Online consumers love discounts.  Nothing triggers action like the feeling you’re saving money.

Of course most businesses know this, which is why they have special offers, coupons, and sales.

However, this discount is usually associated with the product or service.  For example, an electrician might offer 10% off on wiring a hot tub.

This can work, but – when you think about – you realize that this requires more of a purchase commitment.  The lead must decide they want this service for the discount to be a motivating factor.

There are a couple of problems with this.  The first is that online consumers hate to make commitments.  The decision is final.  They’re putting their hard-earned bucks into this.

People online are always looking for reasons not to commit their money to something.  Hesitation is instinctual.

The second problem is that the goal of the lead-generation website is not getting the visitor to commit to buying a product or service.

Rather, the website’s goal is to convert visitors into leads.

The goal is to get website visitors to identify themselves as potential clients.  Then you get them on the phone or schedule an estimate where you can secure their commitment as a paying customer.

Incentivize the Contact

So here is a clever tactic for you.  Instead of offering an incentive as a sale or discount on your service, associate it with the act of contacting you.

For example, this electrician offers $20 off your service just for filling out the contact form:

This is a Marketing 360® client.  Their overall conversion rate over the last 180-days is 15.81%, topping out at 26.80% on organic channels:

Here we have a lawn care service that offers 10% savings for signing up online:

This website converts at 22.64% topping out with 25.49% on organic channels:

Both of these websites have this offer centered directly on the homepage.  It’s the focal point of their content.

Lower the Risk and Fear of Commitment

These are just two examples to illustrate how websites use this tactic to achieve high conversion rates.  It works well, but why?

After all, the offer isn’t really any different.  $20 off for filling out a form, or $20 off for wiring a hot tub.  Same saving.

As we alluded to at the start, it has to do with commitment.  Or more specifically, fear of commitment combined with ingrained risk-aversion.

You see, there is an internal battle that goes on with all online consumers.  On the one hand, they love the idea of saving money with great deals.  On the other hand, they hate the idea of buying something they don’t really need.

It’s the battle between the killer deal and buyer’s remorse.

With these offers, the all-important saving/discount is offered, but it’s associated with a low-risk action.  Just contacting the business is – in the person’s mind – not the same level of commitment as deciding to buy a service.

It’s nuanced, but effective at getting the website to do the job it’s actually designed to do.

Most of the time, your website content isn’t going to actually sell your services, even if someone is motivated by a specific discount.  It’s up to you to close the deal with your follow-up process.

Note that if you use this tactic, ask for complete contact information including name, address, and phone number.  Don’t give a 10% discount just to get an email.

Your website is there to generate leads.  When you get someone to sign up online, you’ve generated that lead.

Take away the sense of risk and make it easy to take action, and you’re likely to generate a lot more of them.

*Results are based on past client performance. Individual account performance may vary. Results are not guaranteed.