Guest Blogger: Spencer Powell, Inbound Marketing Director at TMR Direct. Spencer joined TMR Direct to spearhead their social media marketing efforts and to assist clients who want to implement social media marketing campaigns. He also specializes in helping builders and remodelers who are frustrated with the lack of leads they are getting from their current websites. Recently Shawn and Spencer have teamed up to help several of Shawn’s consulting clients. First, Shawn helps remodelers strategically identify and decide their target customer(s), project type(s) and niche(s). As an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, Spencer and his team then help remodelers get found by their targeted prospects on the web.
How Your Website Can Get You Involved in the Homeowner's Sales Cycle
Just think about it for a second. That's how you find EVERYTHING today. Yes, I'm talking about Google. If you're looking for a product or service, there's a good chance the first place you'll go is the web. This is where your research process begins. Well, it's the same for homeowners who are looking to remodel their kitchen, bathroom or any other part of their home.
Helpful information is key
So, how can you ensure that you'll be a part of their research process...and how can your website help you do that? There are a few factors that we want to look at. First, your website needs to have lots of helpful information that your prospect might be looking for. This could be information on the process of going through the design phase. It could be warning signs to look out for when selecting a contractor. It could be information on cost and why certain things cost more or less. It could be information on change orders. Think about it. The more information you can provide to your prospects, the fewer questions they'll have when they contact you.
BUT...most importantly you'll position yourself as a trusted advisor in your industry because you're the one helping them make an important decision.
Google LOVES content
In addition to becoming a trusted advisor, the more content you create on your website, the more chances you have to actually get found in search engines like Google. Google LOVES content, so the more you create, the more you'll be found. Just think of your website like a planet. The more pages and articles you create, the bigger the planet gets, and the more gravitational pull it has. So, you'll be pulling in more web visitors.
Once you have more prospects coming to your website because of the content, you'll notice that your website actually helps you get heavily involved in the homeowner sales cycle because you're helping them with their research. In addition, your information doesn't all have to be readily available. It's a good idea to have and offer much more in-depth information that a visitor can download. This might be in the form of an eBook like "10 Kitchen Design Trends for 2012". However, in exchange for being able to download it, they need to provide their Name, Email, Phone Number and Zip Code.
Once captured, nurture those leads!
Now you're in great position to solidify your company as one of their options for helping them achieve their goal. This is where lead nurturing comes into play. Lead nurturing is simply sending out helpful emails with more information that helps your prospect do research. These emails allow you to stay in touch with the prospect all the way through the sales cycle. How to execute a lead nurturing campaign is the topic for another post, but are you starting to see how your website can really get you involved in the homeowner sales cycle?
What are YOUR thoughts on this? Are any of you using your websites to participate in your prospects’ sales cycles?
