The response mechanisms that
a business Web site uses are even more important than getting
tons of traffic to the site. This is because you can have all
the traffic in the world, but if you don't have a way to
capture them, the whole endeavor goes to waste.
Here are some of the tools used on a Web site:
Soft response tools
Harder response mechanisms
Offers
Popups
Mistakes Sites Make in Converting Traffic
Your site has been marketed, you have good content, and your
traffic numbers are ever increasing. But the problem you are
facing, is no one is buying anything ... in fact - they aren't
even e-mailing your company through the site. You are
wondering what is wrong with your site. There are many common
pitfalls that company decision-makers make that have a
negative effect on converting traffic into leads and sales.
Here are some of the causes:
Forms are too long - Marketers want lots of information for
marketing purposes (see business intelligence). That is ideal
for them. The problem is Web site visitors don't like to fill
out long forms, and will abandon them at extremely high rates.
Therefore we recommend that your main forms be very, very
simple. If you want to have a more complex form there are ways
to handle that process once you have started a relationship
with a prospect.
The next step is too hard to find - Site navigation and
location of response buttons is very important for a user
friendly site. Make sure the buttons are obvious - they really
stand out from the rest of the page.
The tool is not suitable for the audience - Some response
methods work extremely well for some businesses and very
poorly for others. Make sure the tool you are using is
appropriate for your visitors.
The enticement is not compelling - Some of the most effective
response tools have some kind of hook or offer. This can be a
newsletter, a free report, or some other low cost item. Know
your target audience and produce items which are attractive to
them. For selling items make sure you know what they want to
buy and have a great selection.
More Response Tools
Here are some other kinds of response mechanisms which make
your site more interactive, and can help you to gather e-mails
and process transactions:
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Instant Fulfillment -
Automatic or manual reply to the request entirely by e-mail
with the information in the body of the e-mail or as an
attachment.
Download Directions - The e-mail sent in response to the
user's request contains details about how to download
information as an text document or Adobe PDF file to their
local computer. The reply email may refer them to a special
page or simply give them a link to click on for the download.
Private Access Area - The individual receives details about
how to access a private area of your Web site with exclusive
information, either through a special URL or a password.
Traditional Fulfillment - The user submits a Web-based form or
sends an e-mail and requests a response via traditional mail.Web Fax -- The system automatically generates and sends a
fax as the result of the request. Subscription -- The user
subscribes to a monthly or quarterly e-mail newsletter on a
health topic of interest.
Automated Reminder Services - The consumer can sign up to
receive e-mail reminders for mammography screenings or other
important health-related events.
Using Modal Window Surveys
Many Web sites place a simple feedback banner on a client's
site. This data collection method is called convenience
sampling and it can cause "self-selection" bias. This means
that there is a greater likelihood that those who are very
satisfied (or very dissatisfied) with the Web site will click
the icon and respond to the survey. This self-selected sample
produces data that are not representative of the entire
population of visitors to your Web site.
Our Pop-Up survey methodology virtually eliminates the problem
of self-selection bias as our software chooses respondents
randomly. In other words, with a Pop-up survey all types of
visitors (satisfied, dissatisfied or neutral) have an equal
chance of being selected and participating in the survey.
Quite simply, our methodology produces the highest level of
statistical accuracy available on the Web today. Another
reason why we use the "Pop-up survey" method is it greatly
reduces the amount of time required for data collection.
Typical feedback banners produce a very poor response rate. If
you have a feedback icon on your site you know that the
response rate is typically less than one out of 500 visitors.
This means that data collection takes weeks or even months.
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