SEO – A Bad Web Offer Can Kill Sales Before They Start

Can you lose a sale simply by having a bad Web offer?

I think we’ve all had the experience of following a link someone sent us on Twitter or Facebook only to discover that it’s just another poorly disguised attempt at hucksterism.

You land on the page and get bombarded by a long, endless page of marketing drivel, punctuated with flashing neon sign graphics, and a late-night infomercial vibe.

While most B2B Web marketers are much more professional in their approach than this, it doesn’t mean that the concept of “the Bad Offer” can’t apply.

No matter the context, a Bad Web Conversion Offer slows down the sale, gives potential buyers a bad taste, puts them off, or even sends a good buyer to a competitor.

So what makes a Bad Web Offer?

  • It doesn’t provide any value to the visitor.
  • The process to get the perceived value (the whitepaper, webinar, free trial) takes too long, or requires too much user input.
  • There’s no compelling difference between your offer and what they could get elsewhere.
  • The presentation is sub-par, unprofessional, difficult to navigate, or just plain boring.

In B2B, if the value of your company, products, and services aren’t readily apparent, it’s unlikely that Web visitors are going to convert, regardless of offer type.

So what should a good Web conversion offer look like?

In a perfect a world, the ideal Web offer would be one that demonstrates the greatest perceived value, captures the highest level of permission, gives your sales team valid contact and qualification information, while doing it at the lowest cost in time and money to you . . . and closes sales.

The point of lead generation is to, well, generate leads—and if a targeted Web offer isn’t doing that, it’s time to rethink the conversion process the offer requires. No single Web offer is likely to achieve “ideal result” status on its own, but it doesn’t mean the principles aren’t real. Whether the offer involves a free trial, demo, webinar, white paper, newsletter, e-book, or anything else, it needs to demonstrate value to the visitor, capture some type of permission to contact the lead, and do it at the most effective cost possible.

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