You have swung open the digital doors for business and people are lining up, right?
Hmmm…are you not experiencing the stampede of paying customers you were expecting?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
61% of marketers say attracting traffic and lead generation are their top challenges.
Let’s back up for a minute.
What is lead generation?
Put simply, a lead is somebody with an interest in what you are selling. Essentially people who could potentially become your client.
Lead generation is the process of attracting potential buyers for your product or service.
So, your website should be providing you with a stream (even if it’s just a trickle to start with) of leads. These leads are how you get more clients from your website.
Keep in mind that not everyone who visits your website is going to be a lead.
Even in a mall, people will walk in a store, realize they’re in the wrong place and walk out. There’s no way to completely prevent that.
The important thing to focus on is attracting as many good leads as possible and encouraging them to do business with you.
Let’s explore a few ways leads might be slipping through the digital cracks. By simply patching up these spots you can easily turn more people on your website into leads for your business.
Clearly state who you help and how
Don’t make who serve or what you do a guessing game.
You don’t have a lot of time, so let people know they’re in the right place.
I see a lot of websites use a bunch of fancy images or blobs of text near the top of the website. This puts the responsibility on the person visiting the website to scroll and read. That is neither quick nor easy.
Make it easy with a clear value proposition.
Click here to grab a handy printable glossary with over 40 common marketing terms
Your value proposition tells your website visitors exactly what you do with clear and easy to understand language.
Why does this matter? People are quick to move on.
We want them to hang out on your website not click the back button or close the browser because they aren’t convinced you can help them.
Here are a couple of examples of websites that make the who and what very clear.
Evernote is one of my favorite tools for keeping a constant stream of ideas and information organized.
Evernote helps people looking for a solution to organize scattered notes (the who) in an easy to use way that’s available on all your devices (the what).
Since I live in Alberta, I have a soft spot for Novo Watch.
Do you see how they’ve made it clear that they offer handmade watches (the what) for people who are looking for something other than big-name timepieces (the who)?
So, make the most of the very valuable real estate on your website to keep people moving through it rather than bouncing off to visit somebody else’s website.
Use a blog to attract leads and get more clients
I’m sure you’ve heard of Google.
If Google gives you some love by serving up your website in search results, then you’re going to enjoy more people coming to your website.
Also, 47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before starting a sales conversation which means that you need to have more than a one-page website.
People want more.
However, if you think a blog is a diary for rambling on about the world or what you ate for lunch last week, you’ll be missing out on the value of blogging.
If you want Google to pay attention and people to become leads, your blog must answer questions, address problems your prospective customers are facing and provide value.
Don’t you want to position yourself and your business as a trustworthy ally people can turn to?
Of course, and when done strategically, that’s what blogging can do for you.
Attract and keep more leads with a mobile-friendly website
People will be looking at your website on their phones and other mobile devices. What will they see?
Be honest.
Harsh Truth Time >> The opposite of mobile-friendly is irrelevant.
Statistics about the importance of a mobile-friendly website tell us that 57% of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site (socPub).
Not only will they not recommend the website, but 53% of mobile website visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than three seconds to load.
If you don’t want to lose leads like this leaky bucket, make sure your website loads quickly and is mobile friendly.
Use the links below to check how mobile-friendly your website is right now.
Click here to test how mobile-friendly your website is.
This tool will tell you about how quickly your website loads.
Make contact information easy to find
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s amazing how many business owners spend a lot of time and money attracting people to their website, only to drop the ball at the contact stage.
Did you know that 64% of visitors want to see the contact information when they land on the homepage of your business website?
These people are not looking for a workout.
They want everything to be easy, all the time, including finding contact information
One of the biggest mistakes I see entrepreneurs make is assuming that people are willing to put effort into contacting them.
The truth is that potential customers get frustrated when contact information is hard to find.
And what do they do when they get frustrated? Leave.
When contact information isn’t front and center, it can strike some people as sketchy.
They may wonder what you’re trying to hide.
For maximum credibility, make sure your site has:
- physical address
- email address
- phone number
- links to social profiles
It’s a good idea to include a phone number and/or email address on the footer area of every page.
When it appears that you’re open and available, it helps build trust.
You want people to contact you for your products and services, right?
Well, people will want to reach out so help them by making it EASY.
Next Steps
Now you can just sit back and let the new leads roll in, right?
For your business to grow, you need to keep an eye on current marketing trends and track what is or isn’t working for your business.
It would be great if your website and other forms of marketing had a fit-it-and-forget-it recipe, but they don’t.
All forms of marketing, including your website, are ongoing experiments.
Always ask leads how they found you and don’t be afraid to ask them about their experience with your website.
Remember, everything is a work in progress.
Keep growing.
