Beyond Content… How to Use Your Website as an Interactive Asset

Listen to the Audio Blog version Download this episode (right click and save)

Have you ever thought about using your website to go beyond content and make it a multi-purpose asset for your business?

You know that you have to have a website, but how many times have you thought to yourself that your website was a waste of money?

You’ve been told that you have to create content for those who you are trying to attract and don’t know you yet.

You’re told that you should be blogging or maybe even creating landing pages but it seems the more content you create, the more work it requires and as a result, the costs just keep on coming.

Have you ever considered that there are more than one, two or three ways to use your website and make it a profitable asset for your business other than just marketing to those who don’t know your company?

When it comes to your business website, maybe it’s time to think of it as a business tool beyond content and learn how to use this tool to support your sales endeavors?

The other day I was meeting with a business owner who was feeling that there has to be a more engaging and interactive way to use a website for his business than as an expensive business brochure.

He understood that his website was just not working for him the way he needed it to.

Today I’m going to share with you, from our conversation, a few ways that you can use your website as an everyday asset instead of just a business brochure or content machine that is costing you more money than it’s bringing in.

#1 – Create a Follow-up Landing Pages Beyond Content That is Specific to Your Conversations After a Call, Meeting or RFP

Do you meet with customers personally or do you have a sales team that is tasked with meeting prospects one-on-one?

Do you submit requests for proposals?

If so, how do you follow-up?

If you are like most in the sales world, you will send an email afterward with some kind of “thank you” and perhaps include the next steps in the process after a meeting.

For many businesses, the follow-up process after submitting a request for proposal is a unique process to the organization they are trying to earn work from.

What if instead of emailing a thank you, or waiting on the approval or denial of your RFP, you were able to build an easy-to-create landing page that was unique to that prospect with the summary of the conversation or RFP?

People are going to check out your website, so instead of sending them to a bland, generic webpage why not send them to highly specific and individually tailed landing page that creates more value relative to your prospects specific needs.

Once they are now on your website, there is an opportunity to reinforce the conversation, build competency and validation, and earn the sale and you have gone way beyond content to interactive, relevant content that is specific to prospect.

In the chart below, I created below (using Evernote on my iPad Pro and pencil), I shared how to go beyond content with a prospect recently and how this works in a simple form:

Most websites have standard pages like the Home, About, Service pages, etc…

Under a Service page you may have links to specific products or services.

Imagine for a moment that you are able to create the specific landing page that details the summary and offers some added value.

The benefits to this are numerous:

1. They are on your website and that alone can be a big first step.
2. If your message is consistent across your website then you reinforce your brand in their mind.
3. Studies suggest that the more someone is on your website and looks at different pages the more they are apt to take the next step in the relationship and move deeper into your sales funnel.
4. Your customer is more apt to opt-in to your email and connect with you on social media.

I assure you, this process is unique and virtually no one is doing it. Imagine how your website just became more than dead space on the internet.

You just moved beyond content that you created for someone who doesn’t know your business to interacting with someone who is a hot lead.

Your website is a living, breathing, growing asset that is helping your business move forward and the great part of it is that it immediately separates you from your competition in the mind of your prospect.

#2 – Interactive Touch Videos After Sales Calls and Personal Meetings

I just recently got the new 9.7” iPad Pro and the pencil and I discovered a few amazing tools that will help my business explode.

Among them, I found an app titled “TouchCast”.

This thing is easy to use and phenomenal and will add immense value to your landing pages.

What’s so cool about this is that you can now make your videos interactive by allowing people to click on the video to links, maps, other videos, pictures… you name it, all with the touch of your mouse or your finger.

Check out the video, it will demonstrate how powerful this tool is…

Plus, it has a much more extensive list of features like green screen capabilities that you allow you to create virtual sets.

It’s never been easier or more engaging to use video.

Just imagine that your prospect opens the email, see’s your follow-up video, clicks it and it takes them to the landing page where they discover an embedded, interactive video personalized and created just for them.

Wouldn’t that set you apart?

#3 – Know Your Message

For this to work, you and your team must all be on the same page promoting the same message over-and-over again.

If your message is off, so will be everyone else’s on your team.

The worse thing that could happen is a landing page and a video is created and it says something completely different than the rest of the website says, both subtly and overtly.

It seems I hear too many horror stories from consumers (Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer) about how they don’t understand what they are getting when they get a company’s website.

It makes sense when you consider that respondents to an IBM study in Oct 2015 affirmed by 80% that they felt a business was not relevant to their problems, needs, wants or desires.

Your message is the very foundation and heartbeat of your business.

In my article last fall titled “What are the Secrets to a Highly Successful Business Website?” I said:

Just like in person, the people who meet you for the first time on your website don’t want long explanations about how wonderful you are or anything that has to do with something other than why they are on your website.

They want to understand how you can make a difference for them or solve a specific problem.

They want to know if you can meet a need or fulfill a desire or dream.

Conclusion – Go Beyond Content

Today I shared two ways that you can use your website to transform it into a viable business asset by going beyond content that is created for people you are attracting but don’t have experience with your business yet.

We have to think about moving beyond content that is static and move towards adding ways to create interactive opportunities with our prospects and clients.

Interactive engagement is the key to future business, marketing and sales success.

There are other ways to be interactive and engaging as I shared in a article last month when I included a number of business owners in my blog that I met at an offline event.

The two ideas I mentioned today are targeted, specific and engaging landing pages with interactive videos.

For those who are selling, this is a great way to stand out and beat your competition.

The benefits are numerous:

1. It enhances the relationship with your prospect by showing them you care enough about them to take the time to be specific, relevant and different.
2. You are giving them a reason to visit your site, show them what you do and how most importantly how you can solve their problem, meet their need or fulfill their desire.
3. You create a consistent, vibrant, engaging and relevant message that increases the profitability of your business.
4. Increase the chances at a sale.
5. Bring in more revenue and thus create an ROI for your website.

Are you ready to use your website as an asset?

Do you feel your website is dead weight that is costing you, or at a minimum not helping your business?

Are you ready to take a leap and do something bold, engaging and interactive?

Do you have a thought, idea or question you would like to contribute? If so, please share below in the comments section and let’s chat.