Excerpt from: VC Views
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| January 29, 2008 | | Take every opportunity to turn a Browser into a Buyer | In an world where the means exist to engage customers (nearly) constantly, why is it that so few companies Never Stop Selling?
Every
successful On-Demand/Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business I've encountered
has a highly efficient sales process, measuring every move its
components make and doing its best to expand the gap between Customer
Lifetime Value (LTV) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). The best know
that nothing is more inefficient than finding qualified leads...so it's critically important to give the opportunity to become a customer to anyone engaging with the company at any time, anywhere
- on the web, in person, whatever. Naturally the web is one of the most
efficient means of all, yet it remains grossly under-utilized by many
as a means to convert a Browser into a Buyer.
This
shouldn't be limited to SaaS businesses, or those focused on consumers,
by the way. There's no reason why, in any software company, be it
targeted at the Enterprise or the SMB, that Marketing can't meld with
Sales to become a massive lead generation engine. So say good-bye to
old-school brochure web sites, and hello to a call to action
on every page. "Click here to sign up for our weekly webinar", or "Go
there to talk to someone now". If you bring customer support, online
developer communities, and other aspects of the business into the game
and incent them appropriately, you'll get results.
And
the engagements need not be obtrusive...simply give the customer, each
and every time you touch them, the chance to say "Tell me more" or "Let
me have one of those."
I'm not breaking any ground here, just observing that something so easy is a lot less prevalent than you'd expect. | | |
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