First, create a customer journey! The ‘3’ basics for increasing website sales.

Are you trying to create a 'good' website to increase sales?
Are you expecting a significant sales increase from website design and layout?
Perhaps there are things you should review even before that.

Certainly, design contributes to sales.
However, appropriate design is effective only when the basics are properly established as a minimum condition.

So, what exactly do 'basics' refer to?

First and foremost, what's most important is whether a 'customer journey' is established.
When creating a website or starting a business, you determine your target audience.
Accordingly, you should be researching how the target audience utilizes the website.
If you haven't researched it, let's start by researching it first.

More than half of the sales generated through a website are decided before reaching the design stage.

For example, let's assume the maximum number of customers your company can acquire is 100%.
Acquiring about 60% of the total customers involves the 'two steps' that precede design.
Design becomes effective for the remaining 40% or more, or when raising the limit.
Therefore, first, make the pre-design stages function perfectly and aim to capture 60%.

So, what are these two steps?

The first is a 'customer list'.

A list basically refers to customer's personal information, such as an email address.

A customer list is a target to whom we can distribute information at any time.
You must establish a platform where you can directly send information to prospective customers at any time.
Email addresses, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) followers, etc., fall under the above.
LINE Official Accounts are also frequently used as customer lists.

Owned media or users who visit your website are not called 'customer lists'.
Certainly, we can freely disseminate information from our side.
However, if users don't come to view it directly, they won't recognize its content.
A customer list is a list where information reaches users' hands the moment it's delivered.

First, let's gather customer lists.

Customer lists, once acquired, are completely meaningless as they are.
You must nurture them to be interested in the products or services you want to sell.
This is called lead nurturing.

Once you acquire a customer list, from now on, you will steadily deliver information to users.
Approximately 1 to 3 months would be a good timeframe to consider.

For people to purchase any product or service, trust is necessary.
Without trust, it will not lead to the purchase of products or services.
That is why, by providing information repeatedly, you build trust.

Initially, users who joined the list have little interest in the product or service itself.
Gradually provide information and draw out the desire to make them think 'I want to buy it!'

In fact, while the list itself can be easily gathered, the most important thing is customer nurturing.
Whether you can do lead nurturing well and naturally holds the key to success.

The second is 'copy and text'.

For example, if you want to sell fruit, a catchphrase or attractive writing that conveys the appeal of the fruit.
If it's a service, writing that attractively expresses how the service helps customers.
These 'words', 'language', and 'stories' are overwhelmingly effective.

Write copy or text that resonates with the heart.
And then, distribute it to the customer list.

From these two steps, you guide them to your website.
First, let's outline these two steps and create a flow to the website.
Otherwise, no matter how attractively you create your website, it will be meaningless.

Speaking of customer flow, one more thing.

Methods called content marketing and inbound marketing are currently the mainstream.
On your own website, write 'articles that customers are likely to like'.
And then, guide customers to your site from search engines or social media.

If you are struggling to collect customer lists.
On your own site, try writing and uploading 'articles that customers are likely to like'.
Customers visit your site to read those articles.
After reading the articles and becoming a fan, subtly recommend your service.

However, you must not advertise overtly.
Overt advertising is the act most disliked by customers.

In any case, first, a customer flow needs to be created for your target customers.
If you don't draw this path, it won't start.

It is crucial that these two steps are appealing.
If they appear appealing, customers will purchase the products or services.
It is from that point that a website's true value is demonstrated.

As I've written many times, this customer flow is important.
If the customer flow is not solid, no matter how good a website you create, it will be meaningless.

If you intend to increase sales using a website, consider the customer flow.
It is something you should do before trying to create a good website.
First, please think about how to bring your target audience to the point of sale.

Most websites in the world that are not producing results usually have poorly designed customer flows.
Yet, because sales aren't increasing, they repeatedly rebuild their website.
No matter how many times you rebuild your website, if the customer flow is not established, it is meaningless.

Conversely, if it is truly a good website, a significant increase in sales can be expected just by creating a customer flow.
To aim for even greater heights, use high-quality creative content and firmly capture customers' hearts.

It should be noted that design does not mean it has absolutely no meaning for sales.
There are also cases where companies that properly implemented design and branding increased sales by 150%.
Design, so to speak, is a field that can only be utilized once there are basic sales.
It can be said to be like a push to aim for even greater heights.

Third. From now on, design will also become 'extremely' important.

Up until now, I have spoken about design as if its priority were low.
However, though it may seem like I'm contradicting myself, design will become extremely important in the future.

In recent years, it has become difficult to rapidly acquire customers solely through user flow design, product novelty, and quality.
This is because the novelty and quality of many products and services are steadily improving.
If quality and novelty are fundamentally inherent, then where exactly should we compete?

It is whether products and services, and the brand itself, can be loved.
It is necessary to gain fans, not just through product novelty and quality, but also by embracing their philosophy and way of being.
As one means of becoming loved by everyone, design exerts a powerful appeal.
If the design is good, it's easy to become a fan, and if it's bad, it becomes difficult to create fans.

This is an undeniable fact.

That is why the importance of design is increasing, including layout, UI, UX, and the entire user experience.
Furthermore, not just appearance, but also usability and user experience—everything becomes the work of design.

In Silicon Valley and among those competing at the forefront of the world, the value of designers has already risen.
Indeed, not just appearance, but also the domain including ease of use and experience is the work of designers.
The very concept of design is gradually undergoing a change, isn't it?

In the future, when launching products or services, you must not underestimate design.
In the future, only when user flow design and design are both present will the system begin to function.

Endlessly increasing sales is not an easy task.
However, if you keep thinking diligently with your own mind without giving up, there will surely be an answer.

Also, don't forget to improve the 'appeal of the product itself'.
The prerequisite for clearing the two steps is that the product is 'good' enough to be second to none.