Técnicas utilizadas para la elicitación de requerimientos

The Web response form (WRF) is the electronic equivalent of a di-rect mail reply card and, as such, represents a fundamental change in the way people may prefer to respond. A WRF can be part of a “land-ing page” or “jump page”—a termination point of a specialized URL designed to funnel response from traditional or interactive direct mar-keting media. Unlike the passive e-mail address, the WRF is active.

In fact, it is interactive. And Internet marketers are using it with great success.

Here is how it works. You place a direct response ad, you send out a piece of direct mail, you place a banner ad or e-mail newsletter ad, or you send out an e-mail. In the call to action, you may include tradi-tional response paths, such as an address or fax number, and an 800 or 888 toll-free phone number to take inquiries or orders, but you add as a response path a special Web URL, set up as a unique identifier for the specific campaign, if possible.

The special Web URL can “hang off” of your existing Web site.

Simply create a URL address, such as www.[your Web site name].com/

[promotional identifying code or word]. The downside is that some in-dividuals may go to the corporate Web address anyway, not typing the extension. These kinds of special URLs therefore work best when they are direct links from within an e-mail. You should expect a percentage of total leads generated by a campaign using a special URL to go to your corporate Web site rather than the special address, so it is gener-ally a good idea to mention the campaign on the home page and then drive prospects to the same WRF off of the home page. To track the respondent back to a particular list or other coded criteria, you should assign an access code, generate it onto the mailing piece in a prominent place, and then ask the respondent to enter that code on the WRF.

Better yet, you can apply for a completely unique URL that relates specifically to the product promotion—although there is an additional cost associated with it. Completely unique URLs associated with a high-value offer may be beneficial because they lead the prospect away from a general Web site’s home page. That is important if you are truly trying to track the lead back to a specific campaign, rather than have it go to a general Web page where you cannot track it.

Why? For the same reason you include a reply card in direct mail and say “Respond today for this free offer by returning the reply card”

instead of saying “Contact us for more information.” In direct

market-ing, you need to facilitate response by telling the respondent specifically what to do and where to go. Making a specific offer instead of offering general information is a proven response generator. Asking for a spe-cific response to that offer facilitates and potentially increases response.

Directing a prospect to a corporate Web site in a lead generation campaign opens up a multitude of options that could actually be a bar-rier to response. When prospects go to a Web site’s home page instead of a Web response form, they may not be able to easily find the response path. Many Web site home pages are too busy and filled with links, and most Web marketers do not give a lot of thought to including a WRF that stands out from all the home page clutter.

There is another nasty side effect to not using a WRF. B-to-b pros-pects are becoming far more accustomed to the Web as a means of learn-ing about companies and their products. That means they may go to a company’s general Web site when they see an ad or receive a piece of direct mail—even if a special URL is included in the promotion. Pros-pects visit the general Web site, look around, find the information they want, and then leave. As a result, the campaign generates responses, maybe even good leads, but they cannot be attributed to that specific campaign. The campaign “leaks leads,” because the marketer never cap-tures any identifying information about the prospects. When the mar-keter analyzes the campaign, it may look as if it did not do so well, even though leads were actually coming in—but through a response path that was not being measured as part of the campaign.

That is why it is essential to tie a compelling and unique offer to your WRF—preferably something a prospect can receive only by going to that specific WRF. If the offer is unique, prospects will be more likely to go to a special place to get it. A common mistake is making a direct marketing offer that is already on your Web site. If anyone can gain access to the offer through your corporate Web site and it is not neces-sary to provide identifying and qualifying information to read it, you may get a visitor—but you will not get a lead.

Obviously, if you do a lot of direct mail promotions and do not find it feasible to use different URLs for your WRFs, you could use your home page as the destination. Then it is important to have a prominent area on your home page that highlights promotions so that respondents can get there quickly. This should link to a promotions page that briefly describes each promotion and shows a graphic so that the respondent can relate it back to the direct mail piece received. As mentioned earlier, if you wish to track the response by list or other key criteria, you will

need to generate a tracking code on the mail piece and ask the respon-dent to fill in that code on the WRF.

Web Response Forms Tighten the Lead Qualification Process The WRF is designed to tighten the lead generation and qualification process. When the respondent goes to your special URL, he or she finds the WRF—a page or a series of pages, along with an interactive form, reinforcing that individual’s interest immediately. The WRF potentially turns that preliminary interest into an action. A WRF can also capture valuable marketing information about the respondent and ask qualify-ing questions. See Figure 2.1 for an example.

WRFs can be especially effective as the termination point of Web banner advertising. The Web banner ad can be linked directly to the WRF. The prospect clicks on the ad and is routed instantly to the WRF.

In this case, since the banner ad is just a teaser, the WRF can be a Web response area, or even a Web “mini-site.” The purpose of this area is to share information so that the prospect can make a more informed in-quiry and possibly even a purchase.

A Web response area can be thought of as “electronic fulfillment”

(more about this later). Electronic fulfillment is something that is fast becoming a standard in the Age of the “e.” As the cost of printed mate-rials goes up, electronic fulfillment becomes all the more attractive.

For some direct mail lead generation campaigns, all that is needed is a cost-effective postcard that encourages a prospect to get an offer by visiting a special URL. There, the prospect arrives at a Web response area and finds complete information about the offer and the product being promoted. The prospect can then “pay” for the offer with “mar-keting currency” by typing in his or her contact information and an-swering some qualifying questions. The prospect sends the form, the marketer gets the lead, and the prospect instantly receives the offer online via electronic fulfillment. Very tidy.

The Basics of Constructing Web Response Forms

Web response areas and WRFs can be constructed in a number of ways, but here are some of the basic things to include:

• A headline at the top of the WRF welcomes or thanks the respon-dent for visiting. The headline acknowledges the fact that the re-spondent came to this special page to get or do something. The headline should tie in directly with the promotion itself in terms of graphic look and feel and copy.

• The WRF reinforces the promotion and summarizes the offer. It is a good idea to use some of the copy from the original promo-tion to integrate and leverage the messaging.

Figure 2.1. A direct mail campaign leads to this Web Response Form (WRF) for WorldCom. The WRF uses the best elements of direct marketing: reinforcing the creative approach of the direct mail, highlighting the offer, and collecting qualifying information. (Only the top portion of the form is shown.)

• If necessary, one or more pages provide product information.

• Instructional copy tells the respondent what he or she will receive if the WRF is completed and sent. The offer can be handled in a variety of ways:

– Instant fulfillment: The respondent sends the form and instantly receives the desired information in return.

– Unlock and download: The respondent sends the form and re-ceives instructions telling how to unlock and download a docu-ment or software, typically a trial or demonstration version of the product.

– Private access: The respondent sends the form and receives an acknowledgment, either instantly or via return e-mail, that in-cludes a special URL and/or password which allows access to a separate private Web area or virtual event (more about virtual events in Chapter 4).

– Traditional fulfillment: The respondent sends the form and receives the information requested via fax or traditional mail, or receives an item ordered via traditional mail or delivery service.

• The form itself allows the respondent to interactively fill in ba-sic data: name, title, company name, address, city, state, zip code, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address. The form should also ask several qualifying questions, including whether or not the prospect grants permission to use e-mail for correspondence.

Some marketers make certain questions required (i.e., the form cannot be sent unless the required fields are completed).

– It is generally a good idea to offer a link to the corporate Web site only at the end of the WRF or on the acknowledgment page the respondent receives once the WRF is sent. This fun-nels the respondent’s actions and does not let him or her “es-cape” from the WRF but gives the person the ability to learn more by visiting the corporate Web site after responding.

The WRF is an excellent way to capture responses electronically.

Including a Web URL typically helps increase overall response to a direct marketing campaign. If the target audience is composed of technical professionals or individuals who frequent the Web, they may in fact prefer the Web response path to more traditional re-sponse methods. Individuals who “live” on their networks and use the Web extensively for research and information are far more likely to respond over the Web than they are to return a reply card or make a phone call.

Finally, there is growing evidence that individuals who respond via WRFs are highly qualified prospects. I have been involved in numerous direct marketing campaigns in which the respondents using WRFs were more highly qualified than those returning reply cards.

There is some logic to this if you consider the fact that a Web re-spondent has to “work harder” to respond. Finding the URL may be easy, but typing in all the requested information and answering ques-tions on a computer screen takes some time and effort. There is no easy way around this. WRFs can be simplified by using drop-down menus for multiple choices (to indicate your state, for example) or radio but-tons and check boxes, but individuals still need to type certain basic contact information, which can be tedious. Doing so suggests that the prospect wants to obtain the offer or get more information and is will-ing to do a little bit of work to get it. In today’s high-pressure, com-pressed-time business environment, that is an important indication of a prospect’s interest.

Despite the WRF’s advantages as a response mechanism, it is not entirely foolproof. As mentioned earlier, even if you use a special URL, potential prospects could go to your regular Web site instead. That is why, if you are doing a promotion that features a special URL, you might want to mention that promotion and have a link to a version of the WRF on your Web site home page for prospects who show up there instead of coming to the special URL.

Another potential problem is the interactive form itself. Be sure it is constructed properly (most forms use CGI or JavaScript) and that you test it with several different computers and browsers. It is also a good idea to try it out on several different people to see if the form is easy to understand and easy to use. You need to assure that the re-spondent can easily send the WRF—and that you receive the informa-tion you need.

Using Your Web Site for Lead