Why websites make great lead generation tools for “offline” businesses

If you’re involved in a service business or in professional practice, then finding new clients is probably a constant struggle. Many business owners tell me that they’re frustrated by their efforts to attract new clients because…

• Finding potential clients is like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s either too costly or too time consuming to establish interest with people who might be interested in your services
• The more you try to “sell” to clients, the more resistance you seem to face
• The amount of time and effort it takes to attract new clients eats into your ability to perform revenue-generating work.

Can you identify with any of these frustrations? I know I could before I worked out the secret of having clients come to me, rather than me having to chase them.

A big part of the puzzle is getting the attention of people who are actively looking for, or have a predisposition for, the services you provide. If you can do that, most of the “grunt work” of prospecting is reduced or eliminated altogether.

That’s where the Internet comes in. The Internet now functions like a giant Yellow Pages for people who are considering a purchase or looking for information.

So, all you need to do is have a response-oriented website that is visible in search engines in order to convert this interest into qualified leads.

But most businesses aren’t taking advantage of this opportunity right now because:

1. Their websites aren’t visible for relevant search phrases in search engines
2. If their website is visible in search engines, the content doesn’t compel visitors to take action and enquire

When online lead generation works like gangbusters.

Lead generation efforts on the Internet can be much many times more effective and profitable than offline marketing methods when your customer base is thinly dispersed across the geographical area that you service. Let me give you an example…

We recently designed a website and online marketing campaign for Brisbane personal trainer Athletic Edge.

Using traditional marketing, it’s expensive to reach the relatively small slice of the population who want and can afford a personal trainer. But on the Internet, prospects do the work for you. They’re searching on targeted terms such as “personal trainer Brisbane” all the time.

(The trick is to make sure your website is appears in the search results, and to convert that traffic into enquirers - but more about that some other time.)

Within two weeks of going live, Athletic Edge received 6 qualified enquiries via their website for a marketing cost of a few dollars apiece. Let’s say that half of those enquirers become clients. In a year that equates to around 75 new clients - more than enough to fill a practice.

And the best part is, the whole process is largely automated. Unlike traditional prospecting, this is set-and-forget marketing that allows you to concentrate on doing the work rather than busting your gut getting the work.

So if you’re currently not utilizing your website to it’s full potential as a marketing tool, I urge you to consider it - it really works.

In future posts I’ll talk about the nuts-and-bolts of how to make your website work as a marketing tool, but if you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact me over at Marketing Results.

All the best,

Will Swayne

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