How to Use Your Website to Get More Leads

Sales & Marketing Society

July 17, 2013

Steve Phipps - @MemPhipps

• Work with business owners and marketers• Web marketing strategy, inbound marketing,

lead generation• Running/marketing business 15+ years• Active on several non-profit boards• Lived in Memphis for 15+ years• Husband & father of 3 energetic kids• Sang on David Letterman show• Rookie coffee roaster• Aspiring cyclist

About LunaWeb

• Designing, developing, marketing, and supporting business websites for 18 years in the Memphis community.

• Services include web design/development, marketing, enterprise level development, and web support.

• Clients range from sole proprietors to publicly traded companies.

• Community involvement includes: LaunchMemphis, GEEKMemphis, and TechCampMemphis.

Overview

• Why traditional sales and marketing techniques aren't as effective as they used to be.

• How your website can support sales/lead generation efforts.

• How to evaluate your website's performance in terms of lead generation.

• What tools you can use to ramp up your website as a lead generation tool.

Your Goal

Get more leads

Get more sales

bplanet / freedigitalphotos.net

Why traditional sales and marketing techniques aren't as effective as

they used to be.

Observations

• Cold-calling and other traditional sales tactics don’t work like they used to.

• People are overloaded with noise, don’t want to be “sold” or “interrupted”, and they expect personalization.

• The web, social media, and immediate access to information has changed the way people research and buy.

• Mobile matters because it is changing the way people consume information.

Observations

• The web isn’t conducive to hard selling because the buyer is in control.

• There is no longer a lack of information.– Some people know enough to be confused.

– Opportunity for you to help educate and inform them.

• People consume information differently.

• Bottom line: People don’t buy like they used to.

We Buy Differently

“Many Americans begin their purchasing experience by doing online research to compare

prices, quality, and the reviews of other shoppers. They start their fact-finding and decision-making

on the Internet.”

-Jim Jansen, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, September, 2010

The Old Buying Process

Circa 1898

The New Buying Process

LatitudeCirca 2013

Over 70% of individuals consult websites in each stage of the pre-

purchase buying process. (Latitude)

Old Marketing Model

• Mass media

– Newspaper/print

– Radio

– TV

• Direct mail

• Cold calling

• Trade shows

Marketers are spending less on traditional media in 2013 and more on digital (i.e., online) marketing. (Emarketer)

A Better Marketing Model

Inbound Marketing = A more effective way to bring people to you via the

Web when they are interested in the products and services offered by your

company.

Inbound Marketing Elements

Inbound vs. Outbound

Inbound

• Educates

• Personal

• Measurable

• Pulls

• Customers come to you

• At time of need

• Average cost / lead: $36

Source: HubSpot

Outbound

• Interrupts

• Impersonal

• Difficult to measure

• Pushes

• You go to customers

• When the ad runs

• Average cost / lead: $41

How your website can support sales/lead generation efforts.

Plan Your Strategy

• Define your goals.

• Develop personas for customers and influencers:– Decision maker

– Influencer

• Determine the status of your current sales pipeline.

• Decide what resources you’ll commit and how long you’re willing to commit.

A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.

- General George S. Patton

Funnelize Your Website…

Funnelize Your Website…

Getting Found

• Optimize your website.

• Plan for search marketing:– Search engine optimization (SEO)

– Pay per click ads (PPC)

• Blog regularly.

• Be social (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.).

• Update site content with keywords.

• Keep your audience in mind.

“B2B companies that blog generate

67% more leadsper month than those who do not.”

-HubSpot

Converting Leads & Customers

• Offer e-books, whitepapers, guides, webinars, free assessments, samples, etc. targeted to various stages in the buying process.

• Create landing pages for your offers.

• Use calls to action throughout your site and blog to invite visitors into the sales funnel.

• Use email to nurture leads and to cultivate existing clients through email.

Offer something of value.

Give people a good reason to put themselves into your sales funnel.

Measure the Results

• Use website analytics.– Track total visits

– Measure conversions• Visitor to lead

• Lead to customer

• Leverage CRM software.

• Track keyword phrases.

• Review campaigns.

• Determine ROI.

• Monitor goals.

• Adjust as needed.

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."-Albert E.

How to evaluate your website's performance in terms of lead generation.

Know Where You Are

• Review analytics.

• Review your current sales funnel.

• Audit your website.

Google Maps

Review Key Data

• Total number of unique visitors

• Number of conversions:

– Contact form completions

– Phone calls generated through the website

– Transactions on the website

– Offer downloads

– Email newsletter subscriptions

Review Key Data

• Conversion rates:

– Visitor to Lead

– Lead to Customer

• Source of visitors/leads/customers:

– Search

– Paid ads

– Social media

Audit Your Website

• How are people getting to your site?

• How long are they staying?

• What are they reading?

• Are they converting?

• How is your site/marketing doing in terms of the marketing funnel?– HubSpot’s Marketing Grader

– SEMrush.com

– Third party evaluation

What if you don’t have the data?

• Start gathering it.

• Setup Google Analytics. It’s free.

• Setup goals inside Google Analytics to track lead conversions.

• Utilize a CRM program to help with lead and sales tracking.

• Remember what they say, don’t assume.

Now what?

Tools you can use to ramp up your website as a lead

generation tool.

digitalart / freedigitalphotos.net

Getting Started

1. Evaluate where you are.

2. Set measurable/meaningful goals.

3. Plan your strategy.

4. Know your audience and how they buy.

5. Create great content.

6. Execute consistently.

7. Evaluate results and adjust as needed.

Essential Tools

• Written strategy• Blog• Relevant content• Offers / Calls to action• Analytics• Commitment to implementation• Available resources• CRM• Marketing software/tools

– Landing pages– Automation– Email– Inbound– Social media management

spinster cardigan / flickr.com

Remember…

• This is a long-term process that requires a commitment of time and resources which will vary based on your goals, your timeline, and the actions needed to succeed.

• Your content will help qualify your leads.• Your results will be influenced by:

– where you’re starting from.– how aggressively you go after it.– the quality of your content.

• Experiment, experiment, experiment.• Do something!

Dhendrix73 / flickr.com

In Follow Up

• Email me or give me your card for:

– Copy of the presentation

– Links to additional resources

– Free 30 minute website/marketing assessment

• Catch me after lunch.

• Get a copy of our planning worksheet to help you get started.

Questions?

Thank You!

Steve@LunaWeb.com@MemPhipps

www.linkedin.com/in/SteveTPhipps