COMMENTS
Great points here. Today, it is crucial to offer your visitors something of value on your site, especially if you expect anything in return. Visitors already want to contact you to an extent..that's why they are on your site. However, giving them what they want and providing some free resources, like HubSpot does with their Free Marketing Guides, is a great way encourage people to give you their info. Plus, instead of having a lot of contact information for people who just came to your website and filled out a form, you will know specifically what each new contact is interested based on what type of info they downloaded. This makes lead nurturing and sales loads easier.
You raise very good points, Pete. Many business people are concerned that asking visitors for contact information will put them off. However, if you offer something of value why would they be put off? They came to visit your site because they have a problem to solve or need to buy a product. If you can help them in some small way and get their contact information in return, it is a win-win for everyone.
Great comments, But my site only ask if they would like to sign up to the mailing list they dont have to, and if they dont and they buy from us we do not use there info for marketing unless they sign up for the newsletter / add mailing list....
Excellent post. This may be a subjective thought, but "contact us" forms- to me- are the equivalent of an info@ email address. I always feel like my request will just evaporate, and at best, I'll get an autoreply. It's amazing when a business will go all out and will do everything right, but forget about the last step of the funnel and just leave a contact email. I am always impressed when a business will give you every option to get in touch with them. Phone, email, chat, twitter, etc. and with contact information for actual human beings is the best way to go.
In terms of multiple calls to action, I think you're right on the money. Having ebooks, subscriptions to podcasts, newsletters, etc. are awesome ways to start the relationship with someone that has actively sought out the information you're providing.
It makes me think of someone walking into a store. Some people don't want to be bothered by a salesperson. Some people enjoy having a back and forth with a store rep. Others want to look on their own, gather their own data, and when they're ready, they want to talk to someone with answers.
Each person has expressed interest in what the store has to offer, but each wants to be sold differently. The same thing goes for online stores/sites. If someone wants to talk right away, give them that choice. If they just want some info, but want to keep in touch, that's fine too.
Just a great, great post. I had someone ask me why inbound marketing efforts were important the other day. I gave a good answer. THIS is a better answer. Thanks!
Nathan, you touch on a very important point here - something that extends beyond just capturing email addresses. One thing that's crucial to a site's success is it's "stickiness;" i.e. how the site encourages people to stay on it and continue exploring the different sections. Calls to action are certainly powerful to this end, but it can be tough when you are trying to reach a diverse audience that may have several different end goals or needs in mind.
My company, Neptune Web, launched a site not too long ago that does this very well. The site is http://www.veracode.com. First, on the secondary pages, all links on the right are directly relevant to the content in the body of that page. Also, the content is formatted so that, while there is a lot of text, there are just a couple of sentences for each main topic, and a link that gives the user the opportunity to read further if they're interested - this is a lot different than just laying all the content out there at once. The tool that really makes this site powerful as a lead- and demand-generation site, however, is the "What To Do Next" callout. From any page, when a visitor has the 'Aha!' moment and decides they want to get in touch with Veracode, the site asks the question and answers it for them in one fell swoop. This follows the number one rule of web design - don't make the user think. Shoot me a message on LinkedIn or on Twitter (@therohmance) if you'd like more input..
For websites with lead generation goals the conversion is partially dependent on the type of product or service. Often an effective approach is to give the visitor limited information across several pages. Each page serves as taking the visitor one step closer to converting. After about three pages of good content, a call to action on a short form is effective. The problem for many businesses is they ask for the "contact" too soon. Consider visitors like a "first date." There is only so much you can ask for on a first date.
Bernie,
You make a good point, however I think the method you propose can result in higher 'drop off' or 'fall off' rates and lower conversion rates - not every visitor is going to go through three or four pages, particularly if they are not getting the information they need or want. This is why it is so important to make the info capture form more than just a "Contact Us" tool. By offering substance to visitors on every page (as with the Veracode site I mention in a previous comment), we are able to ensure that a visitor can get what they want from any page, no matter when that certain something 'clicks' in their head and they decide to take the next step. While it is important to have destinations and goals for your site's visitors, focusing too much attention on only specific pages or callouts can ultimately be costly.
Bernie, I am afraid I have to agree with Andrew on this point. I would be long gone before I got to the third click. When consulting to my customers I often suggest levels of detail leading visitors deeper into the site. If someone is very interested, they will delve deeper so I agree with your suggestion in that way. However, I would suggest calls to action of varying degrees in return for various levels of free information on
each of the pages. Don't make visitors keep clicking to get to a call to action. They will probably leave before they get there.
I still have to respond to the first few comments up there.
But, wanted to weigh in on the "form on the 3rd page" thing.
So, @Bernie, Linda, Andrew, I'd love to see some well researched data on this. I'd like to see what Marketing Experiments has to say on the topic. But, I tend to agree with Andrew and Linda (from my antectodal experience) that "offer" should be very clear, right on the first page. and the form should be above the fold so it's obvious that people should fill out the form to get the "offer".
I think I've seen some e-course type stuff that is multi pages with a form on each page to get the full "ecourse or white paper". But, I haven't seen numbers to see if that is more effective or less.
ALl that said, I'd be happy if the SMB just created some landing pages with compelling offers. If I had to take a stab at it, I'd say 80+% of SMB sites only have a contact form.
Contact Us Only Source of Lead Generation. Its really funny how webiste even have these sources of contact tucked away in there website. There is an actual program that show you how to match big businesses that are looking for leads with PPC campaigns and earning money from the match up. Check this site out http://www.arbitrageconspiracy.com/vegasreport.php?ref=6f3be934
Good Article. I agree. Inbound Internet Marketing is here to stay! -Biztrader.com
I think this is the best answer that we can get....good explenation I just under stand some of what I thout is imposible
I think this is the best answer that we can get....good explenation I just under stand some of what I thout is imposible
Great recommendations. My own experiences with offering something of value for free are producing results!
When I first setup my site I was more focused on sending people to the front page which included a opt-in form as well as a subscription for my blog. Then I would spend time commenting on personal development blogs hoping people would link over to my site. Though I did get some results it just wasn't enough nor was it scalable.
I don't mind working but I don't want to spend hour and hours commenting on blogs trying to attract people to my site.
Then I thought about something I created which I use everyday, a
printable pocket calendar. It occurred to me that other people might want one too. Working with my HubSpot consultant we created a landing page.
Over the past two weeks the conversion rate has been between 10-23%. The landing page ranks #1 for the term "free pocket calendar 2009".
Now I am working on other material related to personal development I can offer for free or for a nominal cost.
Yes. I agree completely. We are an interactive design and marketing firm and are consistently asked "how can we get ranked in Google?" That's not an easy thing to do for many companies, especially if they're not willing to put in the time, effort and resources necessary. And I always ask them, if you did get ranked today, what would the (your visitors) do once they get to your website? So, I think your point about "creating lots of ways that site visitors will be encouraged to share their contact information" is very important. I always recommend starting with understanding how to convert users to a lead or sale first then work on how to get them there next.
There has been some interesting stuff mentioned here (in the article as well as the comments). I do understand the point about getting contact info in trade for free stuff (as HubSpot does), but it also rubs me a little wrong (yes I fill out the form to get to the goodies, but I personally would rather not have to fill out the form). On the websites I've done there is a contact form as well as our phone & fax numbers, address and also a google map and links to google map. The address, phone number and link to our contact us page is on the bottom of EVERY page on our site. I don't know the numbers, but I would say most of our "conversions" are people that actually either call or stop by our showroom rather than fill out our contact form.
Nice read! The bottom line is what out for the leads you want to use. You get nothing for free, so if it sounds too good to be true it probably is!