4/30/09

If At First You Don’t Succeed…

From the time I first jumped into the web site making business, there has been a common question that is usually asked by my clients right before we launch a site: “So, am I going to be able to know who is looking at my site?”

The answer has always been, ‘Well, not exactly.’ But now there is a new technology out there that is taking us one step closer. DemandBase offers a slick, realtime “ticker” that displays the name of the company that is viewing your web site along with keywords that were used to find your site in a search engine. Although this application does not display the actual identity of the person who was browsing your site, the app taps into the LexisNexis database where you can download contact information for key personnel.

What this means for Internet marketers is that we now have a way to convert our unconverted web traffic.

Allow me to explain. Let’s say that your potential prospects are like trapeze artists. They start their voyage on one side of the tent and your goal is to meet them in the middle to grab them and swing them over to the other side. But even with a good system in place to convert those prospects (i.e. a killer landing page complete with compelling offer, call-to-action, and easy response device), you are not going to be able to reach everyone and some are going to inevitably plummet to the ground. Splat!

Now imagine that there was a net installed beneath the trapeze apparatus so that when your grip slips on some of those prospects they are saved by the net, giving you another opportunity to reach them. That net is DemandBase.

A Search Engine Marketers Dream Come True
The DemandBase software is HUGE for search engine marketers. For instance, let’s say that you launched a targeted SEM campaign for lead generation. If you are doing everything right, you should be sending only good pre-qualified traffic to your site. But for a variety of reasons, you are not going to get everyone to bite on your offer. With DemandBase, you can now build a prospect file from the unconverted visitors. The great thing about this prospect list is that the contacts are usually warmer leads because their organizations have implicitly expressed a need for products, services, or information relevant to what your organization provides. This can translate to higher response rates while mailing fewer quantities saving you thousands of dollars.

Be Careful What You Wish For
Okay, so I’ve discovered that there is a downside to knowing exactly who’s on your web site and what they are looking for. I demoed the DemandBase Stream software a few weeks ago for my agency. As I sat there gleefully watching the little ticker streaming at the bottom of my screen with lead after lead, I was suddenly paralyzed as I read one particular entry:

Organization Name: US Courts
Search Term: Tim Kachuriak








I guess they’ve finally found me!