The landing page, or lead capture page, is an essential tool in the marketer’s toolbox. Yet many marketers completely overlook one of the most important opportunities to drive engagement on landing pages. I know what you’re thinking: how could that be? Aren’t they designed to drive engagement?
Landing pages are where prospects willingly offer detailed data about themselves in exchange for something they value from your brand. Landing pages have been around for decades, so you might think we have cracked the code on what really works. Wrong. It’s a trial-and-error, measurement-heavy, multi-dimensional rat hole of a problem. All sorts of things impact landing page effectiveness – colors, layout, typeface, copy, illustrations, forms, and the list goes on. But there is one area marketers consistently overlook, and that’s the Thank You page.
Apu Has the Right Idea
If you’ve ever watched The Simpsons, you know that after every Kwik-E-Mart transaction Apu (the convenience store owner) says “Thank you. Come again.” (BTW- that’s Simpsons reference #2 in less than 5 days – thank you very much!) Now, you don’t need to sound like a convenience store clerk, but the landing page is the one place you want to layer in a few extra calls to action for the prospect. Most landing page tools have a confirmation or Thank You page after a recipient submits a form, and according to Gleanster research about 60% of landing pages fail to engage the prospect after the initial form. Think about it: you literally cracked the code on the conversion challenge. The prospect was so interested that they took action, and within the 5-10 seconds after they click the submit button they are unlikely to be more engaged by your brand for quite some time. So take advantage of that opportunity in the Thank You or submission confirmation popup.
Consider layering in these call-to-action opportunities.
- Reinforce the brand. If you don’t want to sell them something or if it’s not appropriate, consider a communication that showcases your values, something unique about your firm, or a key differentiator for your brand.
- Sell them something. If it’s a landing page for a known customer, are there opportunities to showcase add-on products or services?
- Make social sharing simple. They just engaged with your brand, so ask them if they have friends or colleagues who would also benefit from the information they just downloaded. Provide social sharing links right there on the Thank You page.
- Show them they aren’t alone. Showcase another customer or prospect who is using the product or service they just asked to learn more about. Show them that it was safe to submit their information. You got their attention, so validate that they made the right choice
- Ask them a question. That’s a biggie! If they just engaged and gave you information, can you take advantage of that to pull a little bit more out of them? One or two questions on a Thank You page might give you everything you need to personalize their next communication. Also, these questions don’t clutter up the initial landing page, making them more likely to convert on the main page. Open-ended questions are more engaging than pick-list interactions. Don’t ask them what stupid products they want to learn more about. Consider “What are your biggest challenges with…” or “What are your goals for…” If they take the time to type in a unique answer, you had better believe they will remember you later on. Also, this becomes great insight for sales or marketing communications.
