Merge

One of the most popular goals of an organization's web objective is to generate leads. Websites can do alot of things--create awareness, educate the market, provide a level of customer service, etc., but at the end of the day, most (but not all) organizations look to their websites to generate leads for their business.

Below are 5 sure-fire ways Merge helps its clients create more effective, lead-generating websites:

1. Be valuable. Users are looking for information not marketing speak. It's great that your the best, the "only," and #1, but at the end of the day what is your website's strategy to add value to the user? They've come to your website to find an answer. Provide the valuable content that answers their questions.
2. Give them a reason. Many websites default to "Contact Us" or "Learn More" as their calls-to-action. If the user doesn't have a compelling reason to contact you (aka "a lead"), then they won't. Provide a reason, which could be: Signing up for a newsletter, subscribing to a blog, downloading a whitepaper, requesting a consultation, etc. They will contact you if you give them a reason to.
3. Speak clearly Concise communication on the web is essential for generating leads. The user wants to understand if you can solve their problem, period. Offer less copy and more visuals so they "get it" quickly.
4. Get the user to say no. The cub scouts have figured this one out. They come to your door and ask if you would like to buy $50 worth of popcorn. You may answer, "No," so they ask if you would like to buy $20 instead. It's tough to say no twice. Salespeople know this lesson as well: every "no" is just one step closer to yes. Don't just provide one offer to the user for them to engage with you. Give them several.
5. Focus on the us

Read More...

Pipelines. Every sales guy has them and every sales guy probably hates them (when they're low that is).

At the time of this writing, Merge has a pretty good sales pipeline. It's amazing the confidence a good pipeline will give you. You can easily pass on prospects that don't fit your model. It's easier to stay true to what you do best and that in turn provides that much more value to your clients.

What does a bad pipeline get you? You take on work you know you shouldn't; you take on work that ends up being a lose/lose just to generate cash flow; you end up saying yes to prospects you should clearly say no to. And the biggest problem? You usually pay for it much later.

For many companies, a web site can be a pipeline filler. Also known as lead generation, a web site can play the role of putting one or two great prospects in your pipeline at any one time. Web sites offer so many intangible values such as this they are hard to measure. But for the company that has that extra boost of pipeline filler, they will tend to make better decisions.

Bottom Line: So often we look to the direct impact a web site can have on a business, but there are so many indirect benefits--like positively affecting a pipeline--that are of great value as well.

Read More...