October 2009: Your Website – Drive-in Movie or a Drive-thru Window?

How to make your website the best source of new business for your company, starting right now.

Create Multiple Ways for Viewers to “Connect “… on Every Page.

The old school philosophy: the home page is the most important page of your site.
No longer. Generate more quality leads by thinking of EVERY page as an independent home page, and asking:

1. What must the content of this page do to interest my visitor?
2. How can I help my visitor express what they are interested in?

Visitors can demonstrate interest in a number of ways: filling out a contact form, sending an e-mail inquiry, instant message, live chat, signing up for a demonstration, e-newsletter, whitepaper, video, forwarding to a friend, or simply calling. If you want more qualified visitors to connect with you, create more ways for them to do so.

Use your “Contact Us” page to guide the visitor. Ask them questions about particular challenges they are having. Ask specifics about their needs as they relate to your products or services. A well-designed “Contact Us” page will generate higher quality leads, by helping visitors really think through their circumstances, and therefore making a more informed inquiry.

Create & Deploy Great Content that’s Useful, Easily Shared…and Easily Found.

Consistent deployment of unique, quality content is the ultimate driver of online brand recognition and adoption. Great content establishes credibility, demonstrates expertise, builds online presence, and ultimately creates value for visitors.

Today, content can be deployed in many online formats: online press, blog entries, micro-blogs, social media, e-newsletters, podcasts, slideshows, how-to videos, articles, whitepapers, live presentations, and online demos.

You probably have some great content at your disposal, but may not be fully maximizing its use. For instance, if you recently delivered a presentation, write a press release about it. Develop an article summarizing your remarks for download. Send an e-mail with the corresponding link to your contacts. Record your presentation and build it into a podcast, YouTube segment, or as a download. Post your answers to the most engaging participant questions on your blog. Let your LinkedIn contacts know the presentation is available. Submit your slide visuals to SlideShare, or offer them as a PDF download from your site.

Whatever content deployment tactics you use, make them a regimen. One article alone won’t do it. Consistent deployment in many formats gets the wheel turning, builds momentum, and ultimately drives qualified leads.

Build the Site for Your Viewer…Not for Your Company

Break away from the traditional “About Us”, “Services”, “Products”, “Contact” info-dump mentality because that puts all the focus on you. Every page of your website should be solely and exclusively about “THEM,” the visitor, and their particular challenges, obstacles or needs. If you want your site to be a source of lead generation, every page must demonstrate an understanding that the visitor has a particular problem or need, and that you have the solution.

If ever there’s a specific customer segment or service that you want to highlight, simply build a landing page about it. Your site may become cluttered at times, but if it’s turning visitors into potential customers, who cares? Avoid info-dump site design; that only leads to “Drive-Thru Viewings.” Embrace the “Drive-In” mentality, and create a valuable resource center for your visitor, one that they will “drive to” often, and share with others. Invite them to engage and participate at every turn, as you transform your site into a powerful lead-generating engine for your business.

Let’s Talk

It only takes a few minutes of conversation to recognize the opportunities for growth and profitability that exist for your brand. Contact us today to get started. I look forward to speaking with you.