It comes as no surprise to hear that we’re spending more time online than ever before. As users, we’ve got countless options at our fingertips and we expect amazing online experiences. As marketers, we’ve got an extra opportunity to connect with our website visitors.
It’s easy to get lost in the dark depths of Google Analytics. Marketers often seek out the numbers that look and sound great. “Our traffic increased 10% this year,” “we’ve had 12,000 unique visitors this month,” “our traffic is higher today than yesterday.” That’s lovely news, but is it translating beyond the figures on your dashboard? Are these visitors doing any more than just looking at a web page and leaving? Are you seeing the whole story?
Web traffic is, of course, important. But it’s not enough on its own. Instead, we should be looking to engage those visitors. By creating conversations, we build a sense of connection. We show interest, pay attention and provide solutions that mean something. Even in a B2B setting, we’re humans buying from humans and it’s time web traffic was given a personal touch. Think about it: how can we encourage prospects along the customer journey if we treat them like an emotionless number?
What Do Your Customers Want To Hear?
This isn’t just about brands and marketers. To create genuine connections, we need to understand our users and view online experiences from a customer perspective – not a marketing one. Instead of standing on the inside looking out, flip it around.
Customers (whether prospective or existing ones) want to feel valued and have their questions answered. They want to get quick responses and be made to feel special. They want to know that you understand and are there to listen and respond appropriately.
This leads to connection and brand loyalty. Like any relationship, you’ve got to put in effort consistently, listen and be personal.
5 Ways To Start Turning Your Traffic Into Conversation
1. Define Audience Personas
How are you going to personalize your messaging if you don’t know who’s looking at it? By developing audience personas, you can get to know the people behind the traffic and align your messaging.
Developing messaging without personas is like throwing mud (or something else…) at a wall and hoping something sticks. Sure, you might get lucky, but chances are your messaging will be irrelevant or meaningless to many of your users. Look to the data, do your research and put your personas first.
2. Conduct a UX and CX Review
I could probably draw the entire LEWIS website with my eyes closed (not the most interesting party trick). I know where everything is, and the majority of other marketers can probably say the same for their sites. This can prevent us from looking at our online experiences with the same fresh eyes that first time users have.
By conducting a User Experience (UX) and Customer Experience (CX) review, brands can ensure the right content is being served at the right time. It’s an opportunity to spot errors, potential breaks in the journey and areas for improvement.
3. Take a Personalized Approach
What better way to show you care than through personalization? Investing in a high-quality Customer Relationship Management platform (CRM) will ensure no step is missed in the customer journey. CRMs offer marketers invaluable insights into prospect behavior, and offer the right tools for building and deploying personalized touchpoints.
If you’re looking to take it one stage further, try Account-Based Marketing (ABM). ABM allows brands to be hyper-focused on who they’re targeting and offer incredibly personalized content.
4. Invest in a Quality Chatbot
Whilst AI might sometimes seem like the stuff of sci-fi nightmares, chatbots are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, just 14% of people would prefer to fill out a website form over using a chatbot. There’s huge potential for chatbots, from customer service and navigation, to qualifying leads and triggering automation processes.
The key to any successful chatbot, however, comes in two parts. Firstly, establish a solid framework. Know who is engaging, what page they’re on, how they got there and where you can take them next. Secondly, make your playbook authentic. Give some personality to your bot – it doesn’t have to sound like a robot! Use customized conversation scripts for that added authentic, personal touch.
5. Train Your Teams and Optimize
So, you’ve defined your personas. You’ve done your CX and UX review. You’ve set up your CRM. You’ve built a bot. Job done? Well, not quite.
Continuous review and optimization will help your efforts in the long term. Providing in-house teams with technical training and guidance means that they will be able to learn, adjust and test regularly. Show your teams how the tech works, and give them a chance to get familiar with these new platforms.
By using technology and taking a personalized, human approach, we can shift our focus from the excitement of vanity metrics and instead focus on what matters: creating connection and having conversations. If you’d like to know more about any of the tips we’ve shared, feel free to reach out. We’re always happy to have a conversation.
