By Jennifer Ruwart
Ten Ways To Turn Your Website Into A Lead Generation Machine
More often than not, your website is the first impression customers have of you – it’s like having a sales associate who never sleeps and is available 24/7.
But beyond making a great first impression, your website has a job to do: it needs to deliver leads to your business.
In this post, we’ll share ten easy ways to turn your website into a lead generation machine.
We’ll start at the center of it all with your brand – your company’s way of being in the world. Then, we’ll examine your website, the hardest-working expression of your brand, and finally, take a look at the marketing that brings potential customers to your website.
Does your brand stand out?
There is a direct correlation between brand, new leads, and customer retention. That’s why we always say that a strong brand is the foundation you need to stand out, attract customers, and grow.
You may express your brand through your logo, website, and marketing materials, but it’s actually more than any of those elements combined. Brand is your unique promise to your customers, and it’s the reason they come back to you time and time again.
“We are really excited about the aesthetic direction of our new brand. Roger That took such a thoughtful approach to align every detail with who DHM is today, reflecting our personality and the type of work we do. The whole team is excited about bringing a new look and energy to our work."
—Michelle Neiss, President of DHM Research
1. Know exactly who your audience is and why they need you
Start by taking a deep dive into your company’s mission, objectives, target customers, and the way you want those customers to feel.
This can be hard to articulate, which is why we recommend using tools like customer interviews, surveys, and competitive analysis to map out who your customers really are and how they see you.
2. Develop and document a brand personality that helps you emotionally connect with your target audience
Once you’ve done that deep discovery work, you can craft brand elements that will attract your target audience and resonate with them.
Shape your audience’s perception of your company and cultivate affinity through your brand voice, key messages, colors, fonts, images, and a distinctive logo.
All of this goes into your brand toolkit, which comes in handy when you’re revising your website and creating new marketing assets.
3. Have a clear, compelling value proposition statement on all marketing touchpoints
Once you know who your audience is and how to connect with them effectively, focus on how you stand apart from the crowd.
Craft a clear and compelling value proposition statement that speaks to the tangible results your customers get when they choose you.
Make sure this unique value proposition is at the center of your brand, website, and all your marketing touchpoints to help your target audience understand exactly why they need you. Be sure to use it consistently everywhere it shows up.
“Our new brand and website provide instant legitimacy with developers and investors, and helped us close a $12 Million recent funding round. As a trusted partner, we rely on Roger That to help us evolve our brand position to reach our growth goals. I refer all my fellow co-founders to Roger That as I know they'll be taken care of as well as Onymos is.”
—Shiva Nathan, Founder and CEO, Onymos
Does your website attract customers?
Once your brand is dialed in, it’s time to turn your attention to your website.
Your website is the first stop for customers wanting to know who you are. Done well, it validates you as a trusted resource and establishes your authority in your space.
Roger That writes, designs, and develops custom sites that connect with your customers’ deepest needs and motivations, creating a powerful, compelling brand asset you’re proud to share with others.
4. Delight your customer with a smart, optimized website
Ask yourself:
- Do we get compliments on our website?
- Does our website look great on both desktop and mobile devices?
- Do the pages load quickly on all devices and platforms?
- Is it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for?
- Are we protected from viruses, spam, and hackers?
If the answer is not a resounding “YES” across the board, then you may not be delighting your website visitors. One of the most important investments you can make in your website is a smart, on-brand design with a seamless user experience.
5. Make it easy for customers to connect with you
No one wants to sign up for another newsletter. What they want is to connect, get help, or learn more. You can help them do this by using:
- Prominently placed, brightly colored “call to action” buttons
- Short, sweet, and easy-to-complete contact forms
- Invitations to book a call using simple scheduling tools that automatically send a confirmation email and calendar invitation
The easier you make it for a prospect to send an email, leave a message, or schedule a call, the more likely they will do it.
6. Capture lead data by offering relevant, valuable information
If your website doesn’t capture leads, you may have hundreds of visitors who come to visit, but you won’t know who they are, what they need, or how to connect with them.
Depending on your business, there are several ways to capture lead data. We suggest focusing on value – what is most important to your target customer?
One easy way to do this is a simple, elegant pop-up or opt-in form offering something of value in exchange for a name and email address. A clothing store may offer 10% off a visitor’s first order. An accounting firm may create a lead magnet that offers useful, valuable guidance.
Whatever you choose, think about this as a way to start a relationship with this potential customer, and nurture it.
"How successful was our rebrand and website redesign? Within three months of launch, our donations increased by two-thirds, and we just finished our best year ever - by a long shot! More importantly, we've funded more cutting-edge research than ever before, and made a much bigger impact in the health and well-being of cats all over the world, which is exactly why we did this.
—Drew Weigner, DVM, Past President, EveryCat Health Foundation
DOES YOUR MARKETING GROW SALES?
Marketing helps propel sales by ensuring people know your business exists, understand what you can do for them, and can easily connect with you to learn more.
Creating a consistent experience across all your brand touchpoints builds credibility, loyalty and trust. By leveraging your brand through your marketing, you can drastically increase the number of leads who visit your website.
7. Craft copy that makes it easier to be discovered
Once you’ve nailed your brand and key messages, you can thread keywords into your copy, so prospective customers who need what you have can find you through a simple search online.
You can create a simple “keyword bank” by mapping your keywords against those of peers and competitors.
8. Use social media to drive awareness and consideration
Like all new adventures, rocking your social media strategy is easier with a guide. We recommend mapping out six to nine categories of what your target customer wants or needs.
Use those categories to build a content calendar of valuable and engaging social posts to connect with your audience.
You can also have a category for shout-outs to other companies or organizations that share the same target audience or offer complementary services. By using tags and hashtags in these posts, you will cast your net to new, wider audiences.
This becomes much easier when you have a clear brand voice, value proposition, and core copy to leverage.
Ensure that each post has a call to action. This could be to see specific website content, opt-in to a useful lead magnet, or book a call.
9. Measure, measure, measure
Your time is valuable, and your resources are limited. To ensure your website it delivering fresh leads daily, make sure you’re tracking these important metrics:
- Website visitors, how long they stay on your website, and which pages are viewed most frequently
- Demographics (location, age, etc.) and interests of your visitors
- Which calls-to-action are most effectively capturing leads
- How many email subscribers you have
- How many followers you have on your social media channels
And remember, “what gets measured, gets managed.”
“Since launching our new website, we’ve experienced a 4X increase in inbound web inquiries/leads, which has generated significant net-new business for us.”
—Scott Wilkerson, Partner, HawkPartners
We promised you ten easy ways to turn your website into a lead generation machine through your brand, website, and marketing.
And so far, we’ve got nine:
- Know exactly who your audience is - and why they need you
- Develop and document a brand personality that helps you emotionally connect with your target audience
- Have a clear, compelling, and contiguous value proposition statement and copy on all marketing touchpoints
- Delight your customer with a smart, optimized website
- Make it easy for customers to connect with you
- Capture lead data by offering relevant, valuable information
- Craft copy that makes it easier to be discovered
- Use social media to drive awareness and consideration
- Measure, measure, measure
Number 10 is possibly the most important:
10. Get help when you need it.
Roger That services span three areas critical to business differentiation and growth: brand, website, and marketing. We deliver what you need faster and easier, so you can make a great first impression, attract your best customers and grow sales.