed to reduce clicks is key to conversions.

By having fewer clicks in the checkout process it is way easier and faster for customers to check out.

Lack of urgency vs. Sense of urgency

A lack of urgency doesn’t necessarily mean it will be harder to checkout but it will make more people checkout. Lack of urgency allows guests to think they have unlimited time to make a booking which means they could leave and MAYBE come back. By creating urgency you are making it more likely for them to check out now rather than go through the checkout process multiple times.

Request form or Call to Book vs. Instant Confirmation

Because consumers are losing patience they want instant gratification. They may be planning a last-minute vacation, or even in the location currently. They desire to be able to have the idea to do a tour/activity and book it immediately. By having a request form you are basically walking your customer out the door. They have way more time to change their mind or shop around. With instant confirmation people are able to have the peace of mind that they have properly secured their spot on that tour/activity.

Instant confirmation allows people to check out much faster without having to wait for the operator to call or email them back, arrange payment, etc.

Username/Login vs. Minimal checkout information

Creating a username/login not only adds additional steps to the checkout process, but also makes the online customer think: “I don’t even know if I want to go on this tour yet. I get 40 Spam emails flooding my inbox everyday, and I know this is going to add to that. I don’t want to enter my email. I’m leaving. I’m gone.” Then they book with a competitor. Removing the need for a username or login results in less steps in the checkout process. By asking for name, phone, and email, a customer knows that there is enough information for them to receive relevant confirmations and for the operator to get in touch with them, but only when they have decided to actually complete a purchase.

Username/Login makes it harder for people to book. Minimal and relevant information at the time of purchase should be collected to optimize conversions and keep the checkout process simple.

Repetitive actions during booking vs. short & simple bookform

Asking each customer for their full name, age, phone number, how did you hear about us? can make the bookform very long and redundant. Answering these questions on mobile is even more annoying. Having book forms collect information in a concise and easy manner (checkboxes, dropdowns, conditional custom fields) allows customers to spend less time checking out.

Simple book forms allow customers to checkout much faster because there is less information to fill out which takes less time.*

GOOGLE MOBILE CHECKER

Google currently penalizes companies that do not have a mobile-friendly web experience.

Check if a website is mobile-friendly here.

If a prospective client’s website is not mobile-friendly, make this one of the tabs in your demo and talk about this. In addition, “once you begin working with FareHarbor, we will be able to make your mobile experience compliant immediately.”

Then show North Shore Catamaran’s mobile page or another to your liking and shrink it down on desktop.

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