So you’ve mastered your landing page, you’ve got Facebook fans and twitter lists and analytics is running smoothly…but what have you forgotten? A page that usually gets lost in the shuffle is the “Thank-you” or “Confirmation” page.
Businesses often focus on external strategies to increase web traffic and higher conversions, and put little effort into making their existing conversions become returning visitors, brand advocates and loyal customers.
The basic goal of the “thank-you” page is to let the customer know that they’ve successfully complete the transaction. This is the bear bones approach and one that doesn’t leverage the fact that the person who filled out your form is not only interested but already sold and ready for more. A good “thank-you” page can turn a one-time business engagement into a lifetime business opportunity. It will allow you to build a relationship with a customer and not just capture them.
According to MarketingSherpa, “39% of all visitors to a thank-you page take advantage of another offer.” After a customer has purchased an item you can offer a second item, a newsletter subscription, an RSS feed or webinar. If they subscribe you have the ability to offer upgrades and new items on a continuous basis.
So before you pop the cork and celebrate for getting the notification that a new lead has signed up and come through your site, pause and reflect on what you are telling that lead before they’ve moved on. Here are a few best practices you can use to make sure your “thank-you” page not only becomes part of the lead nurturing process but that every customer is excited to hear from your team.
Every landing page should have a dedicated thank-you page. This will make it easy to fine tune your thank-you page to continue reinforcing the value of the offer.
Tell your lead what will happen next. A re you sending them an email with a link to a PDF for them to download? Will they be getting a call to schedule an assessment within 24 hours? The absolute last thing you want the lead to think is “Oh great, they have my email address – now what?
Add an additional call-to-action. Ask the visitor to subscribe to your blog or follow you in social media. They’ve already completed one action you asked them to do, so why not ask for something else that will help them stay in touch with you, while increasing your marketing reach.
Share, share, share. Ask the lead to share the offer with friends. Give them an easy to share link that leads others back to the landing page for the offer. This will expand your reach even further.
Be consistent. If someone fills out your form and goes to a page that looks nothing like the page where they filled out the form, they may worry that they did something wrong. Make sure your thank-you design is consistent with your landing page.
Some additional ideas for your thank-you page include:
- Downloads (Whitepapers)
- Newsletter subscriptions
- Latest media highlights
- Highlight testimonials or success case studies
- Anything to get them to know the company better
- Related products or information
- Fill out a feedback survey
- State when they’ll hear back if needed
- Tell-a-friend link
- Social media feeds and links
Incorporating these ideas into your lead conversion strategy will give you a better chance for loyal customers, brand awareness and marketing reach. Thank-you…check out our twitter feed and head over to our website for more info.
