Right This Way

Like thousands before me, I worked my way through college in the restaurant industry. Possibly a precursor to my current role as a consultant, I found myself in charge of training duties.The most important point that I could instill in a new hostess was that of leading the patrons to a table.

For a busy restaurant, there is always a plan or strategy involved in with seating guests. It is up to the hostess to implement that plan in a way that allows the guests to feel welcomed, yet not corralled like cattle.

In a way, the patrons are looking for guidance. No one goes to a fine dining restaurant expecting a sign saying, “Sit Anywhere You Like”. That is for fast food and truck stops. Instead, patrons expect someone to greet them and let them know that, “We have a wonderful table prepared for you. Right this way…”

Would you believe me if I told you that your website visitors are looking for that same sort of guidance? It seems strange, but it is true.

People are busy and overwhelmed with constant stimulus. When they visit a website, they don’t have the time or energy to fully explore every aspect of the website. They expect to be guided to the most important parts of the website. Essentially, they want you to tell them, “Right this way…”

This sort of guidance is prevalent in the better e-commerce sites throughout the Internet. Surf sites like Buy.com and Amazon.com and you will see predominate sections like “Deal of the Week”, “Featured Products” or “New for You”. These sections draw the visitor in. It is a good thing to, because no one has the time to browse the thousands of pages on those sites.

This tactic is what is commonly referred to as a “Call to Action”. This is a way of motivating your website visitors to take some predetermined course of action, usually leading to some type of conversion.

Unfortunately, you rarely see a strong call to action on a real estate or mortgage website. Instead, all facets of the site are equally laid out for the visitor to choose from.

This may be due to the difficulty in identifying a call to action or what is a conversion for a real estate or mortgage website since people don’t purchase homes or home loans online. It isn’t as simple as someone buying a book from Amazon, but there are many strategies for real estate agents and mortgage brokers to apply.

Ask yourself, “Where do I want my website visitors to go?”

• Is there a section of your website that does an excellent job of portraying your expertise or knowledge of your market?
• Do you capture leads through newsletter subscription forms, MLS search registration or comparative market analysis request forms?
• Mortgage brokers, do you have an application form on your website?
• How about getting them to pick up the phone and call you?

These are all places that you should be leading your website visitors toward.

Choose a path to “recommend” and predominately place a link to that path on virtually every page of your site. Remember, “Right this way…”

To learn more about calls to action, read How to Improve Online Sales with a Sharper Call to Action by John Alexander. For more information on real estate website conversions, check out MyTechOpinion.com.