How can a web site increase sales productivity?

If your web site informs your customers about how your products and services provide value, the sales people will have an easier job. Some of their work will have been done by the web site. A brochure can make a structured presentation, but a web site gives the prospective customer a chance to interact with the site and go to sections in which they are most interested. When a prospective customer comes to you from your web site, they should be well informed, understand you well and be interested in what you provide. These prospective customers will have short selling cycles and high closure rates. Short selling cycles and high closure rates translate into improved sales productivity.

Which web stats are most important?

Each of the different web statistics tells you different things. The number of unique visitors, for example, is what you want to monitor if you are primarily interested in the number of visitors to the site. If you are integrating a direct mail marketing program with your web site, you need to monitor the number of visitors to the site in the days after the mailing campaign launches. The increase in the number of hits will show you how interesting your target market found your mailing to be. If you want to determine how interesting and/or compelling prospective customers are finding your site, the most important statistics are time spent on the site and number of pages viewed. We provide a complete package of web stats to each of our clients and help them understand what each of the stats means and how it might impact their business.

How often do I need to change the content on my site?

You need to keep your web site current. You certainly need to change your web site every time you have an addition or improvement to your products or services. If you are working with your customers to develop case histories of how your products and services have helped your customers improve their businesses, these stories are great for the web site. If there are issues facing your industry, you can explain your position on these issues and help customers and prospective customers understand how you can help them deal with these issues. We can help you decide how often to change your content, but with our system you will be amazed at how easy it is to make the changes you need to make.

How can a web site help me qualify prospective customers?

Both you and your prospective customers want a quick answer to the same question: “Can this company help my business?” It is a fair question and it is in your best interest to make it easy to answer. If you have a list of 10 questions on your web site that, when answered, will help both you and the prospective customer understand how you can help, you can qualify prospective customers easily. Some people say, “Wait a minute! It’s not that easy. I might drive away a good potential customer! I want a chance to talk to them!” You will drive just as many away by not letting them understand quickly and easily how you can help. No one wants to waste time. We can help you set up the questions you need to ask and understand how to use the answers to polish your competitive advantage.

Won’t it be hard to survey my customers?

We will make it easy. We can set up your site so that running customer surveys is a quick and simple process. Think about how nice it will be when you become “The Source” for industry data and informed opinions.

How can my web site help me understand the effectiveness of my other marketing materials?

If you are featuring your web site prominently in your other marketing materials, people interested by the other marketing vehicles will come to your web site to get more information. The higher the number of unique visitors to your site, the more effective your other marketing campaigns are. You can even mention different pages in your web site in your other marketing vehicles and track hits to these pages. Your web site should be the focal point of your marketing efforts and we will help you understand how to make that happen.

How can my web site help my sales force close more business?

Have your best sales person record a presentation and put it on your site. Encourage prospective customers to watch. Record an interview with a satisfied customer. Publish your customer satisfaction ratings. If a prospective customer gets all of this information and still wants to talk to you, your chances of success are high. You will have a short sales cycle and a high win rate. Your sales people will close more business.

When we get your qualifying questionnaire set up, you will be able to see what percentage of prospective customers are great prospects. As you begin to see how customers answer questions about how they see the problems that you can help them solve and the benefits that you have brought to your customers, you will gain a valuable understanding of how your customers view the world and your products and services. This will help you fine-tune your value proposition and hone your competitive advantage.