Generating leads is the most realistic and immediate source of benefits online. If you are selling products and services to consumers, measure how you can expand the reach of your business from a local to regional, regional to national, and national to international audience. How can you keep in touch with your audience? Most of all, how can you use your website to generate more leads?
Many businesses with catalogs add them to their website. We ask them directly, what do you want to do with this expensive, four color, catalog? Incur more expense by putting it online immediately or generate leads by getting your catalog mailed to target customers? The answer is simple; we can easily generate new customers and inquiries for the products.
Do you care if they buy online from an 800 number or by fax? Money is money, no matter where it comes from; leads are leads, and the Web is a terrific place to generate them for your business and for related businesses. What’s a lead? Contact by telephone, fax, or email which the business can close. The Web site can be a central referral point for a group of businesses, with success measured by leads generated. Compare the costs of generating leads for a business and offer cheaper leads online, at least testing to see if the medium is valid for that business.
Charge by the lead or charge by the actual sale. Whatever you do, track it well. Find out where the orders are coming from. If they are getting leads from you, ones that buy, they’ll pursue the Web with you. If not, they’ve been able to try out a business online based on the simple model of lead generation. One Web seller guarantees leads because they are the most immediate and measurable response from a Web site.
Check out www.edmunds.com for a site that not only has customers, but no product. That’s right, they generate leads for other businesses. They have had an incredible book of automobile information since 1966. Instead of selling the book, they’ve given away the content and base their business on generating leads for the leading online auto insurance dealer, Auto ByTel, and an automobile parts store. Sounds like a free magazine with advertising, doesn’t it? Adding customers and lowering lead costs can contribute at least $5,000 for a business in a calendar year.