Marketing
Mind Your Manners: The Importance of the Thank You Page
By Flying Hippo
To get a better idea of thank you pages, put yourself in this situation. It’s your seventh birthday, and your uncle just gave you a new bright red Schwinn bicycle. It’s sure to be the envy of all the kids on the block. You’re thrilled. You feverishly start to run outside so the rubber can hit the road. But WAIT. You get stopped at the door by your mom and asked a vague question to which you know the answer.
“What do you say to your uncle?” she asks.
You’re anxious and annoyed, but you know the two magic words that will get rid of this roadblock. You’ve been forced to say them hundreds of times.
“Thank you!” You respond, as you bolt out the door.
Whether you’re a seven-year-old kid trying to enjoy a gift, or a business trying to nurture new leads, thanking your customer is an important action to get you where you want to go.
When your company decides to implement inbound marketing methodology, do not lose sight of your manners. The “thank you” has a place in the buyer’s journey and is just one more way to draw your lead-in with the end goal of making them a customer.
The best way to incorporate a “thank you” message on your website is with a thank you page after your lead has completed a call-to-action. Whether your call-to-action was as simple as signing up for an e-newsletter, or downloading an educational guide about your area of expertise, any lead completing your prompt deserves a hearty “thank you.” After all, the lead completed the task you were hoping they would. Holy guacamole! It worked! They’re interested!
We know how exciting this is. Here are some important tips to make the most out of your “thank you.”
Wolf in sheep’s clothing
On the outside, the “thank you” message appears to be a kind gesture that will provide your lead with warm fuzzies on the inside. But we also know that a well-positioned thank you page can act as a tool to further the lead into the buyer’s journey, giving you a natural way to pursue your own selfish motives. The “thank you” page can bring your lead back to your website and content. It allows you to present some next-step options to a newly converted lead, and provide them additional information while thanking them at the same time. By only using an option like an inline thank you, you are missing a huge opportunity for additional engagement.
Let em’ know what’s coming
After your lead has filled out your call-to-action, you have an opportunity to engage with them one more time. Here, it’s important to not leave them hanging. Provide them with closure and a clear idea of what is to come after they complete your call-to-action. It can be as simple as, “Check your inbox! We sent you a free guide,” or, “We will be sending your free sample in 2-3 business days.” It’s necessary to provide a tangible idea of when to expect the promised deliverable. The last thing you want is to leave your leads feeling confused.
Fishing for navigation
This is a golden opportunity to reel your lead back into your website. Maybe your lead is already interested in going back to your site and perusing more of your content, or even looking at your products. So don’t make it difficult for the user to navigate back to the website. Your “thank you” landing page should have a navigation bar at the top that will direct users back to the important pages like contact information and products offered. Along with a navigation bar, you could provide a sidebar with other helpful links that bring your lead back to your website, blog or social media content.
Remember, manners are cool!
Really, though. You may be thinking creating a landing page for a “thank you” message on your website seems like a chore that would not bring a lot of results. But in reality, it is yet another point of contact with your target audience, another chance for leads to move further along the buyer’s journey. Jimmy Fallon has made a whole series off of thank you notes- clearly it’s a cool thing to do.
So when building your gated content, always remember to use a “thank you” landing page. Oh, and get your elbows off the dinner table.
