In our daily dealings we have the opportunity to look at hundreds of retail sites. One of the things that strikes me repeatedly is the lack of attention that a lot of web site owners will pay their to conversions into sales. There are a lot of factors feeding into high conversions: the look and feel of the site, the layout of the pages, the call to action, pricing etc.

One of the most fundamental things you need on a site is contact information. A lot of retailers have no phone number on their site. I would not do business with a site that didn’t list a phone number. Imagine how a first time internet user feels when they can’t reach out and contact the site owner. It costs companies millions in lost sales. Then there are the sites that have contact information, but no voicemail. The phone just rings, or is answered in an unprofessional way. I have seen companies that will spend thousands of dollars on paid search, but neglect to spend $50 on a professionally recorded outgoing message.

There is absolutely no point in driving traffic to your website if you are going to ignore these fundamental best practices. Even if you never answer your phone, record a friendly professional greeting, and turn those missed opportunities into sales.