This is the fourth in a series of postings comparing a business web site to a trade show. In the initial post we discussed the traffic flow at a trade show and how it resembled web traffic. Then we looked at the exhibit booth and showed at least three corresponding aspects of a web page. And yesterday, we talked about attractors used at trade shows and how they too could and should be applied online.
Today we will talk about the people behind the booth at a trade show and see if we can’t learn some lessons from them as well.
I almost touched on the people in yesterday’s post on attractors, as it’s common for firms, particularly larger corporations to use models in their booths. Pretty women do seem to have an attractive quality.
But the main purpose of the people in the booth is to engage in conversation with the passing traffic.
The booth setup itself may have optimum placement on the floor, and attractors up the wazoo but it really doesn’t matter if there’s no one there to meet and greet, ask and answer questions.
Now some firms may just rely on pictures and exhibits posted in their booth to convey their message, and others may put a stack of brochures on the table for passerby’s to pick up. This may be better than nothing, but do you think it’s as effective as having a real live person who can engage prospects in conversation? Not likely.
Remember that we discussed the varied makeup of the crowd. Some are there for exercise or entertainment, others to get information, and a few to buy. As they walk past our booth, it’s the job of the booth staff to engage them in conversation, to inquire about their needs, interests and to elicit their questions.
Getting to understand what they are looking for is one of the key ingredients for both the seller and the prospective buyer to learn whether or not a transaction is possible. When it is, the conversation also serves as an investment by both parties in terms of time and effort toward a mutually agreeable solution. If properly handled, if the sales staff is good and skilled in their conversation, this is the process that leads a prospective buyer to the decision point, and ultimately the successful sale.
This is one area, where the trade show has a distinct advantage over the web site. The personality and skill of a good sales person in an interactive conversation with a prospect is hard to replicate online on a web page.
Because it’s difficult, doesn’t mean that steps can’t be taken to design the web presentation in a way that at least mimics the live relationship.
A few paragraphs ago, I suggested live staff were better than a table full of brochures or static pictures on the booth wall. That is precisely the level where most small business web sites are now.
They are little more than brochures. And like most brochures they get tossed into the mental round file almost immediately.
We want to avoid that. We want instead to mimic the live salespeople and set up our web sites to answer questions. To do that we need to think about what our least informed prospective customer might want to know. When designing your web pages, imagine that you are at a trade show. What questions did people ask? These are the questions your page needs to begin to answer.
Our web sites should thus focus on setting the basic parameters of our product, so that viewers get a sense of what we are about. So they are able to make some basic self assessment as to which type of product or service they might be interested in. But then, most businesses should stop.
They should turn the responsibility back to the prospect to declare themselves a “Lead” by having them opt in for more information. This is similar to a person in the crowd at a trade show walking up to the booth. The booth staff engage in small talk and lead to some basic clarifying information. When the prospect asks a relevant product oriented question, they may still be just fishing for general information, but they are also beginning the sales process. It’s time to bring them into a sophisticated sales presentation.
In real life, your sales person would answer and followup with more questions. Online, you need to convert that person then and there. Convert them from being a prospect in the crowd to a “Lead” in your sales funnel. You need them to opt in to your auto-responder service, so they can get more detailed information to enable them to make a “wise decision.” This is exactly what we discussed yesterday in our conversation about attractors.
Don’t miss the point about giving them information to make a wise decision. Design your opt in “ethical bribe” as a tool for them to make a wise decision. Offer them the information they need to do that. Offer them the info they need, when they need it and you are well on your way to the sale.
Once they have opted in, the conversation is now interactive. They came to your site. You provided information, They responded by opting in. A conversation has begun.
Once you have the leads, you need to do the follow-up. That’s our next topic. Till then…