Getting someone to your website is important. Convincing that person to take action is even better. A successful website does more than attract visitors—it encourages them to take action. But when someone clicks “Contact Us,” requests a quote or schedules an appointment, the customer journey is only beginning. What happens next can strengthen the trust your website has built or cause a valuable opportunity to disappear.
VisionAmp’s “After the Click” Series explores what happens after a website visitor takes action—and whether your business is prepared to turn that interest into a customer relationship.
Part One - “Your Contact Form Worked. Did Your Business?” Examines how online inquiries are received and handled.
Part Two - “Thank You Is Not a Strategy.” Focuses on confirmation messages and the importance of clearly explaining what happens next.
Part Three - “Don’t Let a Hot Lead Go Cold.” Looks at response time, meaningful follow-up and protecting the momentum your website worked hard to create.
Businesses invest considerable time, money and effort into attracting potential customers. They improve their search rankings. They run advertising campaigns. They post on social media. They update their photography, strengthen their messaging and create calls to action designed to turn website visitors into leads.
Every part of that process is intended to produce a click. But a click does not automatically produce a customer. It creates an opportunity. What the business does with that opportunity can either reinforce the confidence the website has built or cause the potential customer to reconsider the decision to reach out.
A person who submits a contact form has taken a small risk. They have shared their information, explained what they need, and invited your business to respond. They are now waiting to see whether reaching out was the right decision.
Every website communicates a promise. It may promise professionalism, responsiveness, expertise, convenience, quality or personal service. Your design helps make that promise. Your photographs support it. Your content explains it. Your testimonials provide evidence that other customers have experienced it. The moment someone clicks, your business must begin proving it.
A polished website followed by a slow, confusing or impersonal response creates a disconnect. The customer may begin to wonder whether the company they encountered online is the same company they are dealing with in real life.
Businesses often separate marketing from customer service. Marketing attracts the person. Customer service takes over after contact is made. From the customer’s perspective, however, there is no separation. It is all one experience.
The contact form, confirmation message, returned phone call, email response, appointment process and follow-up communication are all extensions of the website. When those pieces work together, the customer experiences a smooth transition from interest to conversation.
When they do not, valuable opportunities can be lost.
A website may generate plenty of inquiries, but those inquiries will not create business results unless someone receives them, understands them and responds appropriately. The website can open the door. Your team must be prepared to welcome the customer inside.
Most businesses know approximately how many people visit their website. Fewer know what happens to those visitors after they make contact.
Consider a few important questions:
Who receives your website inquiries?
How quickly does someone respond?
Does the customer know the message was received?
Is the information routed to the right person?
Can your team see what the customer already submitted?
Is there a process for following up?
Do you know which inquiries eventually become customers?
These questions reveal whether the website and the business are truly working together. Increasing website traffic may be helpful, but more traffic is not always the answer. A company may already be generating valuable leads and losing them somewhere between the contact form and the first meaningful conversation.
Before investing in more clicks, it may be worth examining what happens to the clicks you already receive.
Customers notice what happens after they reach out. They notice whether the confirmation message is helpful or vague, whether the response feels personal or automated, whether someone has read the information they submitted - they even notice if they are asked to repeat themselves. They notice whether the next step is clear.
Each of these details communicates something about the company. A prompt and informed response says, “We are paying attention.” “We know what we are doing.” A personal conversation says, “Your business matters to us.”
Silence communicates something too.
Throughout this series, we will examine the customer journey that begins when a website visitor takes action. We will look at topics such as:
The Click Is Not the Finish Line
Why a website conversion should be viewed as the beginning of a business relationship rather than the completion of a marketing goal.
How form submissions should be delivered, assigned and handled so valuable inquiries do not disappear into an unattended inbox.
How confirmation messages and thank-you pages can reassure customers, explain the next step and keep them engaged.
Why response time matters and how businesses can create a dependable process without being available every hour of every day.
How better communication between your website, employees and internal systems can create a smoother customer experience.
Follow up without being a nuisance.
How to remain helpful and relevant without overwhelming potential customers with repetitive messages.
The sale after the sale.
How websites can support customer retention, reviews, referrals and future business after the original transaction is complete.
Each installment will focus on a different point in the journey and offer practical ways to strengthen the connection between your website and your real-world customer experience.
At VisionAmp Web Design, we believe a website should do more than look good. It should help people find your business, understand what you offer, trust your company, and take the next step. Our “After the Click” series will help you determine whether your business is making the most of them. Because the click matters. What happens next matters even more. Stay tuned…