Capturing Visitors: Online Lead Generation 2.0 By Michael Ortner, Founder/ President Capterra
“Why isn’t my website converting visitors into leads?”
That’s a common complaint from software executives, and justifiably so. The fundamental goal of a website is to generate leads. If your site isn’t measuring up, it’s time to find out why.
A reasonable expectation is that websites in our industry should convert 5% to 25% of visitors into leads. Software businesses in niche markets will trend to single-digit conversion numbers. They might attract many visitors but, even with a perfectly optimized website, fewer are likely to need the specialized products that are offered. For software vendors whose products have a broader appeal, 25%+ is an achievable target.
Executives can boost their lead generation—measured by how many visitors contact the company from its website—using means that range from simple to relatively sophisticated.
At Capterra, we see a broad range of conversion rates among the almost 10,000 software vendors in our database. Here, we’ll share observations about how some of the best achieve success.
Check These First
Consider every page of your website as a potential entry point, since each page is likely to be indexed on one of the search engines. With that in mind, here are the top recommendations we make to software vendors who express concern about lead generation:
1) Highlight your call to action—preferably with free offers—on every page of your website. Make your offers and call to action easy to find and compelling.
Ideally, you will have more than one option for visitors. Among the possibilities:
- Get your free trial.
- Request a demo.
- Download a free white paper.
- Read a case study.
- Free phone consultation.
- Check out our webinars
Need an example? Check out Autotask’s home page. Example - http://www.autotask.com/index.htm “Request a demo” is a button on the top right. Free webinars are in the real estate on the left. Underneath that, you’ll find an offer for a free white paper. On the right side of the page, a Dispatcher’s Workshop link takes you to a virtual tour with a voice over. Visitors are never more than a click away from an action that will take them a step closer to Autotask, and the content provided is designed to help—not just sell—interested parties.
2) Help your visitors “go with the flow.”
Once curious visitors find your site, guide them to the information they need or want by giving them logical web page options to dig deeper into your product offerings. Ensure that they don’t face dead ends. Invite visitors to take a test drive, and watch over their shoulders to see how they navigate. Does any of your web presentation create confusion? Frustration? Lack of information? Testing the logical flow of online information and inspiration can pay dividends in lead generation.
3) Ask less, get more. Simplify your contact form to make it easy for visitors to request more information.
Creating complex contact forms that ask for too much information scares off would-be leads. While it’s tempting to try to qualify leads to save time for salespeople, the strategy can backfire if even two qualified leads balk at spending 30 seconds to fill out a form. Your contact form needs these bare essentials:
- Name (First, Last)
- Email address
Optional add-ons are:
- Company name
- Phone number
Seem Spartan? It is, by design. Try simplifying your contact form, and measure what happens to the number of leads you receive.
Cover All the Bases on the Basics
As in any business, executing well on the basics can make the difference between success and, well, less than success. Here, we cover these essentials as we see them:
Great Content
What problem does your software solve? Is the answer to that question clear from reading your website? The more helpful your content is in explaining the issues your visitors face, the more it will be seen as a trusted resource. Enhance your brand image and boost your sales by giving highly valued information to your visitors.
Consider your audience. Business software sales should be targeted to people at all levels of an organization. Perhaps a decision maker is looking for a quick solution. Or an administrative assistant is starting the list of qualified vendors. Make sure the language is clear, concise and decipherable.
Use the following checklist for types of content, to see whether any is missing from your site:
- Benefits Overview
- Feature List
- Testimonials
- Success Stories
- Case Studies
- White Papers
- Virtual Tour/Screenshots
- Client List
- ROI Demonstration
- Industries Served
Pricing
- General Expertise/Lessons Learned
- A Captivating Blog
The information should be provided in multiple formats: in the trusty written word, and in audio and video options, with plenty of graphics to capture attention.
SyberWorks registers a strong showing in the content category. Example - http://www.syberworks.com/index.htm. Visit their site, and you’ll find a “Benefits” link among the top choices on the left. Click through, and you learn not only what the benefits are from using their software, but also what groups benefit. Check out the Boggs e-Learning Chronicle, a link on the right, and you’ll find an informative podcast, which is cutting edge. So is the “Social Bookmark This Page” link.
Website Design
Do objective visitors find your website attractive? Is it too busy? Is it too animated for its own good? Remember, your goal is to get contact information from people, so you don’t want to turn them off with the design of your site. If the “look” overpowers or subverts the content, visitors might not have the patience to search for what they need on it.
Here’s what’s relevant to a well-designed software site:
- Visually appealing text in the right font size
- Persuasive copy grouped into short, easy-to-read paragraphs and/or bullet points
- Intuitive navigation guiding the prospect through the buying process, with clear “next steps” at the end of each web page
- A “Contact Us” page with a phone number and location, linked from the header or footer of every page
- Call(s) to action highlighted on every page of your site
- A brief online form, linked from the different calls to action
Lead Tracking
Do you remember how you first heard about everything you ever bought, personally or in business? Me either—especially if I bought it online. Avoid the guesswork and inaccuracies that come from asking this question. Use one of these foolproof methods:
- Tag your links: Track online campaigns by placing a tag at the end of your referring links. For Capterra advertisers the tag is “?source=Capterra”, which identifies that our site was the point of origin for that lead.
- Cookies: Use these to track where visitors go within your site, and to identify them when they come back. By creating a cookie that is specific to the incoming tag, you will always have a way of connecting the referring site to an online form the new lead fills out.
Qualifying Leads
When leads come in, what is your process for qualifying them? If you can’t rely on the online form to sort out the “I want to buy now” population from the “Not now, catch me later” group, how is that being done at your company?
Too many software firms send leads directly to an overworked sales department, rather than setting up a screening process. When that happens, busy sales people can overlook or discard potential prospects.
Since the buy cycle for software can languish for up to a year, those leads left in limbo can add up to lost sales. Assign someone other than a sales person to qualify leads.
Lead Nurturing
Staying in e-touch with anyone who expressed an interest in your company should be a high priority. Your web presence is the best way to non-invasively keep the contact going. Still, the goal is to help people solve their business problems and teach them more about the issues that your solution addresses. Among the possibilities to keep your name in front of these contacts:
- Send an occasional e-newsletter
- Notify them when you hold a webinar
- Refer them to your blog, which should be informative and conversational
- Survey them about what they’re interested in
- If you find they are not a fit for your solution, make a referral if you can
Always give the people you are staying in touch with the option to opt-out.
Trying New Tools for Conversion
If you’re feeling adventurous, try adding new elements to your web presence. Visitors appreciate getting free information when it is well presented.
These are still relatively rare on business software websites, so they will help you stand out from the crowd:
Provide worthwhile info to your visitors; avoid creating a commercial/infomercial.
This is best presented so virtual tourists can go at their own pace, spending time on the modules they want to explore. Add impact by providing audio to go with the images and text.
Make sure your participants will receive plenty of “take home” for the time they invest.
Whether you’re trying major new e-initiatives, or tweaking various parts of your site, don’t forget the power of testing.
The more time, energy and budget you devote to checking your web traffic and statistics, then testing how changes affect them, the more ROI you can expect in terms of lead generation.
Remember: Your goal is for a conversion rate of 5% to 25%--or more.
Michael Ortner is the President and Founder of Capterra, the Internet's leading destination for business software buyers. Capterra guides people through the process of selecting the right software for their organization and allows software vendors to drive web traffic and generate sales leads. A graduate of Georgetown University's School of Business and currently pursuing a philosophy degree from the University of London as a part-time student, Mr. Ortner gained experience in the technology industry while working for the management consulting practice of Price Waterhouse. He started Capterra in 1999 to help companies avoid the many pitfalls that exist in the software buying process as well as provide a more effective and less expensive way for software vendors to reach buyers. Capterra recently was awarded a spot on the Inc. 500 list as one of the fastest growing private companies in the United States. Mr. Ortner resides in Falls Church, VA with his wife and two children.
Capterra is the leading online destination for business software buyers. Capterra users can quickly find and compare software solutions from a database of thousands of software companies. Enterprise software vendors can benefit from several performance-based lead generation options. Founded in 1999, Capterra has helped millions of people select the right software solution for their organizations, while providing the ideal online channel for software vendors to reach qualified and active buyers. For more information, call (703) 994-4985 or visit www.capterra.com |
Russian Enterprise Software Market Red Hot as Increasingly IT-Savvy Businesses Seek Competitive Advantage
The enterprise application suite (EAS) market in Russia is skyrocketing, driven by demand from new customers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to a recent study from IDC, the Russian EAS market grew 54.7% year on year in 2006 to $365.12 million in license and maintenance revenue. Fast expansion is expected to continue this year, although at a somewhat slower rate of around 30%.
"There has been a new wave of customers that appear to be more educated and IT-savvy, determined to take full advantage of EAS solutions to make their businesses more competitive," said Elena Semenovskaia, research analyst, IDC Russia. "This opens up great opportunities for EAS vendors on the Russian market, with prospective customers ranging from large oil and gas corporations to small retailers."
Russian companies continue to invest heavily in enterprise resource management, which remained the most demanded functional area of the EAS market with 60.5% share in 2006. Nonetheless, revenue from sales of more advanced functionalities was also significant in 2006: supply chain management was the second largest segment last year, with 15.3% share, and customer relationship management represented 9% of the market.
In 2006, the Russian EAS market was dominated by SAP, Oracle, and Russian company 1C. These three vendors were together responsible for three-quarters of total revenue, with the leader controlling over 45% of the market.
The combined process and discrete manufacturing industry remained the leading segment on the Russian EAS market, contributing nearly 42% to total spending in 2006. For the first time, the utilities sector ranked second, with 12.5% market share. Communications and broadcasting was the third biggest customer, responsible for 7.5% of the total EAS investment.
"We believe the Russian EAS market as a whole will expand by 30% year on year on average over the next five years," said Semenovskaia. "While the whole market remains dynamic, the government sector is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the coming years, expanding by around 50% annually. Other high-octane segments recording stronger-than-average growth rates will include financial services and utilities."
IDC's Russia Enterprise Application Software 2007–2011 Forecast and 2006 Vendor Shares (IDC #ER07P) study provides a detailed overview of the Russian market for EAS packaged software products. It includes detailed qualitative and quantitative information, analysis, and forecasts that help vendors answer key questions regarding market sizing, segmentation, market shares, and major economic and political factors affecting the EAS market.
Contact Tatiana Hinova (thinova@idc.com, +420 221 423 140), or www.idc.com
HP Announces New Software and Services to Fully Automate the Management of Business Services
HP is offering new software and services to help businesses transform IT operations and automate the full lifecycle of managing business services.
The company introduced HP Automated Operations 1.0, an integrated set of products that automates IT operations across all technology and organizational domains. This eliminates labor-intensive, ad hoc and error-prone manual processes and, in turn, helps IT organizations dramatically lower the day-to-day cost of operations.
The cost savings from streamlining IT operations allows businesses to shift resources to more strategic IT initiatives that can help fuel business innovation and growth.
The HP Automated Operations 1.0 software suite is composed of IT Service Management, Business Service Management and Business Service Automation solutions. This suite is one of the key pillars of HP Software’s Business Technology Optimization portfolio, which integrates assets from HP OpenView, Peregrine, Mercury and Opsware.
In addition, the company launched its HP Business Service Automation software solution, a single platform to automate all IT processes and drive change across applications, servers, networks, storage and clients. The solution also provides a central configuration management database (CMDB) for reporting, which reduces the cost and risk of change while providing comprehensive audit and compliance capabilities.
HP also enhanced its IT Service Management (ITSM) software and added related services that offer best practices through blueprints, training and assessments. HP ITSM software helps companies define, deliver and manage business services from inception to retirement.
“We have been aggressively expanding our software portfolio in the last two years to broaden and deepen our capabilities to help customers improve their top and bottom lines,” said Tom Hogan, senior vice president, Software, HP. “This relentless focus on customers has been paying off and more customers are choosing HP Software to achieve their business goals.”
Contact www.hp.com
8 out of 10 Top SaaS ISVs Delivering Mission-Critical Applications Run on Oracle
Software as a Service (SaaS) Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) have increasingly adopted the Oracle SaaS Platform. Based on Oracle's technology software platform, including Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Enterprise Manager, the Oracle SaaS Platform helps accelerate the adoption of the SaaS delivery model with an integrated, comprehensive, secure and scalable set of technology products on which to build, deploy and manage on demand services.
"SaaS vendors are challenged to deliver greater value to customers while managing costs," said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president at Nucleus Research. "We found most delivering mission-critical applications chose Oracle as their foundation because its flexibility and scalability, as well as ease of management, enabled them to deliver on the SaaS promise while keeping costs low."
"Oracle continues to gain momentum as a leading SaaS platform for ISVs," said John Gawkowski, vice president Oracle Platform Technology Solutions. "The Oracle SaaS Platform connects leading Oracle technology software and partners, making it even easier for ISVs adopting a SaaS delivery model to build, deploy and manage their applications. With the Oracle SaaS Platform, ISVs are looking to Oracle and its partners as a fully capable, low cost, virtually seamless path to SaaS enablement."
The Oracle SaaS Platform, consisting of Oracle Database (including Oracle TimesTen In Memory Database and Oracle Berkeley DB), Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Enterprise Manager, allows ISVs to build, deploy and manage SaaS applications on a complete, secure and pre-integrated set of technologies, that work together seamlessly. In addition, a single integrated tool, Oracle Enterprise Manager, allows ISVs to manage their application and platform and perform Service-Level Management from a single integrated console.
The Oracle SaaS Platform has been widely adopted by leading SaaS ISVs. This growth can, in part, be attributed to Oracle's efforts to increase support and expand partnerships, which have helped further enable ISVs to successfully adopt a Software as a Service delivery model.
Leading ISVs that have chosen the Oracle SaaS Platform to offer their applications in a SaaS delivery model include: 170 Systems, 3i Infotech, Adaptive Planning, Agistix, Autodesk, Blackboard, Cadec, Callidus Software, Cerner Corporation, ChartOne, Cisco WebEx, Citrix Online a Division of Citrix Systems, Inc., dthree, E2open, Fair Isaac Corporation, HireRight, Infopia, Intacct, Ketera, MAXIMUS, MedQuist, Micros Systems Inc., Octagon Research Solutions, Inc., Perot Systems, Sabrix Inc., Soundbite Communications, SPS Commerce, Taxcient Inc., Teranode Corporation, TradeBeam Inc., Where 2 Get It, Inc., Xactly Corporation.
In order to further its leadership position in providing a technology platform to SaaS providers, Oracle is also working closely with it's own Oracle On Demand business, hosting service providers and systems integrators, including CSC, USi (an AT&T company), OpSource, Symphony Services and Patni Computer Systems, who bring deep expertise in SaaS enablement and can assist ISVs in building and hosting SaaS-based applications.
Contact www.oracle.com/technologies/saas/index.html
Salesforce.com Introduces New Force.com On-Demand Platform
Salesforce.com recently introduced the new Force.com on-demand platform -- a Platform-as-a-Service. Force.com features breakthrough new Visualforce technology that will empower customers, developers and ISVs to design any app, for any user, anywhere with the world's first User Interface-as-a-Service. The new Force.com platform now offers global infrastructure and services for database, logic, workflow, integration, user interface, and application exchange: the most comprehensive set of capabilities for building any application on demand.
“With Force.com, customers, developers and ISVs can choose innovation, not infrastructure,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. “Google, Amazon, and Apple have all shown that by revolutionizing a user interface you can revolutionize an industry. With Visualforce we’re giving developers the power to revolutionize any interface, and any industry, on demand.”
The gateway to any great business application is a great user interface; easy to use, powerful and designed exactly for the tasks, users and devices the application serves. A new capability of the Force.com platform, Visualforce will provide a complete framework for creating any kind of user experience, and will enable the creation of new interface designs and user interactions to be built and delivered with no software or hardware infrastructure requirements. With Visualforce, developers have unprecedented control over the look and feel of their Force.com applications enabling them to create any user experience they can imagine. From a handheld device for a sales rep in the field, to an order-entry kiosk on a manufacturing shop floor, Visualforce will enable the creation of powerful new user experiences that can be customized and delivered in real time on any screen.
Force.com delivers Platform-as-a-Service, a new way to create and deploy business apps that makes companies and developers successful by letting them focus on what their applications do, rather than the software and infrastructure to run them. By replacing the complexity of software platforms with a complete, scalable service, Force.com provides developers the fastest path to turn ideas into business impact.
Force.com Platform-as-a-Service provides the building blocks necessary to build any kind of business app, simple or sophisticated - and automatically deploy them as a service to small teams or entire enterprises. The Force.com platform gives customers the power to run multiple applications within the same Salesforce instance, allowing all of a company’s Salesforce applications to share a common security model, data model, and user interface. The multi-tenant Force.com platform encompasses a complete feature set for the creation of business applications such as an on-demand operating system, the ability to create any database on demand, a workflow engine for managing collaboration between users, the Apex Code programming language for building complex logic, the Force.com Web Services API for programmatic access, mash-ups, and integration with other applications and data, and now Visualforce for a framework to build any user interface.
Contact www.salesforce.com
BLUEROADS and CoAMS Announce Strategic Alliance to Deliver Leading Integrated Deal Registration and Incentive Management Solution
BLUEROADS Corporation, the leading provider of Partner Opportunity Management (POM) Solutions and CoAMS, a leading provider of strategic Trade Promotion Management (TPM) Solutions jointly announced a strategic partnership to deliver the leading, unified deal registration and trade fund management solution for medium to large enterprises with multi-dimensional reseller organizations. This partnership enables enterprises to capture and track all MDF and Co-op fund incentives for partners from deal registration through to claim payment.
“BLUEROADS’ focus is on Partner Opportunity Management solutions for large enterprises, and designing the right incentive program is key to driving partner program revenue,” said Shinya Akamine, CEO of BLUEROADS Corporation. “The tracking and administration of MDF, Co-op and Rebate incentives for large enterprises requires an industrial-grade Trade Fund Management solution which is easy to use. The combined BLUEROADS and CoAMS solution will result in increased business alignment and improved trust for both vendor and partner.”
BLUEROADS develops the leading Deal Registration solution, which allows vendors/suppliers to develop and track incentive programs and compensation around registered opportunities. CoAMS’ combination of industry leading technology and services simplifies the end-to-end process of proposing marketing activities and submitting claims for reimbursement of MDF and Co-op funds.
“Successful Trade Promotion Management is a sophisticated process which starts with vendors and partners driving revenue together. Vendors turn to us to facilitate every step of the process – from the program design to back office accounting,” said Hank Riner, CEO of CoAMS. “We recognize that working with a partner like BLUEROADS allows us to provide high value solutions that streamline the entire process from deal registration to claim payment”.
Contact www.blueroads.com
Contact www.coams.com
Arxan Releases GuardIT for Microsoft .NET Framework
Arxan Technologies, a leading provider of application hardening solutions designed to protect software IP from piracy and tampering, has added to its GuardIT family of products, GuardIT for .NET. This addition provides advanced code protection for Microsoft .NET framework applications. GuardIT employs dynamic Guard protection to harden purely managed applications, as well as today’s more typical combination of managed and native code applications.
GuardIT’s advanced anti-tamper protection for .NET applications goes beyond simplistic and fragile obfuscation techniques, and is available on the market today for companies that require a durable and easy to use software protection solution for their .NET applications.
“We are seeing rapid growth and investment in .NET applications across the entire software development industry, and in particular in traditionally native C/C++ applications such as CAD/CAM or EDA software,” said Mike Dager, CEO, Arxan Technologies. “These software solutions are also, unfortunately, among those that are reverse engineered the most, so offering .NET protection to our customers is a logical next step in the expansion of our GuardIT product line. Now, companies that deliver software products can ensure their code is protected against tampering or piracy, regardless of which programming language or languages their software is built with.”
GuardIT for Microsoft .NET protects managed code in mixed-mode and pure managed-code assemblies, and provides various Guards for obfuscating and transforming managed code, and encrypting character strings. The obfuscation Guards in GuardIT for Microsoft .NET transform program instructions into code that is difficult for hackers to understand, for instance, by inserting garbage code. Arxan’s GuardIT is the only platform that provides best-of-breed protection for both native and managed code. GuardIT’s protection deeply and intricately binds these segments together in mixed-mode binaries, ensuring durable protection without high performance impact, and without affecting the software development process itself.
Through an interconnected mesh of small security units called Guards scattered across a compiled binary and then dissolved into the application, GuardIT deeply fortifies the overall software product against piracy, tampering, reverse engineering or other forms of attack. GuardIT protects Windows applications in both 32-bit and 64-bit architecture.
Contact www.arxan.com. |
