While many companies spend all their time focusing on how to drive traffic to their sites, they fail to take the time to convert that traffic into qualified leads. They do not spend a fraction of that time focusing on how to convert that traffic to qualified leads. Without a conversion strategy, all that effort is pointless. Often, just a slight improvement in conversion can deliver a much greater increase in profits compare to traffic generation. It seems as though many companies believe that once prospects are at their site, they are going to *magically see the light* and want to buy everything they have to offer. Well I hate to be a big dose of reality, but that just does not happen.
So how do you convert these website visitors into qualified leads? Well, it all starts with a strategy that encourages visitors to "raise their hands" and let you know where they are in their buying process. Once you know where they are at, then you can match your offer or call to action to where they are.
Typically, there are four different types of visitors who will search your website; each represents a different stage in the buying process:
- Awareness
These visitors haven't identified a business need yet, but they are curious to "see what's going on." Looking for as much knowledge gain as anything else, they are trying to keep up to date on all the positional technologies or solutions that can help their business be successful. They are always on alert to keep their company developing or advancing their own knowledge and abilities. Maybe they know that they should do a better job of optimizing their website for search engine traffic, but nothing has caused that to be a pressing business need at this time.
For these people, you need to offer them a short educational piece, like a newsletter. Have a short (just email address) form with a privacy statement to encourage them to educate themselves via your content. Don't ask for too much information since these individuals will not see the value in providing with too much since they don't have a pressing need. In the content you share with them, make sure to include points that raise that develop problem awareness. So, when they're ready to take the next step in their sales process, hopefully the valuable content and education you provided will encourage them to seek you out. - Discovery
These are people who are early in their buying process. They have identified their business goals and disparities and are starting to look for solutions. Maybe they have heard of your company or arrived at your site via keyword research. These people do have a business issue they need to solve, but they aren't ready to "pull the trigger" on a solution just yet. They're still trying to identify the right solution from the right company.
An offer to subscribe to your newsletter may seem too basic and not a quick answer to their problem. For this group you are better to target an e-book or guide that educates them on how to solve their problem. They don't want a "why pick you" message, but rather some best practices in how to start solving their problem. With subsequent communication, you can nurture them through their buying process and share some success stories of how you help solve other clients' problems that are similar to theirs.
In terms of offers, the best content to provide these visitors are case studies. Place some teaser text next to the offer, such as "Learn how ABC Company, a global manufacturing company, saved $XX via our services." Or you could provide a short summary of the case study. Require the visitor to complete a short form to access the entire case study. For these visitors, you should feel comfortable asking for more information than what you asked of the visitors described in "awareness" category, because the content you're providing is valuable and specific to their needs.
This is also the best time to show them how your solution differs from others out there. I am not talking about you vs. your competitors, but rather you field vs. alternative solutions. For example, if you are a company that sells animated characters to engage website visitors, you may compare your solution with having a live chat option on their website. - Validation
These are visitors who have done the research, know what they need, but aren't ready to talk to a salesperson just yet. These visitors are looking for more information about your services or product and are often building a short list of vendors to contact.
If you sell products, an online demo will appeal to this type of visitor. They are working on narrowing down their list to a short group, so showing them how your solution works will appeal to them. They want to see the user interface or get an idea of how easy the product is to install or use. If you sell services, provide details about your services. What value do you provide? How do your services - and you - differ from other providers? I often call this the "brochure-ware" portion of your website that many company websites only focus on. While still very important, it should just be a part of the overall needs of your website. - Purchase
Many would say that this is the only type of traffic they want, but often if you have not done the first three phases effectively, the majority of your marketplace will never make it this far. Offer these folks a short form that says something like "Got a Question?" or "Please Contact Me". Don't make the mistake of trying to have this form do too much. Many people make the mistake of having long forms, thinking that the form rather than the salesperson should do the qualifying. Remember that web visitors are very impatient, so don't ask too many questions. Let the salesperson do the qualifying. If the form is too long, resulting in high exit rate, then you've lost out on the opportunity to speak with a qualified lead.
The vast majoring of the marketplace and your traffic will be in the first two stages of this process, many website only target the prospects who are in the last two stages. The problem is, if you do not engage your prospects in the early stages, you may not even be considered at the end. You need to target your audience early in their buying stages, and then using marketing automation and other tools nurture your prospects along so that you are the only vendor they consider when they reach the later stages.
Remember that visitors to your website are in different stages of the buying cycle. You cannot treat all of them similarly the same. To prevent leads from falling through the cracks, make sure you have offers that appeal to all of them. Adjust your strategy and pages to appeal to each stage. I am not saying to have many calls to action on every page; what I am saying is look at who is viewing that page and identify where they are at in their buying process and have an applicable call to action.
