Tag Archives: conversion funnel

Putting Your CRM Strategy On The High-Rise

Greetings!

For today’s Tech Tip, I’m going to start by advising you what NOT to do.   Specifically, using WordPress plugins for customer relationship management (CRM) purposes.

Yesterday I spent almost 4 hours investigating 3 different plugins (I won’t name them, except to say, none of them fit my purposes) and unfortunately the same issues emerged:

  • Installing password protection on them was wonky in more ways that I can describe, using both free plugins and even the otherwise amazing  Wishlist Member (I still think Wishlist is amazing; it’s probably the CRM plugins that were wonky).
  • When I ran tests to see if I could access sample client data without being logged in… I could.  All too easily.  (How can I share necessary candid observations with my team if that’s the case?)
  • I wasn’t convinced they weren’t Google-spiderable even though I used just about every “block search engines” protocol known to mankind.

At the same time, I really didn’t want to spend a ton of money on an expensive CRM that only three people need access to that I just need to collate contact information and contact notes.  I’m not miserly, and my clients know I get visibly and verbally annoyed when hairs get split over pennies at the expense of smart investments in progress, but CRMs are usually very expensive.

I’m not ready for Infusionsoft either since my current shopping cart works just fine – so that wasn’t an option for us either, not today at least.

After doing some homework and taking a few trials, we’ve landed on a resource called Highrise that meets all of our needs – ease of use, ease of sharing information among the team, ease of keeping a record, ease of tagging and sorting, and most of all, security.

Their $25/month plan (which has a 30 day free trial) is loaded with features.  We just created the account today and my team has been all over it like a cat on Temptations kitty treats.

I’ll apprise you in about 30 days on how it’s working out for us and what we come up with as some of the best benefits from implementing this.  Once we fully get our internal process down, I’ll shoot a quick vid on it.  In the meantime, if you have questions, I’d love to have you bend my ear for a few minutes and I’ll throw in a few tips to help your website convert better.

Emancipate The POWER Of INFORMATION!

All good things,
- ARH

P.S. Tuesday Tech Tips are for YOU!  Please ask your internet marketing technology questions below in the Comments area, and we’ll answer them in future editions.

Posted in Conversion Funnel, Customer Contact, Internet Marketing Technology, Tuesday Tech Tips | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shampoo, Conditioner, Website Conversions And Upsells

Last night I went shopping and came home with everything I needed EXCEPT shampoo and conditioner.

The savviest marketing minds reading probably already guessed that they rearranged the aisles in the store and I got distracted by something I ran into while looking up and down several aisles in the general vicinity of where one would logically assume the shampoo and conditioner would have been moved to.  You’re right.

But there’s a larger point here:

- ARH

P.S. A video website conversions critique like our Live Website Reviews will help you figure out if your “aisles” are too cluttered (or not cluttered enough?) so you stop losing sales and START serving more of your target market and your ideal prospects and customers.

Posted in Conversion Funnel, Monday Marketing Moments, Uncategorized, Website Conversions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Website Conversion Mistakes – Are You Making This Contact Page Mistake and Choking Your Website Conversions to Death?

I cannot stress enough the importance of having a powerful, action-oriented, targeted contact page on your website.  When someone reaches your contact page, they have reached the “neck” of your website conversion funnel.

The question now becomes: will they flow through to you, or will they be choked off?

Watch this video, where I explain the critical importance of contact pages in the conversion conversation: Continue reading

Posted in Calls To Action, Conversion Conversation, Conversion Funnel, Website Conversions | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The “About” And “Media” Pages: Dead-End Cul-De-Sacs Or Visitor Conversion Engines?

Look: I get SO frustrated when I visit a website and end up flipping through pages of content that doesn’t lead to anything… when the content doesn’t tell me what the next steps are, or what actions I should take.

Your website’s reason for being is to grow your business.  Period.

Whether your end conversion goal is more registrations for a conference or seminar, more students in your coaching program, more product sales or more opt-ins to your mailing list, your site impacts your bottom line.

Every page on your website – regardless of its purpose or content – needs to guide your visitor to the next step.  Obviously, your sales page leads the visitor to click to the secure shopping cart order form to buy from you.  Your special report download page guides the visitor to enter their name and e-mail address and hit “Submit” so they can get the report and be added to your list.

But what about your “About” page, which contains your bio and company information?  What about your “Media” page, which lists all the major outlets in which you’ve been featured?  Where do THESE lead?  Most of the time, they lead NOWHERE, just like opening the door for your visitor and then turning your back on them without saying a word.

Here are the easy “calls to action” that keep these pages
from falling flat on their faces and driving visitors away:

For the “About Page…

  • After your bio, add a powerful client testimonial praising your expertise and your measurable and specific impact on the client’s bottom line. Then add the line “Ready for these kinds of results in your organization? Click here to get started now!”  (This links to the contact page).
  • This call to action, in fact, can be used for any page that does not have an obvious “next step.” Add a results-oriented testimonial outlining specific benefits, and ask the reader if they are ready to experience the same in their own organization.  Just make sure the testimonial ties in to the page content.  If the page is a list of your keynote speaking topics, have the testimonial be about how your keynote set an awesome tone for the entire conference, not about how helpful your sales department is to your customers.(Easy, eh?)

For the Media page…

  • First let’s make sure this page is being properly utilized. It should not be a collage of logos. Rather, it should contain short videos of your TV appearances, audio clips of your radio interviews or featured-expert interviews on teleseminars, and links to the articles where you were quoted.  Let the world see what a sought-after, in-demand expert you really are.
  • That being said, a simple, but effective call to action would be, “Sarah B. Marketer looks forward to being the featured expert on your next program.  To schedule her appearance right now, click here.” (This links to the Contact page).

Bottom line: Make sure that every page on your website provides the roadmap for your visitor with a specific call to action. This will increase the your chances of having your prospects actually reach the destination you have prepared for them.

Does every page of your website lead prospects through your sales funnel?  Find out with our live website review service, where we will review your website using Camtasia screen shot software and show you every single missed opportunity to turn a prospect into a customer.

Peek over the shoulders of two top internet marketing experts now at:

http://www.livewebsitereviews.com

Posted in Call To Action, Conversion Funnel, Testimonials, Website Conversions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment