Website Marketing Tip 2 – Capture visitors

The Internet is a huge, cluttered place.

In fact, it is probably second only to the Yellow Pages in terms of competitive advertising spaces.

One thing is for sure – your visitors will only be on your website for a short time, and once they leave they are highly unlikely to ever come back.

So, you need to make the most of every single visitor – and be sure to capture their contact information so that you have an opportunity to actively follow up with them at a later date.

To do this you need a couple of things.

Firstly, you need to set up a system on your website that enables visitors to leave their name and email address – and perhaps even their telephone number. Such systems (known by various names such as autoresponders, contact management tools and CRM’s) cost relatively little, are easy to install and can be very secure and reliable.

Secondly, you need to provide a reason for your visitors to willingly give you their contact information. This is commonly achieved by offering something of value and that is of particular interest to your target audience.

For example, a car mechanic could provide a guide on how to look after your car during the cold winter months. Or a restaurant owner could offer a 15% discount voucher or a free bottle of wine.

With an appropriate incentive and a prominently placed submission form, most small businesses will be able to build a good sized list of prospects.

Of course, building a list of prospects is only half the story. To convert the list into real business you’ll need to design a good follow up marketing campaign.

This post is part of a series of website marketing tips for small business.