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fuelNet Monthly is a marketing newsletter published by The Pohly Co. consulting firm and is a monthly contributor to Kiplinger Recommends. "9 1/2 Ways" is a monthly feature of the newsletter. Featured author Joe Mullich, a former editor of Business Marketing magazine, has contributed to more than 20 national publications and has won 25 journalism awards. His work has appeared in Advertising Age, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Think Magazine and Creativity.
Driving visitors to your Web site -- and coaxing them into providing contact information -- is one of the best ways to generate quality sales leads. However, only 4%-8% of people who click to a site leave their personal information, according to Khalid Saleh, president of Invesp Consulting, a conversion optimization firm in Farmington Hills, Mich. To boost traffic to your site and convert qualified prospects into customers, consider these surefire tips:
1. Spread your wings. Place your Web site’s URL in as many places as possible. That includes your e-mail signature and all social and business networking sites, says Andy Sernovitz, CEO of GasPedal Ventures, a Chicago-based firm that specializes in word-of-mouth marketing.
2. Run a contest. "Everyone likes a sweepstakes, even executives," Sernovitz says. "With a cool prize and basic promotion, you can attract thousands -- even millions -- to your site to register for a contest." Pick a prize that will appeal to the most qualified leads. For example, offer a monkey wrench to build a list of plumbers.
3. Don’t sell -- inform. Robert Basso, president of Advantage Payroll Service’s office in Hicksville, N.Y., touts his offerings through e-newsletters and an online video program called Basso on Business (bassoonbusiness.com), where he interviews business owners about what made them successful. By informing rather than hard-selling, Basso gets a steady stream of visitors -- and potential clients -- to his site.
4. Chat it up. Matthew K. Higbee, an attorney in Costa Mesa, Calif., converts prospects into clients at his legal site, RecordGone.com, by offering live chats with attorneys. To get a free consultation, visitors must provide their e-mail address and basic information about their legal concern.
5. Make friends. Add a "refer-a-friend" link on your Web site. You’ll enable interested prospects and enthusiastic customers to do your marketing for you.
6. Track your visitors. Determine which Web sites are driving the most leads to your site. "These sources are the ones you should invest more money in," Saleh says, such as by placing banner ads.
7. Don’t get too nosy. Have you ever started to fill out a form for a free download only to be turned off because it asked for too much information? That’s called friction. "You can increase the number of leads you receive by simplifying your contact forms," Saleh says. "We usually recommend that our clients do not ask for more than a name, a telephone number, and an e-mail address."
8. Give them a taste. If you offer a white paper or special report on your site, allow visitors to read the first page or two before asking them for personal information, says Michael Stelzner, author of Writing White Papers. Those who ultimately sign up for the product are often worth pursuing.
9. Be welcoming. When prospects give you their information, immediately send them a welcome e-mail, suggests Mike Scher, president and founder of Frontline Selling, a consulting firm in Ridgefield Park, N.J. If they subsequently register for a white paper or e-newsletter, point out other relevant content, such as customer testimonials, case studies, or podcasts.
1/2: Respond quickly. The odds of qualifying a lead decrease dramatically the longer you wait to follow up. "Calls placed within the first five minutes of receiving a lead via the Web have the highest likelihood of making contact," Scher says. "The odds of contacting the lead drop 10-fold within 30 minutes of the Web submission, and drop another 10 times by the time an hour has passed."
This article originally appeared in the customer communications and marketing newsletter fuelNet Monthly, a regular contributor to Kiplinger Recommends.To read more marketing tips from fuelNet, click here.
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