No Sale Central
I think I write this post pretty much every year. This year, it comes as a result of trying to notify a lot of vendors about the 2020 CTRM Sourcebook and also do a complete update of all listings in our online directory. What that means, is I literally visit every vendor’s website looking for the information I need to update the listing and in some instances, to find a contact to talk to about 2020 CTRM Sourcebook. While I have to say that there are some superb websites out there, there are a large number that honestly, I cannot fathom at all. One purpose of a website to to provide information on your business and products and to help develop inbound leads. You would think anyway!
Once again, I found websites where,
- There are NO contact details at all to be found – no email address, no phone number and no address. OK, so what if I’m a potential buyer?
- Where the contact details are not obvious and difficult to find – If I’m a buyer and I’m busy, I’m not going to search your website looking for your contact, I will go elsewhere,
- Contact details are limited as in a generic email address, for example – useless too. In one instance, it was a phone number that despite trying more than 10 times, has yet to be answered.
- Contact details are provided but no one actually ever responds!
I have to say, it is the last point that takes my breath away! You spend money to set up and maintain a website ostensibly to help develop leads and yet when one comes in, you do NOT respond?! Wow!
My advice – contact information should be front and central on anyone’s website and all inquiries should be responded to within hours.
On the latter point, there could be another explanation and that is they do not wish to reply to me personally or ComTech generally. I have no idea why that would be but it is a possibility. In the past, after finally getting someone to answer the phone, I have been told they are not buying anything. OK. I get that. But why are they assuming I want to sell them anything? Actually, much of the time, I am trying to get an update on the vendor so that when we advise buyers, we are armed with the best information. Sometimes, if they give me a briefing, I will go ahead and write a blog about them as well. And if your company is making decisions like that – who to respond to – without ever talking to the other party, you really do deserve to miss any opportunity that may have originated from them. Sometimes, we are actually conducting a market sweep and there is a real potential customer behind us!
For me as a marketer, if you are in business at all then, you make it as easy as possible for people to contact you and you respond to each and every inbound. Not to do so is basically making your website the equivalent of ‘no sale central.’
If any vendor would like an honest appraisal of their website or their marketing efforts, we do advise on that and can provide that service. Please contact us.
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