Thoughts on Marketing…

A few minutes ago I read an email about Home Warranties. It talked about the value of having insurance for the things that your homeowner’s policy doesn’t cover.

Since I’ve had clients in the past who swore by home warranties and wanted to refresh my memory about exactly what they covered, I decided to click on the link that promised to tell me.

The link said “Take a look at expenses not covered by homeowner’s insurance.”

But guess what? When I followed that link I got a “Squeeze Page” that asked for ALL of my information: Name, address, phone, cell phone, email – everything. The copy next to it instructed me to fill out the form and a representative would call.

So, of course I clicked away. I wanted some information, not a series of calls from someone intent on selling me a warranty.

I believe most of us react that way, now that the Internet offers us the opportunity. We want to do our research first, compare what different companies offer, compare pricing, and decide which company we might want to deal with.

Before we do talk to someone, we might even dig around on line to see what other people have to say about the company. Are they listed on Ripoff Reports? Are there blog posts saying good or bad things about them?

Giving some basic information and promising to send more by return email is a good way to capture the names of interested clients. Insisting that they give you all their contact information before you tell them anything is not.

This particular company would have done well to first give the promised information – what repairs they cover. Then they could offer a report with case studies, statistics showing how homes with warranties sell faster or for more money, or even the price sheet showing the different options available.

What do you think? Would you have left your information on that site?