A few years back all you knew about who had visited your website was a raw figure – ten, say, or 300 over a period of time. Even this was something you had to turn on on your page – you might have chosen not to have a counter, in which case your website could sit there and you wouldn’t know if it was being visited or ignored. Those times have long gone and there are various ways now to know how many visits you have had and even where they went within your website. This is really handy if you have worries about a particular product page – if the customers are not staying to buy, what is wrong?
Total sales figures are not enough
If you have multiple items for sale it can be hard to tell what is happening after that all-important ‘click’. Are people browsing comprehensively, or are they drawn to one page simply because of its location on the site? When they land on a page, how long do they linger? Do they come back again and again, only to leave without buying? And – perhaps most importantly – who are they? Total sales figures, especially when compared month on month, can give you a rough idea and if your sales are dropping there are many factors you need to consider, such as any seasonal issues or whether a competitor has entered the market. But if you want to capture sales you may have lost simply because the customer didn’t follow through on their visit but may be still interested, lead generation tools could be just what you are looking for.
Pinpoint your marketing with lead generation
By using B2B lead generation software you can be in command of your marketing, because you know who your potential customers are and what they are interested in – this way, you don’t have to use a scattergun approach to email marketing, for example, because you can target your emails precisely to the person and make them feel more than one in a crowd. If you can tailor your b2b marketing to include what they have been viewing, plus any other items you sell that you feel, from their general behaviour on your site, might be of interest, sales often convert, because all the customer needed was a nudge. For B2B marketing this is of special use, because no business manager or purchasing department wants to wade through loads of emails which don’t have a bearing – but if an email pops up which covers just what they are currently interested in, you have a good chance of a sale. It shows them you are efficient and market-savvy and that is what everyone wants, when it comes to business services or supplies.
Tweak your website with what you learn
When you analyse your lead generation figures you might notice that some pages have a lot of very brief visits or that the page is letting you down somehow, by not loading or other issue. With so many people using tablets and smartphones to browse these days – recent figures suggest that this type of user is far in excess now of those using laptops or PCs – you need to make absolutely sure that your sight is mobile friendly. If your visitors seem to cut and run after just a little while on your home page, it could be because it is taking too long to load or has elements which don’t work well with tablets and mobiles. It doesn’t take much to fix this problem – Google has various ‘how to’ pages which could help, or speak to your web designer. Not being up to date will cost you a lot of money – a website which is hard to access isn’t worth having live at all.
Feedback made easy
Getting feedback is easy if someone makes a purchase or a follow-up in some way, but really, what you want is feedback from the ones who got away. Lead generation software from companies such as Marketo or Lead Forensics makes this easy (Lead Forensics now offer a WordPress plugin to make using their software even easier) – a simple questionnaire with just a couple of easy questions as to why they didn’t stay to buy will do two things; firstly, it will help you improve your services or products and secondly, it will be another way of making that vital contact. Many people, when put on the spot, will realise that in fact they did like what they saw, and consequently will go back to your site, with the aim in mind to make a purchase. It is important not to overdo the contact – no one is going to buy from someone who overdoes the contact, but by choosing carefully what your marketing campaign will be and sending emails which are informative and friendly, you can use your lead generation information to transform your sales and profits.