Nonaggressive Online Marketing
By Nathan Lyle (Web Maestro) - October 5th, 2009
One of the easiest traps to fall into when using your website for marketing purposes is attempting to collect too much information up front. The more you ask someone to do, the less likely they are to do it.
Rather than grasping desperately at each website visitor and trying to squeeze their demographic information from them on their first visit, you should instead build trust and respect by making their interaction with you as easy and painless as possible. You're just one of many who are trying to sell them on something, so stand out by being the most polite and decent. You might be surprised how far this can take you.
Aside from showing yourself to be someone people want to do business with, there is another advantage in practicing restraint. A list of 100 people who are interested in your product or service is much more valuable to you than a list of 1,000 who may or may not be interested. Beyond the potential waste of resources in marketing to people who have no interest, you also risk building a negative reputation as a spammer if you market indiscriminately.
Interactions on your website that give you valuable customer information include: contact forms, newsletter sign ups, online purchases, and member profiles. Lets take a look at effective ways using these tools.
The contact form should be the simplest form someone fills out on your website. It's also one of the most important. It's the beginning of a relationship, and should be treated as such. What kind of relationship do you want? You can set the wrong tone by demanding a ton of information up front and not providing information or answers that the person wants. When someone wants to contact you through your website, ask for the minimum amount of information: name and email address. This removes hurdles that might otherwise prevent them from bothering. Help them with their problem, and include them on your most general (and occasional) email list.
Newsletter sign ups should also be a very simple thing for website visitors. Keep a separate email list for newsletter subscriptions. By requesting your newsletter, people are agreeing to be a receptive audience. Don't scare them away by asking for their life story at this stage. All you need is their name, email address, and if you send a paper version of your newsletter you could also ask for their mailing address.
Online ordering and member profiles can work together. The most common mistake in this area is to require people to register or create an account in order to make a purchase. It's genuinely surprising how difficult some people make it to give them money. Don't be one of those people! Once someone makes a purchase, you can include them on your general mailing list. This lets you continue your contact with them, and allows them to easily spend money with your company. You can allow for an option on your website where your visitor completes a member profile. The motivation for them might be access to their order history, etc. Ask yourself frequently, "what's in it for them?"
One good exception to this theme of simplicity is contests. If you offer online contests, you have room to ask for more information. Winning the contest is the motivation to fill out more information.
Remember, it's not just the number of contacts you collect, it's the quality and relevance of those contacts. Put yourself in your website visitor's shoes and ask, "why would I fill this out?"
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