Most online businesses cater to three or more major types of customers; each of these customers has their own unique needs which your business has to meet in order to reap profits. So how can you design a website that can maximize your conversion rate from each of these major customer types? Here are some suggestions:

Research – before you do anything else, conduct some research as to what demographic your customers belong to. Look at their age, gender, income level, and background so that you will be able to understand their motivations and their needs. You should also look into their shopping habits; are they impulsive buyers or do they carefully look into each product and service before paying? Conduct short interviews preferably soon after their purchase to gain some insights.

Develop their profiles – you will inevitably conclude from your research that your customers can be categorized into three or more categories. Start with several profiles before expanding at a later stage. You can also build several profiles such as:

· Raymond Cook – 23 years old, college student, annual income $10,000

· Susan Steele – 63 years old, retired, annual income $20,000

· Wendy Glass – 44 years old, housewife, mother of three, annual income $20,000

You will notice that each of these customers is at different stages in their lives and it is up to the company to meet their needs and motivate them to buy.

Design a sales system – carefully write pages that are designed for each type of customer. You can start with a single landing page that will answer the needs of each persona. Then you can build a whole sales path which can lead to the sale later on.

Segment your site visitors through sales paths – there should be correct sales path on your website so you can guide your customers accordingly. You should segment your site visitor from the landing page and direct them to the right sales path for them. Hewlett Packard and Dell Computers understand the importance of this technique. Try looking into www.hp.com and www.dell.com and study how these companies effectively use these techniques to increase their sales.

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