I have a friend whose passion is fly fishing. He can (and frequently does) go on for hours about the relative merits of dry flies versus nymph flies, compared to something else called a midge fly. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but being the good friend that I am, I pretend to care!
I must admit that most of the time we talk, my mind drifts off to my happy place. I’m not sure about you, but my happy place is online-marketing-world (sad but true) so the last time my fly fishing friend and I spoke, I found myself thinking about the similarities between a fisherman trying to catch a fish and a small business owner trying to catch a customer.
I thought about all the time and effort my friend invests in his passion of fishing, and working out just the right bait to land his trophy. Then, I thought about how little time most small business owners spend trying to land something much more important – a new customer.
Getting Visitors to Your Website is Important, But…
Much of the work we do for our customers is focused on getting more visitors to their websites. We use a variety of strategies to make sure plenty of eyeballs see their online brand. Social Media marketing, custom Facebook Fan Pages, Twitter marketing, blogging, Facebook & Google pay per click advertising and search engine optimization are all very powerful methods to drive visitors to your website.
However, getting interested prospects to visit is only half the battle. Prompting them to take the next step and engage with you in some way should be the main goal of your online marketing efforts. Otherwise, you’ve wasted a golden opportunity to “reel in” a new customer. (Most of our posts seem to include at least one really bad pun. Now that I’ve got this post’s version out of the way, I can focus on the important stuff!)
This is where the concept of “Customer Bait” comes into play.
What in The World is Customer Bait?
The idea behind Customer Bait is simple – offer your website visitors something of value (to them) in exchange for them taking an action that is of value (to you).
The goal is to get your website visitors to take a baby step of commitment.
Most of the folks who land on your website are looking for some kind of information. Sure, there may be a small percentage that are ready to buy right then and there, but it’s more likely they are at one of the earlier stages of the sales cycle.
They’re probably not yet ready to pick up the phone and hire you, or to pull out their credit card and place an order. The typical customer needs several exposures to a product, service and company before they’re ready to buy.
So, your plan should be to find a way to offer a low commitment option for your website visitors. Kind of like asking that cute girl, or guy, out to coffee instead of asking them to marry you. Coffee is a non-threatening first step – marriage is a very threatening first step!
A handy example can be found on the right side of our website. We offer our visitors something of value (ridiculously useful marketing information) in exchange for them providing their email address.
We then keep in regular contact with those visitors, building trust and familiarity (in other words – a relationship) in the hopes that they think of us the next time they need one of the services we provide.
We’ve learned that most people don’t hire us the first time they visit our website. But, just because they make that silly mistake, doesn’t mean they won’t see the error of their ways in the future. We want to keep in touch and make sure we are top of mind when they do come to their senses.
You Really Need Your Own Version of Customer Bait!
There’s not a single business I can think of that shouldn’t come up with their own variation of what we do on our website.
An email newsletter is an excellent choice, however the possibilities for bait are endless.
A few ideas to get you thinking:
- A 3 page pdf that answers the top questions most people have about your product or service.
- A two minute video that shows how your visitors can save money / look thinner / dance better if they use your product.
- A free giveaway as part of an initial consultation.
- A hefty discount coupon that’s exclusive to your email list.
- Entry into a contest or giveaway.
There are endless options for you to “bait” your customers to make a next-step commitment.
Don’t Force Your Website Visitors to Go Somewhere Else!
Don’t make your prospects decide if they want to do business with you the first time they land on your website. If you only give them the option of saying “Yes” or “No”, the truth is that the vast majority will say “No” by immediately clicking off your website.
Instead, give them the option of saying “You know, that free report (or video, or whatever) seems kind of interesting. It may answer some of my questions and help me make a decision. I guess I’ll give them my email address (or give them a call) so they can send it to me.”
At that very instant, your entire relationship with this individual has changed. You have grown from a nameless, faceless person with a website to a professional providing value. Just imagine where you can take your relationship from there!
- If you think this strategy is too complicated, you’re wrong.
- If you think it’s only for the “big boys”, you’re wrong.
- If you think you don’t have time for this, you’re wrong.
- If you think you should sign up for our email newsletter so you can learn even more cool stuff, you’re right!
Sometimes the only smart decision is to hire a professional to do the job. If you’d like to talk to this professional about growing your business through online marketing (including the creation of customer bait and the follow up marketing to make it succesful), call me (Jim) at 612.293.9261 or send an email to Jim@MinnesotaMarketers.com.
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