Like an old basketball coach would say….”Follow-Through!”.
You spend time and money to drive traffic to your website. Many of us in the travel and tourism industry rely on visitors to submit forms, requesting additional information or to check availability. Sadly, the follow-up on these requests is often lacking attention which can and does cost businesses in the end.
Here are some simple rules to follow to help convert more of those that contact you via email.
To begin with, respond in a timely manner. The Internet makes information available on-demand. Right or wrong, your visitors are not only wanting, but expecting a timely reply to their emails. If you are only checking and responding to email “every so often”, you aren’t serious about leveraging the Internet to help your business.
Check email often and respond in a timely manner. The caveat with timely response is that a high-quality, yet slightly slower response, is more valuable than a “quick and dirty” response. Auto-responders should be used with great care and you should not pat yourself on the back if you consider your auto-responder as a timely response.
Keep the subject line in-tact from the initial message. This will help “remind” the visitor’s that your email is relevant and not spam. Also keep the message thread in tact so both you and visitor can track the ‘conversation’.
This may sound like a given, but personalize the response! Use their name in the salutation and use your own name in the closing. Nothing can come across as more impersonal than an email signed, “Customer Service Rep 22341″.
If you want people to buy from you, you must establish trust, and forging a relationship is the fastest way to make that happen. Something as simple as personalizing an email can help.
Answer their questions. If they ask for specific information or have specific needs, address them! When you personalize a response and address their specific questions it proves that a real, live human being is responding to them.
DO NOT direct them to visit your website for more information! The majority of them will have just come from there and could not find the information they needed.
Be polite and positive. Another, “no kiddin’” tip, but it is surprising how few companies I see doing this well. Which do you think would be more warmly received
“To make a reservation please call 111-111-111-1111 between 8 and 6.”
OR
“To make a reservation please call us at your earliest convenience. We look forward to speaking with you and will be happy to help you reserve your trip.”
Don’t go overboard with the flowery prose and blatant ass-kissing, however, be genuine and let people know you appreciate them and want to offer them the best possible service.
Be clear and simple with your writing. Sadly, the average American reads at the 7th/8th grade level. Skip the big words and keep the sentences and paragraphs short.
Also be sure to proofread for common mistakes and misspellings. Have a list of words you have trouble spelling? Most of us non-Mensa types do. Keep the list handy.
Lastly, make it easy for people to contact you. Create a simple “signature” in your email client that includes the contact information most important to your visitors.
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Make it easy for people to buy from you.
Simple enough isn’t it? We are all in the business of selling things whether it be products or services.
The more we sell, the more profitable we become, the more we can invest in our companies and subsequently the level of success trends upward.
However, before anyone will buy from us, they have to traipse down the buying cycle…and develop trust. As business owners we MUST make it easy for people to buy from us or we are wasting our efforts and marketing dollars.
Below you will find an example of why some businesses fail. While this is an offline example, hopefully you will be able to draw parallels and learn from another companies mistakes.
I am in the market to buy a new vehicle. Why not? It is a buyers market, the incentives to buy are great and a shiny new truck would look great in my driveway.
Despite no vehicle sales experience, it would seem logical that “micro-conversions” in the vehicle buying process would include submitting a credit application (online), visiting the lot and asking to take a test drive. Each would indicate “buying signals” and should serve as notice to the dealer that a prospect is very interested.
My experience with a local hometown-dealer is baffling, to say the least.
To begin the process I submitted a credit application online, to have pre-approval before making any trip to the lot. You never know when impulse might strike!
In the process, I indicated that I would like a particular dealership to contact me with vehicles that might meet my self-described needs.
I am no genius, but if I were a car salesman, amidst tough market conditions and was provided with the name of a pre-approved prospect whom had requested prices on specific vehicle types….I would be VERY quick to move.
Nearly two weeks without contact from the dealership, and the contact made entailed the proverbial, “What would it take to put you in a vehicle today?”. Over the phone!
A trial-close given without providing any information about vehicles that might solve my “problems”.
In the past month I have ventured to the dealership 5 times to browse their selection. On each visit, no salesperson ventured out to see if I had any questions. Some may argue that as a tactic, as we all hate being swarmed upon walking on to some high-pressure lots. However, a simple “hello” (to initiate contact) and a, “Can I answer any questions?”, would have went a long way.
Yesterday I decided I would stop again, and take one for a test drive. Despite the dealers lack of effort, I was determined to buy!
I perused the selection, spending 20 minutes or more determining which I would like to take for a spin, without any contact from the sales staff.
Finally I ventured in, found someone and asked for a test drive. Initially, they couldn’t find the keys. So I went back outside to patiently wait.
Five minutes later, the salesman came out and said, “I found the keys…problem with this vehicle is, it has been promised to another dealer”.
My patience, and trust, had met it’s end. They were showcasing (and had a “Dealer Special”) on a vehicle they couldn’t sell to me. My determination to buy was rivaled only by the ineptness of this dealer and his staff.
I was prepared to buy. They were not prepared to sell.
Each buying signal I provided was greeted with another obstacle.
Take a look at your own buying cycle and ask yourself, “Am I making it easy for people to buy from me?”. If your are not, re-evaluate what you are doing and make changes or find something else to do.
If you are interested, I know a dealership that is for sale.
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I have had a number of questions about this lately; “Don’t people read anything?”.
The answer is….yes, visitors do read online, just in a different way.
Keep website copy succinct. Brevity, online, is a virtue…and bullet points can provide information quickly.
For example…
Instead of:
Our cabins include a wide variety of amenities including utensils, linens, towels, appliances, hot tub and a great location.
Try:
Cabin Amenities
- All Utensils
- Linens
- Towels
- Appliances
- Hot Tub
- A Great Location!
Simple enough isn’t it? Keep in mind that the majority of website visitors ’scan’ a page in search of visual cues. Continual blocks of text become monotonous and visitors will quickly lose interest.
Write for the Web With:
- short paragraphs
- bulleted lists
- clear topical headings
Leverage your photography by presenting relevant photos adjacent to blocks of text or bulleted lists.
If your list is about what you offer for lunch, provide a photo of your lunch. If the paragraph is providing information about your location, provide photos of your location.
Quality page content is an essential component of any Search Engine Optimization campaign. Keep page copy topically relevant, use proper heading tags (H2, H3) and bulleted lists in conjunction with relevant photos and graphics.
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