Most business people define a customer as someone who makes a purchase. A smart business person knows that we sometimes need to jump through a few hoops, maybe zigzag an obstacle course, and then finish with the limbo before we gain a true, life time value customer. We may have to answer a whole bunch of questions, present a few case studies and prove ourselves before we make the sale. Point is, it’s not always so cut and dry, particularly online, to obtain – and retain – customers. And most b-to-b businesses do not lend themselves to the “add to cart” method of sales, so we need to work even harder to gain customers. And customers are sometimes waiting in the wings for you to sell to them.

For example, what is your current follow up process when someone submits an online form? Are the requests simply sitting in someone’s email in box? If they are followed up on, how quickly? Do you have an auto-response that lets them know when to expect personal follow up? Do you meet that time frame? Is there actually anyone or a team of people assigned to this task?

Believe it or not, many people still are not totally comfortable with shopping online. Many still are not making a purchase decision purely from the information they see at your site. Often times they are testing your customer service abilities by using your contact form. They want to make sure you’re “for real” before taking that next step.

“Oh, but Caryl, we get 20 or 30 requests for more information a month. We can’t follow up on every one of those. That’s why we have a website, so they can buy online without tying up our sales people.”

Really…20 to 30? And this is upsetting you WHY? Your sales people should be tied up (figuratively speaking) with sales calls and answering potential customer’s questions. If they’re not, fire them!

You don’t have sales people? Sure you do. Every business should have someone that can answer these questions. They are in sales.

How about a toll free number or better yet, one that is only published on your website (hint: then you can track those people that started off online then proceeded to call). Same questions as with online forms: what is your follow up process?

People have lots of questions. Our current world, chock full of information on various media sources, lends us to be that much more inquisitive. A customer isn’t made in a minute, but it certainly can be lost in less than one.

Start to recognize that sales sometimes start outside of the cart. And that these calls and forms are filled with valuable information about information you should possibly be including online, as well as about your online sales process. Maybe you’re getting more calls than cart sales? Could be a sign that your product or service is better sold offline.

Look at how you can fill the leaks on your website – and in your sales process – and begin capturing those lurking customers that could be walking by and on to your competitor.

Technorati Tags: internet marketing, search engine marketing, marketing, sales lead generation

Most people think Internet Marketing is all about showing up in search engines. And when it comes to search engines it’s always “Google, Google, Google!” What most don’t realize is that there is a bigger picture beyond showing up and getting clicked.

Sometimes showing up is half the battle, however the other “real half” is what happens after the click. A click that turns into a customer or sale is the real goal here. That “after the click” process needs to be well thought through – and that’s a task that should be undertaken prior to launching any Internet Marketing effort.

Certainly you are saying, “Well, I want them to buy or call us.” Of course you do, but how easy have you made it for them? Have you started a PPC program with phrases that seem to be exactly what you sell and what you would expect your customers to search for, yet these clicks aren’t turning to sales? Are you simply taking these searchers – imminent buyers – and dumping them on your home page and expecting them to find it themselves? Don’t be too embarrassed if you are…most companies do this. And most companies will waste a lot of their marketing budget early on because of this.

By establishing clear paths to connection, you are essentially the online version of that excellent sales person – so rarely found in brick and mortars these days – and helping that customer find exactly what they need without hassle and fuss.

Example: go to a Whole Foods Market and ask one of their staff to help you find fresh ground peanut butter (or something else…your choice here). That person, whether it’s their department or not, will take you (yes, walk with you) right over to the fresh ground peanut butter. And they’re nice about it! Amazing…Not only did they know where it was, but they nicely escorted me there. My typical experiences have been with other stores where a disinterested employee, without looking at me, will simply mumble, “try aisle 4.”

Does your website simply leave customers with navigation, letting for them to fend for themselves…virtual aisles with signs extending well overhead that may not help them find exactly what they need? Wouldn’t be simpler to just take them to exactly what they need?

By clarifying these processes, you are not only helping to improve your click-through budget, you are now getting a better understanding of your online sales process and making improvements to increase sales.

The Internet provides us with incredible feedback in an instant. Use that information to take your Internet Marketing efforts to new levels and improve sales and communication. Think past the search engines and rank. Think about the sales process and the paths to communication. Think Whole Foods and fresh ground peanut butter.

Technorati Tags: internet marketing, search engine marketing, marketing, sales lead generation

As Internet marketers, we have a role to advise our customers of the many marketing opportunities available to them. As a service business, we too, have to market ourselves. It’s a constant, infinite, never-ending journey for both sides. It’s actually a very exciting time to be on both sides. You’re saying, “Caryl, you are way too hung up on this stuff.” And you’re probably right. But that’s my job. It’s a lot of reading, testing, observing, trying, failing, and try-try-trying again.

Marketing is not cut and dry. The Internet has made marketing both a thousand times easier and a million times more difficult. There is no secret formula that will work for all businesses in all scenarios. There are some basics that, as a business, you should be including in your plans. The first of which should be understanding your customer and their needs. The second is targeted exposure.

Often clients will say to me, “Our competitor is doing this, so we should too.” Just then, the game show buzzer goes off in my head and I cringe at the thought, and the mentally conjured sound. While your competitor may certainly successful, riding on what you perceive to be their Technicolor coattails does not guarantee success for your company. What you may be observing is simply one small fraction of their carefully crafted marketing plan in action. And it may not even be the part that IS working for them.

So where does one start? Again, let’s refer to the basics:

• Who is your customer?
• What do they need?

Without establishing their needs and intent, you can’t even consider what might make for a successful marketing effort.

Next: stop playing “me too” with your competition. It is highly unlikely that they have covered every single avenue to reach what you feel is the overlap of your customer base. Look more towards what they are not doing and consider how to impact those areas. Let’s look at this another way…

The Internet now affords us with tools to better understand what our customers are searching for. Nine times out of ten a client will say to us, “Competitor A shows up in Google for that so we should, too.” Yet, research indicates their customers aren’t using that terminology, it’s more of a phrase used by people in the business, not by the customer. So while it might be nice to show up there as well – it’s nice for ego, I imagine – it’s not necessarily going to help attract new customers, which is the real goal, the one that will grow your business. And now you both showing up for something no one is searching for. Doesn’t sound like a good investment of resources, does it?

Here’s the tip: look to avenues your competitor has not penetrated. Offer your potential clients a UNIQUE value proposition, not a “me too” proposition. Find out what they need and target your efforts to that need. Be a little bold. It’s scary, but rewarding.

Technorati Tags: internet marketing, search engine marketing, marketing, sales lead generation

Remember black and white TV’s? How about UHF and VHF dials? No HBO, ShowTime or Sopranos in their showing us the “reality” of a North Jersey mob family, complete with cursing and nudity? Why are soap operas called “soap operas”?

It was a time when TV existed because of commercials. TV shows were brought to you by “XYZ Company.” Variety shows did live ad commercials for products. Soap operas were named that because they were sponsored by the soap manufacturers…actually taking us back to a day before TV existed and radio was king.

Commercial TV shows are certainly are still, of course, “sponsored by,” but who actually even hears those words out load anymore? They generally become the signal to get up and hit the fridge. And cable TV has certainly made those 60-second breaks disappear from our memory.

Marketing evolves. Radio evolved to TV. TV further evolved to commercial free broadcasts, VOD and DVRs. Radio continues to evolve with satellite offerings. Then there’s the Internet. It no wonder that at this week’s Association of National Advertisers TV Ad Forum conference it was released that 78% of advertisers said they have less confidence today in the effectiveness of TV advertising than they did two years ago, according to AdWeek. It was also noted that some 80% will spend more of their advertising budgets on Web advertising and 68% are looking into search engine marketing.

The reality is that everything changes. Consumers have far more options than they did in the past. That option extends to marketing. They can now take an active role to gather only what they want or feel they need. They can see a message online, hear it on the radio, then jump online to get more. It is our role to ensure that we give them every opportunity to find us and information about our products and services easily and effectively.

As Darwin said, it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

Technorati Tags: internet marketing, search engine marketing, marketing, sales lead generation

“Search” has been one of the largest business growth segments we have seen in some time. Even in what was considered a downsized economy, search thrived. Winners emerged, like Google, and we, as business people emerged victorious as we found a new outlet to reach our customers.

ComScore recently released a study noting that the growth of search has slowed to 11% from a whopping 42% when comparing January 2006 to 5005 respectively.

The 42% “surge” of 2005 makes 11% look shabby. It’s not. Our economy has seen various surges like this, especially in the area of new mediums such as the Internet. 11% is a very good growth rate. What this tells us that search is a real business. It is starting to find a level of stability in our current communication system. The “fad” of search is disappearing, making it as commonplace as the Internet has become.

Looking back to the post-Civil War era, the American economy saw similar inventions change the world economy and communication as we know it. Electricity, telephones, even typewriters. They were all once “gee whiz” inventions that were found only in the richest of homes. Now we don’t even think about them – we just use them. Just how we’ve stopped thinking about computers, the Internet and even search.

Growth surges for “real” businesses don’t last forever. It was an enjoyable – and profitable – ride. Now we need to stop treating it like the “next big thing” and start using it for the value it provides.

Source comScore

Technorati Tags: internet marketing, search engine marketing, marketing, sales lead generation