Whether you offer a product or service, online customers can be fickle. According to Forrester Research of Cambridge, Mass., 88% of online shoppers that begin a transaction don’t complete it, a term known as “shopping cart abandonment.”

And consider this: Researchers say consumers searching for goods or services online will visit an average of four websites within a 30-minute period. This means that if visitors to your site request more information, you’ve got to follow up fast to beat your competition to the punch.

Here are three best ways to convert an online prospect into a client:

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1. Reach out within seconds. Once prospects’ information is in your hands—whether they’ve submitted a form or sent an email asking for more information—the clock is ticking. These days, customers anticipate a rapid response, and the longer you wait, the more likely you are to lose their interest, says Glenn Houck, co-founder of LeadQual LLC, a Stratford, Conn., firm that helps businesses turn leads into sales. He recommends following up within seconds, not just minutes. If a business doesn’t have internal staff to monitor emails or response forms, it can hire providers of so-called “lead-management” services. For instance, for a fee of about $5 per lead, LeadQual will call prospects back within 50 seconds, as well as to follow up multiple times. Once prospects express more interest, they are put directly in touch with the business. While rapid response might not be the only factor that gets you the deal, the immediate attention can make a positive impression.

2. Follow up, again and again. There’s no need to hang up your hat just because the prospect hasn’t returned your call on the first try. Recent data released by Leads360, a provider of lead-management software in Los Angeles, indicates that repeated follow-up can lead to success. Leads360 found that making a second phone call increased the chance of making a sale by 87%. Further, the magical number of calls it took to change as many prospects as possible into clients was six. Jeff Solomon, founder and Senior Vice President of Leads360, says the six-call follow-up should take place within the first month of initially hearing from the prospect. If you want to do something other than phone calls, Mr. Solomon suggests reaching out with what he calls a “nurture email” that contains additional information, such as guides, online calculators and other tools that can help prospects better understand your interest in landing their business.

3. Get to know your prospects. Ever wonder who is coming to your site, what they are clicking on, and how they utilize it? If visitors don’t fill out a form or suggestion card, it’s possible to use analytics to determine a variety of useful information, including how the prospect found your site. Programs that track Web traffic range from Google Inc.’s free Google Analytics to ones that charge fees such as Adobe Systems Inc.’s Omniture. “Knowing how a customer acts within the site is vital,” says Shmuli Goldberg, director of marketing and communications for online-analytics provider ClickTale. For instance, you can use analytics to find out where users click most on your site, or what grabs their attention and holds it. Another key bit of info you can glean is how prospects react to your online forms, down to what they won’t fill out (incidentally, it’s often their phone number). Once you know where you are losing visitors, you can make changes to your site that eliminate superfluous information and allow for a more user-friendly browsing experience.

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From the serious to the silly – silicone wristbands are hot again. Check out these two new trends from opposite ends of the spectrum. Both are great promotional items and are an innovative twist on this popular ad specialties product. Performance Technology These bands tout the ability to give you better balance or increase strength and flexibility. Pro athletes are wearing them across a wide variety of sports disciplines. In terms of promotion, these are great tie-ins to promote organizational stability, flexibility, and strength.

The novelty factor infuses an underlying message of innovation, out-of-the-box thinking and cutting-edge awareness. One of our graphics team brought one out with him one night for some night life field testing. The wristband was designed to help with physical balance. Results showed that, indeed, it was harder to push someone off balance when wearing one.

Fun and functional, this item is interactive and creates a lot of buzz. Silly and Successful Who would have thought that the molded silicone version of a rubber band would be an overnight collectible. Kids across the nation are colleting these and wearing them by the dozens. Numbers, letters, objects, animal and people sillhouetes in bright colors adorn the wrists like spongey gauntlets.

This collectible craze is not only limited to children. The all important adult demographic has been spotted sporting these super cool wristbands. Once only available in stock shapes, the silicone wristband is now available to promotional marketers as a custom molded product. Custom packaging solutions are also offered to further underscore brand messaging. Who knew such a silly idea would end up as a promotional powerhouse?

Call Rector Communications today for a list of available products and pricing opportunities. www.rectorcom.com  or by email at info@rectorcom.com

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In case you’re wondering what inspires a billionaire to give away half their wealth, we’ve compiled a few excerpts from some of their pledge statements. Read the full letters here.
T. Boone Pickens: I’ve long stated that I enjoy making money, and I enjoy giving it away. I like making money more, but giving it away is a close second… I’m not a big fan of inherited wealth. It generally does more harm than good.

Michael Bloomberg: The reality of great wealth is that you can’t spend it and you can’t take it with you… Making a difference in people’s lives – and seeing it with your own eyes – is perhaps the most satisfying thing you’ll ever do. If you want to fully enjoy life – give.

Ted Turner: I’m particularly thankful for my father’s advice to set goals so high that they can’t possibly be achieved during a lifetime and to give help where help is needed most. That inspiration keeps me energized and eager to keep working hard every day on giving back and making the world a better place for generations to come.

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The first step to starting a race is picking a good location for it that will attract a lot of local people to it. People like to support local charities in their town and like it even more if it is a fun event too. Coming up with a clever fun name often is all it takes to attract people, believe it or not. One great example is the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati; the Turkey Trot in Noblesville, IN; or the Warrior Dash. People love the funny name and all of the flying pig, turkey, and viking memorabilia and logos attached to it that they often sign up just for that reason.

Once you have a location and a name for your race, you need to pick a good date that will not compete with any other events on that same day. Some people choose a certain holiday to center their race around like a Jingle Bell Run in December or a Shamrock Shuffle on St. Patrick’s Day. If the race is done well, people will sign up no matter what the time of the year is or the weather. Once the date is secured, you will need to get a permit to have the race from the town as well as secure help from police to make sure it will be safe for the runners and walkers.

Now it is time to secure sponsors and donations for the event. Top sponsors will be included in all advertisements for the race as well as displayed on the race t-shirt for everyone to see. Often local businesses want this advertisement as well as helping their community so it should not be too difficult to secure several sponsors. If a business does not want to be a large sponsor they may want to donate items for the racers goody bag that may include coupons or products from their business or other little items like pads of paper or drink cozies with their business name on it. If the goody bag is exceptionally good, many runners will want to sign up for your race over others.

Good advertising for the event is the last step as well as securing many volunteers. Advertise with flyers, posters, on the internet, and on the local radio or TV stations too. The more volunteers you have the better the race experience for the participants. Even children can help hand out water at water stations and hand out medals to participants finishing the race. having awards for top finishers is a nice touch too for the more competitive runners.

Contact Rector Communications for help, sponsorship, apparel, and memorable give-away items for your event. www.rectorcom.com

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According to data, consumers have an improving short-term view of the business climate and labor market. Among respondents in March, 18.3% expect economic conditions to become better over the next six months, up from 16.1% in February. In March, those claiming business conditions are good rose to 8.6%, increasing from 6.8% a month earlier. Additionally, 14.6% of respondents anticipate more jobs will soon become available, a modest jump from 13.2% in February.

Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department released mixed economic news this week, announcing consumer spending rose slightly in February while personal income remained flat. Disposable income was also unchanged in February, and with no income growth, national savings slipped to its lowest level since October 2008, according to government reports. In a reversal from earlier in the year, payrolls of goods-producing industries dropped $3.5 billion in February, with manufacturing slipping $1.4 billion following a $5 billion gain in January.

Further obscuring an already unsettled long-term outlook for many consumers, the private sector cut an estimated 23,000 jobs in March. However, analysts believe overall U.S. employment numbers could actually rebound in March, buoyed by temporary hiring related to the 2010 Census. A full Bureau of Labor Statistics report will be released tomorrow.

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The most popular activities among smartphone users are visiting websites (80%), taking photos (74%), and using email (73%), according to a recent global survey by Crowd Science.

Source: eMarketer

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When choosing the promotional items for your giveaways, consider the following questions.

Does The Item Match Your Message?

As shown in the example above, the promotional giveaway items you select should closely complement the message your business projects. The promotional items for your trade show booths should match the branding of your business, should fit your business colors and graphics, and should put forth a theme that complements your business message. For example, if you have a music business geared at young adults, consider .mp3 player pouches printed with your logo and website address as a giveaway.

Does The Item Relate To Your Business?

The whole point of giveaways at your trade show booths is getting a base of new customers who will relate a need they have back to your business. For example, a marketing firm might not want to give away teddy bear keychains. A lead may pass this type of giveaway off to their child and may not even associate a teddy bear keychain with a marketing company when they need a marketing company. Make sure your giveaway items relate to your business and include your vital contact information.

Can You Afford The Item?

One of the most difficult facets of choosing giveaway items is choosing items that fit within a certain budget. It would be great to give away HDTVs and everyone in the exhibition would flock to your trade show booth to get one, but if it sends your business into bankruptcy, it doesn’t make good sense. Select a well thought out, high quality item that fits your marketing message and budget. If you would rather give larger, more expensive items, consider only giving them to invited leads or hold a drawing so people have to come to your booth and sign up to enter.

Did You Read The Fine Print And Check The Shipping Dates?

Unfortunately, many trade show booth exhibitors don’t read the fine print when ordering promotional giveaway products. This causes them to pay extra fees that send these items out of their affordable budget range. Many times exhibitors at trade show booths fail to ask about shipping and delivery, so they end up with no giveaways on the day of the event, but have a warehouse full the day after.

Will Your Customers Like The Item?

Make sure your customers will like the items you choose. For example, if every trade show booth is giving away pencils, attendees will have enough pencils to last a lifetime. They’ll throw them in a big box and won’t usually give them another thought. Make sure you give something your customers will appreciate, but that is also different that what other trade show booths are giving away when possible.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a large San Francisco international corporation or a small business in Chicago, trade show booths and giveaways require a good balance between all of these variables. By using well chosen giveaways, you will attract the leads you need to grow your business.

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