By Eric Cadman, Bayshore Solutions Business Development Director
Every business owner dreams of waking up each day to an abundance of new, high-quality, web-generated leads ready to convert into new clients. If only dreams were reality…
In reality, many business make a series of small mistakes with their website that cost them dearly in lost opportunities, lost revenue, and a loss in prospect confidence.
As a digital marketing business driver, I compiled this list based on feedback from my current clients, interactions with fresh prospects, and cold-hard data.
Here are 6 simple ways your website can generate quality leads for your business:
1. Place Your Phone Number in the Right Spot(s)
Sounds simple enough right? You’d be surprised how many professional website designers miss this important tactic. Make it easy for your prospects to call you no matter where they are on your website.
Many websites today have long scrolling, top-to-bottom features. Don’t make your potential customer hunt for a way to contact you. It’s a best practice to include your business phone number on the top of each page or in the header, at the bottom of each page, and integrated into the content of the home page.
If you are not sure how to do this or are unfamiliar with your CMS (Content Management System), a competent web developer can usually accomplish this task in under 30 minutes.
2. Create Compelling Images of People
Did you know that, according to 3M Corp., our brains process images 60,000 times faster than text?
Humanize your website by adding tasteful, emotional, and professional photographs of your staff and customers. Visitors to your site will immediately connect with these types of images and help them be more compelled to take a lead generating action.
Not photogenic? No problem! It is inexpensive to purchase nice, warm stock photos to easily add positive energy to your website.
3. Use a Short Intro Video
Forbes Insight reports that about 50% of those who viewed an online marketing video went on to make a purchase for their business. Obviously this number varies depending on the products, services, and client investment involved – but would you agree that this is a strong statistic?
It’s worth investing in a 30 to 60 second video introducing, simplifying, or explaining your offering. Be sure to include a call to action at the end of the video.
So, where can you get a video produced? Content marketing agencies and videographers range in pricing from around $600 to several thousand dollars.
These videos do very well when placed on your home page and can be easily syndicated to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and E-mail campaigns to create even more lead generation traction.
4. Harness Live Chat
Isn’t it frustrating to know that you have tons of people hitting your website but you don’t have the proper tools to pull them into your sales funnel? Live chat can be one of those tools when used correctly.
Best practices for advancing the lead capturing process include well placed live chat invitations, non-scripted (and capable) live chat conversationalists, quick live chat response times, and setting an internal live chat schedule for employees. There are a number of third party live chat applications with terrific functionality available for a relatively low monthly investment.
I have a high-end complex services client that reports a 34% increase in immediate leads and a significant decrease in painstaking e-mail responses after implementing live chat.
5. Ensure There is a Clear, Direct Message on the Home Page
86.6% of all SMB’s cite their website as their most important digital marketing tactic according to eMarketer and a company’s home page is the first page most web searchers land on. Can you see that explaining everything you do on your home page is an invitation for confusion and disaster?
Your home page should be a warm and open invitation to connect. An overview of your products or services should be presented in a clear manner along with the unique benefit of doing business with you. Links should be provided for deeper details.
Regard your homepage as a quality lead generation tool instead of a resume. Website owners who focus their home page on what they can provide for their clients – instead of how great of a business they run, will see a much better lead response rate.
6. Regularly Write Blog Posts
What the heck is a blog and why do I need one? A corporate blog is simply a collection of relevant articles posted on a page of your website. Many website owners write their own blogs and others use competent contracted third parties to generate appropriate and engaging blog content. Either way, blogging is an important way to generate top-funnel and mid-funnel leads.
According to Social Marketing Writing, 80% of daily Blog visitors are new to your website. On top of that, Blogs that post daily generate 4X more leads than those who post weekly or less. In my experience, blogging works very well in the B to B space – especially when dealing with complex products or services.
Blog readers are often looking for specific expertise, instructions, guidance, or humor regarding a particular subject. Positioning yourself as an expert and writing about experiences generates confidence in an otherwise skeptical audience and the statistics show that great bloggers really do drive new leads into the business.
Although many of these tactics can be accomplished with some effort, many business people either do not have the skill set or the time to complete them. Between countless e-mail responses, customer fulfillment, sales calls, business process issues, and bringing on new talent – you may find that it is easier and more cost effective to hire an outside digital agency.
When you are ready, Contact Bayshore Solutions for options and solutions to some of your toughest website and digital marketing problems. Until then – happy lead generation!