Business-to-Business Internet Marketing, Fourth Edition - Lifecycle ...

Generating and Qualifying Leads with Your Web Site 61
beyond simply providing product details—they also include product
benefits and, more than that, offer high-value information that visitors
can use, whether or not they purchase the product. The rationale for
this is simple: If prospects or customers learn something from a Web
site, they will come back for more. Many times, they will also “pledge
allegiance” to the site’s sponsor by considering that company’s product
for purchase when the need arises. You lose nothing by posting highvalue
information that relates to your products or services on your Web
site—by doing so, you help to position your company as a knowledgeable
leader in your field and gain the respect and potential buying interest
of visitors to your site.
It is content that keeps your site “sticky”—which means visitors
come back frequently. Your goal should be to have a visitor bookmark
your site and use it as a primary informational resource.
Fast Response Time
Do not underestimate the “hang time” problem with the Internet. The
Web has not so jokingly been referred to in the industry as the World
Wide Wait because the continuous growth of Internet traffic, combined
with increasingly sophisticated technology, can sometimes make getting
onto the Web—and navigating Web sites—a painfully slow experience.
The good news is that Internet delivery is being improved all the time at
the user’s end via DSL, broadband, and other technologies. Still, you
can do a lot on your end to help ease the problem by designing your
Web site for the fastest response time so that pages load quickly. In
general, that means containing graphic images to small files, being wary
of full-page background graphics, and assuring that any advanced technologies,
such as integrated databases, multimedia, Internet telephony,
or live chat, are supported by adequate Web servers.
Response Orientation
A good lead generation and qualification Web site should provide prospects
and customers with opportunities to interact and respond. Response
paths should stand out and be clearly defined on the home page
and referenced throughout the site. Offers should be prominent and
lead directly to qualifying Web response forms. Downloads should be
easy to execute. Customer service areas should include e-mail links, online
forms, and, if possible, 24-hour autoresponders. Games and contests
can help to draw attention to response areas, but they can also generate
a large number of unqualified responses—so use them with caution.