Talking about cost on your website can be scary for several valid reasons. You may be afraid that competitors could see your prices and decide to undercut you. You may be afraid that prospects will be overcome with sticker shock before even getting to talk to you.
My two cents? You shouldn’t let fear keep your business from growing. In the modern age, when customers have ultimate researching power because of easy access to the internet, being transparent and providing helpful information is key to winning their business.
Why talk about cost on your website
Buyer preferences have shifted away from the typical sales conversation and toward sales empowerment. A whopping 79% of modern buyers want to research their options and make the entire purchase decision on their own, without ever having to talk to your team. Millennials are internet dependent and internet savvy; as the up-and-coming homeowners and property managers whose loyalty you want to capture, you should be accommodating their need to make purchase decisions on their own and bypass talking to anyone on the phone.
Related: Mile-high millennials—What the next generation of homebuyers means for builders
How to talk about cost on your website
What is the best way to grow your business with a cost guide? The long answer is through inbound marketing tactics. The short answer is in the form of a gated lead capture offer. A “gated lead capture offer” is a piece of content (ebook, guide, checklist, worksheet, etc.) that can be accessed only when the user enters the required information—typically their email address.
So, how can you do this?
1. Create Your Cost Guide. Make your cost guide as specific as is reasonable and full of valuable information so your prospects begin to trust your company. It can be as long or as short as is relevant to the audience.
2. Create your landing page. The landing page is a page on your website that houses a brief introduction to the content offer (i.e., the cost guide), bullet points related to what’s inside the content offer, and the download form.
3. Create your thank you page. The thank you page loads once the form on the landing page has been submitted. To do this, set your thank you page URL as the “redirect” option for the form on the landing page. Your thank you page should confirm the form submission, include the resource, list additional content your audience would benefit from, and include a different form giving leads the option to request an estimate!
4. Connect the dots. Step 4 is crucial, as you have to get people to your landing page. You can do this in several ways:
- Add a link in your menu.
- Place “Call to Action” buttons on relevant website pages.
- Run Facebook and Google Ads.
- Add internal links in your website and blog content.
- Share it on social media.
- Share it in emails.
Results from talking about cost
A cost guide is a powerful lead generation tool. Let’s look at the success gained by a fencing company when they talked about fencing materials’ cost on their website. Their cost guide is in the form of a 12-page ebook that breaks down the characteristics and price per linear foot of nine different fencing materials.
From mid-April through September of 2019, this guide generated:
- 2,493 specific website sessions
- 508 marketing qualified leads
- 100 sales qualified leads who requested estimates
Of those 100 qualified leads, 31 signed the dotted line and became a customer. The revenue generated from these deals whistled to the tune of $511,733. Not bad for a 12-page cost guide. And they’re not the only ones with a positive result from talking about cost on their website.
When are you going to talk about cost on your website?
