Your websites should capture leads for your business.
What are leads? How do I get them?
Leads come in all forms. You should receive the following forms of contact information from your website visitors:
- email addresses
- phone numbers
- names
- addresses
- requests for information
- contact form submissions
How do I collect this information?
How? There are a few different ways. Pop-up ads that ask a user for their email address are common. Contact forms and requests for services forms are also helpful. Forms on the bottom of various landing pages that request names, phone numbers and email addresses are simple, yet effective.
The reality is that many people who visit your website for the first time will never return. Those who will return may not be back for many months (or years!). The way to get the most value out of your website is by gathering customer information. Then use this information to make direct contact with customers via email or phone call. Contact customers who opt-in to your email list with regular email marketing campaigns. With ecommerce websites you can send emails to people who abandoned a cart full of items on your site.
However, none of these marketing and sales opportunities are at your disposal if you don’t capture leads on your website.
Ways to set up lead capture
Setting up lead capture options are tasks any competent web developer or web development company can complete. In fact, some platforms may already provide customers with tools to use on their website. For instance, MailChimp, an email service provider, provides the code for an email collection pop up. It doesn’t even need to be custom coded.
Why you need to do this
Amazon will be targeting your customers with marketing. They may even offer your customers deep discounts to switch from you to them. All it takes is for your consumer to buy from Amazon one time. Then Amazon has everything they need to know about your customer. Amazon will market to them in consistent and compelling ways.
As the store owner, you need to consistently communicate with your customer base. Gathering contact information from website visitors is the first step. This provides you with a database to do your own marketing. It allows you to maintain a consistent touch point with your customers. Information from leads can be used to enhance any of your six pillar marketing efforts.
How to excel at capturing leads
To do a good job with lead capture start by identifying the type of customer you’re trying to attract. Depending on your industry your ideal lead will be different. If you’re a lumberyard, you may offer kitchen and bath design consultation as a way of selling your products. Thus, you may want website visitors to set up appointments with your staff. If so, it makes sense to have a kitchen and bath design appointment request on your site. This form will help capture sales leads.
A request from a consumer to meet with your kitchen and bath specialist is great for business. Many retailers only have a simple landing page about kitchen and bath design. If your pages don’t ask for people to contact you, they won’t. Capturing leads is the crucial step necessary for turning website visitors into a paying customer.
Think of your website as an interactive tool for your business. It should engage customers. Your site should always encourage visitors to submit contact information to you. Websites that fail to capture leads are wasting valuable opportunities.
Begin by capturing email addresses and providing an easy to use contact form. Then, work with your web developer to build out more robust lead capture options.