When a person initially visits a website, they're not sure whether or not they are going to find what they’re looking for. Obviously, you want to provide it for them. So how are you to know exactly what it is they desire? The easy thing to do is throw a bunch of options at them and hope they choose one, but this will only overwhelm them.
It is important to not be too hasty with these things. Patience and confidence is not only more attractive to customers, but it also gives you the time to gather the information you need about your client base. With progressive profiling, websites are able to gradually get to know their leads and gain their interest in the brand at the same time.
How Progressive Profiling Works
The key is to ask your visitor simple and to the point questions. Keep these questions in groups of 2 or 3, when questions come in lists they automatically become time consuming. The first questions you will want to ask are the basics: first name, last name and email. People answer these questions all the time, all day, every day. They don’t even have to think, their computer may even autofill it for them, easy-peasy.
Now your sales team has the information they need to send them a few drip emails, based on the typical personas of the site’s visitors, that could dip into an area they’re interested in. The person may then click on a CTA provided in an email and register for a webinar.
The webinar will also only consist of a few simple and easy questions such as: position, location, and number of employees. Now, the only information left to gather is their budget and the time frame in which they are able to make their purchase. By plugging these questions in gradually, you are learning the necessary information you need to make a sale without scaring them off.
Why Do This?
Happier Visitors
People are tired of having to sift through the repetitive questions and monotonous information listed on websites. It’s refreshing for them to find something simple, easy and to the point. By doing this you spare them the aggravation of having to repeat themselves and reread the same stuff over and over again. This will also give you the opportunity to learn certain specifics about your current leads and the future prospects you could be attracting.
Happier Sales Team
Now your sales team will be clued into what your potential customers are generally involved in. It’s not always easy for them to gain insight. These gradual questions will give them exactly what they need by defining the typical budget, concerns and priorities of the regular visitor.
Happier Conversion Rates
Because your forms are short, they are quick and easy to blast through. We are living in a world where convenience is key. When something requires so little brain power, people are less bothered to take those few seconds to stop and fill it out. The easier it is for people to get through the steps, the more often it is bound to happen.
Developing Personas
If your marketing team has been struggling to collect the data they need to develop their clients’ personas, progressive profiling will undoubtedly help. By using the knowledge that exists around human behavior and the information gathered from your questions, your team will be able to shine the brand under a light more appealing to the site’s usual visitors.
Be sure to form the questions according to the information needed. This way a list of the different personas your company most appeals to can be built. Consider what questions would be good to ask, such as, what their product interest is and what products they may have used before.
Combining these details with the budget they have provided and the knowledge you collect about their company will allow you to fit them into a profile. Once you have defined personas, your team will have a clear and congruent idea of who are they are marketing to and will be able to develop specific practices that would appeal to these groups.
