Search Marketing: Turning Your Website Outside-In to Increase Sales
Many companies are disappointed in the results they get from their Web site. Theyspent a lot of money on design and content…there may be thousands of unique visitsrecorded, but very few calls are resulting. Most companies have Web sites thatreflect an "inside-out" orientation, what we in thesearch engine marketing agency business call "brochure ware." The original purpose was met, to provide information,but as a result, the Web site is like a flyer that is skimmed once and then thrownaway.All the money spent on attracting interest from prospects is wasted if the interestisn't reciprocated. Reaching far beyond a brochure, the Web provides a rich mediaenvironment and two-way data-driven communication. This should drive a Web sitewith an "outside-in" approach, one that is wrapped around the wants and needs of the prospect. Your web site is the most valuable real estate you own. The webprovides a single point of access between you and your market--it can offer 360-degree visual tours, audio or video testimonials, brochures on demand, discountcoupons, and client references--at the same time it can gather information aboutyour prospect and deliver instantaneous, completely free follow-up.Especially on the web, successful marketers anticipate the needs of the prospect, andthey work constantly to understand "the mind of the market."Search engineoptimizationhelps your site focus on attracting prospects, giving them exactly whatthey are looking for. Once prospects get to your site, the images and words you useare important, but they have to be part of a larger sales strategy, one thatincorporates powerful, motivating messages and two-way methods of communication. This “sales flow optimization” is just as important to your success asSEO.
Sales Flow: The Secret to Successful Search Engine Marketing
Historically, sales organizations have been very poor at converting leads into sales.They have asked the marketing team to give them only hot leads: prospects withbudget, a timetable, and a list of people involved in the decision. Marketing wasexpected to “qualify” each prospect and deliver the hot leads to sales. Today, theprospect qualifies YOU, not the other way around. One of our largest clients wasusing a lead form with 19 fields…not just name and phone number, but size of theexpected order and time-to-decision! We told the marketing team that their “sales” department ought to be renamed the “order taker” department! This form was usedby prospects only 3% of the time…meaning, 97% abandoned the site rather than fillout the form. Now, this company gets the information incrementally, over a fewweeks…but they are closing over 200% more business from the web.Converting a prospect into an active lead on the web takes courtship. You arewooing, building a relationship. That takes really trying to learn what people arelooking for, to get into the customer’s head. Knowing that most prospects are lookingfor specifications and pricing, you can make your data sheets easy to find, andmaybe even have a downloadable price list. When they print out the price list or thedata sheet, they get the contact information to follow up. These days, companies findout they are on the short list just a short time before the customer buys. That’s
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