Finding leads is the primary purpose of any website. This is especially true for the service industry. To increase your business, you want to convert website visitors into clients and form a lasting relationship. But how do you go about finding qualified leads? The best method for gathering leads on your site is by collecting the name and email address of your visitors. Since this requires them to willingly give up their information, the best way to get them to do so is with primary and secondary offers.
Who Uses Your Website?
We will assume that you are generating traffic to your website and that it ranks well in Google. After all, without visitors, you won’t ever collect any leads. However, once you have people visiting your site, then you need to focus on how to convert website visitors. In other words, you want your visitors to close the deal. Unfortunately, only about 20% of the customers that find your website is prepared to make a commitment. The other 80% are still on the fence and need a gentle push further down the marketing funnel. Therefore, to increase conversions, you need to have the right incentive or lead magnet to turn visitors into qualified leads.
Your Primary and Secondary Offers
There are two types of offers that you should have on your website. The primary offer speaks to the visitors that already know what they want. They’ve made their decision to purchase and are looking for the right person to supply their need. Those people are interested in price and reputation. You can hook these people with incentives, like discounts, or extra freebies.
For instance, free shipping or one-day discounts on merchandise are great incentives for retail sites. A service website might offer a specialized service, like our Free Mock-Up Offer.
The second type of offer is for those clients who haven’t yet decided what type of product they need. They are still in the information gathering stage and much closer to the beginning of their buyer journey. To move them from visitor to qualified lead, you will need a secondary offer or lead magnet, which we address below.
But first, let’s take a look at your primary offer.
Improving Your Primary Offer
One mistake that many business owners make is trying to sell their service on their website. Instead, you should sell a “Free Consultation” or a “Complimentary Evaluation.” In other words, find a way to get them to speak with you face-to-face. Not only is their less anxiety involved in this type of “no risk” commitment, it allows you the opportunity to upsell or address any reservations they might have.
- An insurance company should offer “quotes” as opposed to writing a policy directly from the site.
- Chiropractors might offer a “free consultation and x-rays” instead of signing up patients for a course of treatment.
Even visitors that already know what they want might hesitate to commit before getting a chance to speak with you directly. Therefore, your primary offer should take them very close to the end of their buyer journey but stop just short of closing the deal.
Use Secondary Offers or Lead Magnets to Convert Website Visitors
The majority of your visitors are gathering information. Their main problem is that they don’t know what they need. In some cases, they don’t even know what’s the nature of their problem. To connect with these visitors and turn them into qualified leads, you must give them what they require most – INFORMATION!
Lead magnets are the vehicle that moves a visitor from their first contact to trust and engagement. It is a micro-yes, as opposed to a full-blown “let’s do it.” This small commitment is a lot less intimidating to them, especially if you offer high dollar products or services. After they say “yes” to the lead magnet, then you can continue nurturing them with emails. Think of it as leading them along the path to their final destination.
Tips for Writing a Better Secondary Offer
As we said, a lead magnet is something of value that you offer a visitor on your site in exchange for their email address. It often involves information they need to make an informed decision. Some marketers refer to it as an “ethical bribe.” It is completely legal and presents you with a way to stay in contact with your potential clients.
- Free E-Book
- A Video Tutorial
- Webinars
- Tip Sheet
- White Paper
- Discount Code
- Free Item
A lead magnet is not extolling the virtues of your company or your services. That type of document is promotional material. Instead, it is informational or educational to the user. By educating them, you can convince them that they need your product or service. Once convinced, then they can take advantage of your primary offer.
While not exactly rocket science, there is quite a bit of marketing psychology involved in writing up an offer that appeals to clients. If you find that you need help crafting either your primary or secondary offers, we can show you how. Many of our clients consult with us on ways to market their companies online. Contact us and let us show you how you how to convert website visitors into qualified leads.
Conversions
