Robert Tyson writes frequently and enthusiastically on many
social media and digital marketing topics. In an email introduction to a
subscription webinar on website optimization, Robert recently wrote that the
failure to capture email addresses of visitors was the #1 failure of small
business websites. His logic is straightforward. With upwards of 98% of website
visitors bouncing off the typical small business website after going to only
one web page, if the business do not have some way of continuing the
conversation, the business is constantly spending valuable marketing dollars
just to drive ineffective website traffic.
People buy from people (and companies) they trust, that are
credible and who they believe can help them solve a problem. This trust and
demonstration of credibility cannot be accomplished on one website visit or one
touch or encounter of any type for that matter.
A relationship is built over time and with multiple touches or
interactions that the prospective customer has given permission to take place.
A key goal of your small business web strategy is,
therefore, to build an email list of visitors so the business can communicate
with them over and over, over time to build trust and credibility and
demonstrate that your product or service offering has value for the problem
they need to solve. This email list will
be one of the business’ most important assets since it is an asset you own and
can use as frequently as responsible judgment and the marketing budget
allows. Unlike social media where the
business is basically renting space on the social media platform, the business
website and its email list is owned by the business. And, with all the enthusiasm
and hyperbole around social media, email marketing continues to be an effective
marketing tool and one for which its positive ROI can actually be determined.
So, how does a business get its website visitors to give
their permission to be contacted in the future via email? This is the $64,000 question...now I am
showing my age! Robert’s answer (and I certainly agree) is to provide an
incentive...an offer that the visitor sees has having enough benefit to
overcome their concern of being deluged by a flood of unwanted communications.
That incentive could take many forms depending upon the business. Providing
special access to information the visitor deems valuable is a popular type of
incentive that might be appropriate for your business...an e-book, a
newsletter, a special report for example. Certainly, for many, a “free” offer
is appealing. The good news is that, as
with any email marketing campaign, a business has the option to test various
offers and incentives for a minimal cost.
