Here’s a secret: the whole point of having a website is to generate leads. You want people to visit your site, learn a little about your company, and end up getting curious enough that they want to learn more. Ideally, they get curious enough that they ask for more information or even call you on the spot.
If your website isn’t turning visitors into leads, it’s failing. If your business isn’t effectively bringing in leads through the website, you’re giving up an important source of leads. You’re limiting the potential for the growth of your business. You’re not giving your business the best possible chance of success.
There are plenty of reasons why your site might be failing. Let’s go over a few of them. The odds are that your website has at least one of these things wrong with it.
1. It’s All About You
Let me put it this way: have you ever met a guy who just can’t shut up about how great he is? You tell him about how you won $100 in a raffle last week, and he’ll tell you how he won a million in the state lottery last year. You walk up to say hello, and he starts telling you all about how great his car is.
You know the guy. The guy you met exactly twice before you realized you really couldn’t stand to be around him.
It’s the same way with your website. You may think listing all the industry awards your company has won makes you look credible, and it does. But your site’s visitors will only care how credible your company is after they find out you understand their problem.
A good website isn’t about you. It’s about your customer.
2. It’s Vague
How often have you gone on a website and ended up with no idea about what the company that runs it does? More often than you’d like, I bet.
For some reason, people who can talk and act like perfectly normal human beings when they’re not trying to write their promotional material turn into vague, wishy-washy idiots when the time comes to write their website.
It's like they decide they have to sound smart and formal. Because that’s the way businesses are supposed to sound, right? So before long they’ve churned out a lot of copy that reads like a lot of buzzwords mixed in with a jumbled-up description of what might be some kind of business activity.
It’s okay to write like a normal human being. People have to know what you do if they’re ever going to decide to buy from you.
3. You Don’t Offer Any Value
These days, every business is trying to worm its way into your customer’s inbox. The consumer isn’t going to open up that inbox to just anybody. It’s your job to show them it’s worthwhile to let you contact them.
That means you have to give them something they want. It could be an eBook how-to guide, a newsletter notification with every update to your company blog (which is regularly updated with relevant information, of course), or free limited-time access to your service.
The specifics vary, but the principle is the same: if you want people to give you their contact information, you have to make it worthwhile for them to do so.
Granted, it takes some work to set this up. But it’s worth it if you can produce a stream of regular high-quality leads. Just acquire those leads, send them your materials, and let your drip campaigns do their work.
4. You Don’t Ask For Contact Information
Honestly, this could have been the number one mistake. Simply put: in this world, you can’t get what you don’t ask for.
Maybe you think you really ought to have leads flowing in just because you have a nice, pretty website. Guess what? You’re right! You should. But you don’t, because that’s not the world we live in.
In this world, you don’t get contact information unless you ask for it. Your ideal customer could come straight to your website, read all your copy, go through your blog, and even want to buy from you, but if you don’t call for action, it ain’t happening.
If you want contact information, you have to ask for it. That can be a popup. It can be a little form at the bottom of the page. It could be a big form at the top of the page!
Remember: the point is building your website to generate leads. Period. If you’re not asking for those leads and sales, you’re dropping the ball.
5. You Don’t Understand What Your Customer Cares About
If you’re going to sell effectively, you need to know what makes your customer want to buy. That means you have to stop looking at your business from your own point of view. You need to see it from the buyer’s point of view. (This is hard, I know. That’s one reason why so many businesses call in copywriters to take care of this stuff.)
Your customer doesn’t care about you. Your customer doesn’t care about your business. Your customer doesn’t care about how special you are or how much work you put in.
Your customer cares about your customer. That means if you want the chance to sell to your customer, you need to know what they want and what’s going to encourage them to buy. Otherwise you’re no different from the guy who won’t quit talking about himself. Learn your customer’s needs and connect your product or service to them.
6. You Don’t Build Any Urgency
People like to be lazy. They like to procrastinate. They like to wait around and say, “I’ll do it next time.”
Even if your visitors are interested in learning more about your company, they still might waffle around before entering their contact information. They might wonder if that’s really what they want to do, or if they really want another email in their inbox, or if this is really the time.
That’s why you need to create a little urgency. Even a simple “Act now!” or “Don’t wait!” can make a big difference here. Generate more demand and give the reader a reason to take immediate action.
Say something like, “This eBook how-to guide is only available for a limited time. Act now to secure your copy.” By creating a feeling of scarcity, you encourage the reader to take action and seize the opportunity you’re offering. Apply this tactic well, and you’ll have more opportunity than you know what to do with.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post about the major reasons why your website or blog aren't generating leads, conversions or sales.
Interested in more articles about sales and lead generation?
Read Related Resources:
• How To Boost Sales With Online Lead Generation Strategies
• Top Lead Generation Tips To Grow Your Business
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