Looking for ways to innovate your company? Consider creating relationships with your target market using web marketing.
It’s a proven fact that a person is much more likely to do business with another person they know. The web offers an amazing opportunity to get to know people without going door to door and saying, “Hi. Let’s create a relationship so you’ll be comfortable doing business with me.”
Your objective is to create new business. It’s rare in the real world that a complete stranger will walk through your door and drop a big fat check on your desk the first time you meet. So don’t assume it will happen online either. To meet our objective of acquiring a customer, we have multiple goals we must meet on the way, which include creating a relationship.
Let’s say your business is focused in three areas: New Construction, Renovation, and Demolition.
Demolition? Hey, I thought it would be a fun contrast to Construction. 
I’ve broken this down into a few steps.
Step 1:
Create something of GREAT VALUE for the visitor you’re willing to give away for free. And I’m not talking about free 2×4′s with a minimum purchase or even 5% off their construction project. If you’re giving away something like that, you’re assuming they are already going to do business with you. Although that sounds like Marketing 101, look at it from the Web visitor’s point of view. They’ll see this not as something free, but as an expense. They know to get the freebie, they really have to spend money.
Remember, you want to create a relationship with them. If all you’re trying to do is sell them before they really know you, they’ll be turned off. Just like that annoying sales guy that follows you around the furniture store.
So what do you give away? Something simple, but valuable. Something that doesn’t cost you anything – your knowledge in the form of an eBook (electronic book). For example, an eBook titled “10 Things to Consider For The Best Renovation.” Creating an eBook is as simple as writing a few pages in Microsoft Word and saving it as a PDF document. Tip: Keep industry/technical jargon to a minimum. Remember who is reading it. Write it as if your Grandmother is reading it.
Right, Grandma (see, that’s what I’m doing).
Step 2:
Create what are called “landing pages” on your website. Landing pages are places web visitors “land” within your website when they click on a link or enter a particular web address. Using our example of your 3-part business (new construction, renovation and demolition) the landing pages would be singularly focused on each of the areas of your business. Let’s stick with renovation for this example. Your renovation landing page should talk ONLY about renovation. Think about it. If a customer has a home they want to renovate, why waste their time talking about new construction or demolition? Give them exactly what they’re looking for as quickly as possible. If you don’t, your competition is only a click away.
But how do we know they are interested in renovation? I’ll get back to that in a second.
Your renovation landing page should include:
- Before and after pictures of recent renovation projects you’ve completed.
- Copy that sells the experience of owning a renovated home – the benefits, the glory.
- Social proof… get as many great testimonials you can find from happy customers. This is key.
- Two calls to action:
o Contact us now for a free, no obligation renovation consultation (whoa, might want to simplify that language)
o Download our FREE eBook on “10 Things To Consider For The Best Renovation”
In order for the visitor to download the eBook, they’ll be required to give you their email address. It’s called give-to-get. Their email address is very important to the visitor, which is why it’s very important what you’re offering has value. They must feel like they are getting more in return.
Reality of the web
Right now you might be saying, “Paul, you’re nuts. I’m not going to waste my time with people who are not ready to do business with me right now.”
Ok, this is where we look at the reality of the web. A GOOD conversion rate on these pages would be 2%. So out of every 100 visitors, 2 will turn into a lead.
What about those other 98?
What do you know about them after they leave?
Nothing. You don’t have a clue who they are. But, here’s the value to you, Mr. and Ms. Construction Company. In order for them to get the valuable eBook, they’ll be required to provide their email address, right?
YOU SPAM THEM! Just kidding. Don’t ever do that.
Once you have their email address, you have an opportunity to create a real relationship with them (remember that goal)! And who do people feel most comfortable doing business with? People they know, right?
Now you’re going to repeat this for your new construction and demolition businesses (or whatever your business is). Each time a user downloads the appropriate eBook, you immediately know what type of work they are interested in. This allows you to segment them into separate contact lists for each area of your business and communicate with them more effectively.
Step 3:
Ok. So far you have their email address and they have your eBook. You’re getting friendly. This is just the beginning. Now you repeat step 1 and create additional eBooks that provide the same amount of value. Let’s say this one is, “4 Ways To Save Energy With Your Renovation”.
What do you do with it?
- You upload the new eBook to your website.
- You create a compelling email talking about saving energy with your renovation and provide a link in the email to a page on your site to download the new eBook.
- You open the list of people who downloaded your “10 Things to Consider for the Best Renovation” and send the email to them.
What just happened?
You’ve now provided MORE VALUE to the visitor FOR FREE, showcasing your expert ability to meet their needs. What does this do? It’s giving your company top of mind awareness for their project. And what does this do? Gives you the best chance to get the call when they are ready to start their work.
So that pesky visitor who didn’t want to do business with you months ago has suddenly turned into that exact customer you want – paying!
Getting Visitors
Ever heard of a little site named Facebook? Create a fan page on Facebook under your company name. Use this arena to talk in real time to potential clients and showcase your latest work with pictures and videos. Direct people to appropriate landing pages on your website directly from your company Facebook page.
Something else we highly recommend is pay-per-click advertising with Google (if you’ve never done this, we high suggest hiring a professional with REAL experience). It’s a program called Adwords and it allows you to buy specific search phrases. So for example, if someone searches for “home renovation” in Google, your ad is displayed and takes visitors directly to your renovation landing page if they click on the ad. In most cases, if your business is in Las Vegas, you likely are not going to take on a bathroom renovation in Lincoln, Nebraska. So what Google allows is for you to select where your ads are displayed, for instance, within a 40-mile radius of a certain point. This helps to ensure you’re not wasting money on the wrong traffic.
Hope this helps!
Paul Ferrier
Mindscape at Hanon McKendry
