A website is a must-have tool in a world where consumers continuously turn to Google for retail advice. But creating an appealing and usable website that achieves what it’s supposed to do isn’t always straightforward.

Regardless of the design and content quality, a website needs to have three key features to stand any chance of success. These are a landing page, a reason for the customer to want to leave their contact information and a contact form.

Spending money on advertising or social media is pointless if you fail at the final hurdle. To achieve real value, a customer needs to be driven to a specific page relating to their enquiry. This will help you to convert interest into a sale.

Any marketing effort that drives a consumer to a company home page will fail. Potential customers will not waste time sifting through unwanted information to find what they need. They will move on.

Landing pages are focused on converting visitors into leads. They will target a specific customer group or the traffic generated via a specific campaign. They allow you to offer customers something of value or download your special marketing offers.

Landing pages should provide extra information about the product or service advertised. They should also provide an opportunity to capture information about your visitor.

The drawback of advanced communication has been information overload. Modern consumers are very skilled at avoiding advertising and detecting sales pitches in the information they are sent. This means businesses have had to get clever in how they choose to reach out to their customers.

Business should engage with consumers by offering something valuable. This doesn’t have to be of monetary value - although an offer or discount will always be appreciated. Many consumers value information and the offer of free advice is enough to entice many customers to sign up.

A contact form is your means of generating new leads. It will also help you engage with your customers in the future and enhance marketing activity.

The most important point is to keep a contact form simple. Web users will be suspicious of long and complicated forms which ask for too much information. This is your first interaction with your audience so keep it simple to gain trust.

The best contact forms include a strong call to action. This is a concise statement or button that they can click to get exactly what it is they want. A ‘Get your free report’ link or ‘Redeem your voucher’ button, for example.

There are numerous examples online to help get your contact form just right. Maximise your own chance of a sale by learning through others’ mistakes.

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