How to Use Countdown Timers to Boost Customer Conversion Rate

How to Use Countdown Timers to Boost Customer Conversion Rate

Boosting Conversion rate with Countdown Timers | Brave Achievers

Every business aims to reach a wide audience and make sales. Making sales seems to be the hard part. It is easy to get contacts through subscriptions, content on social media, or surveys. But, how do you make them buy from you? The point where you convert your contacts to actual buyers is where we have the customer conversion rate.  ​

Customer conversion rate is a measure of how successful you are in converting leads into paying customers. It is not enough to have lots of subscribers on your mailing list or lots of people visiting your site monthly. The question is, are they buying your product? 
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It is not uncommon to see businesses use different tactics to entice customers to buy their products. It is important that you create a sense of the importance of the product and the urgency to buy it. Until customers feel they might miss out on a profitable offer, they might not buy the product. How best can you do that than to introduce a countdown timer? ​

What is a Countdown Timer? ​

A countdown timer is a clock that counts down from a certain date to indicate the end or beginning of an offer or event. Countdown timers evoke urgency. The reason most customers don't buy a product is procrastination. They think, well, the offer is always going to be there, so I can buy it anytime. Most times, they forget all about it. Urgency is needed to drive customers to buy a product.
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Let's say you go to a shop and the shop owner told you, "We are selling this bag for $50 now and we only have four left. However, the price goes back to $150 in the next one hour. What will you do? You will look for ways to buy it before the price goes back to its original price. Even if you have more than enough, saving $100 is a smart money decision. 

You can use this same strategy on your landing pages, emails by introducing a countdown timer. 

The Countdown Timer Principle ​

Research revealed that a strategically placed timer can increase conversion by 400 percent. A timer works on the psychology principle called the "Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). The anxiety of not wanting to miss out drives people to make quick decisions. 

The countdown timer shows scarcity to customers. You have to show you are in short supply of a product for you to make quick conversions. The truth is that items that are in short supply sell faster than those that are in excess. 
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The human brain is quick to notice two things: opportunity and danger. By using the countdown timer, you are introducing the opportunity to grab an offer for a low amount. You are also introducing the danger of missing out if the time expires. This principle makes the countdown timer an effective conversion method. 

How to Use Countdown Timers ​

Use Precise words ​

Statements like "limited offer" will not hit the action spot for customers. You must be precise. You can include statements like "Price goes back to $xxx after 3 hours". You can also say "Only two left for x% discount". Statements like this can motivate customers to make quick decisions. ​

Don't be excessive ​

​Including countdown timers on all your emails and everywhere on your website can imply a different meaning. If you keep including, "we have only four left" everywhere on your page, it may imply that you are running out of business. It may also imply that you are not making enough sales, so you want to dispose of the available goods.

Be honest with your offer 

Countdown timers are not only to entice customers. You must make sure you stand by your promises. If you promise a 30% discount. Don't do a 10% discount. If customers notice you are dishonest with the timer, you can only get away with it once. ​

Where to Place a Countdown Timer

On a Product Page ​

Customers who check a product page are likely to do one of three things: buy, check to compare prices or do online window shopping. You can inspire customers to continue with a purchase when you offer incentives to them a via countdown timer on the product page. ​

Emails ​

You can make your countdown timer a GIF and include it in an email to your subscribers. Many might not visit the website. They won't know about the products you have if they don't visit your website page. But you can bring it to them via email. They get to know about the product and the discount you are offering. ​

At the Checkout Page ​

You can consider this as your final attempt to make a sales conversion. At this stage, the buyer knows you are serious with the timer, and he can reconsider his decision to postpone. ​

On Landing Pages ​

A landing page is a single web page used to highlight an offer. You can also use it to get customers' information such as email and name. Including a countdown timer on landing pages has proven to be an effective method of making conversions. ​

Benefits of Using Countdown Timers

It highlights a product

Countdown timers can be used to highlight a product that is not making enough sales. Offering incentives with a countdown timer can make customers realize the importance of the product. You can also use it to create awareness for a new product. You can use it as a "Market Penetration Strategy" for a competitive product. By introducing a discount with a countdown timer, customers get to know of your product and make a quick purchase since you are offering a low price at a limited time. ​

It creates a sense of urgency ​

Countdown timers create the urgency to act. Procrastination to buy goods can lead to forgetting about it. You break through buyers' procrastination by using a countdown timer to create a sense of urgency to buy. ​

It creates a sense of scarcity ​

Scarcity and demand are economic principles. In simple terms, scarcity occurs when the demand for a good is more than its availability. When this happens, buyers are "pushed" to buy quickly before the good becomes unavailable. Countdown timers can be used to create that magic. It makes prospective buyers believe the product will be unavailable after the time expires. ​

Final thoughts

Countdown timers are effective when it comes to making sales conversions. However, they only work if you know how, when, and where to use them. This article explains all you need to know about using countdown timers to turn your contacts into paying customers. ​