It never ceases to amaze me how often marketing and sales professionals fail to follow through on pre-registered customers.

These are the customers who virtually have their chequebooks open and pens poised. They are prime for online communication and welcome new and relevant promotional offers. They are eager to participate in the sale and are typically open to being up-sold.

The marketing strategy behind pre-registration is simple.  Create a URL that is memorable and easy-to-read. Try to keep the messages short and succinct, eliminating long scroll-downs.  Use imagery that is consistent with the brand message.  Place all your salient information on the landing page and make the second click the registration page.  Another page in between could risk losing them!  Stay loyal to the design of the overall campaign so it will ultimately be recognized in traditional media.  Most importantly, keep them on your radar screen with frequent eblasts and progress reports.  It is all about establishing a relationship and building trust.

A good example of an effective pre-registration process is the new home industry.

Pre-registering potential purchasers is nothing new in launching a new home community.  In the previous decade, traditional print media was used to announce an upcoming project.  A so-called telephone Pre-Registration Hotline was setup that went into an answering machine, or better still, a live receptionist.

We’ve come a long way in a few short years.  Technology allows us to use traditional media such as print and signage, to direct these hot prospects to a pre-registration microsite, where they can express their interest online.  This results in a valuable database of pre-qualified customers that is pure gold. 

However, like so many marketing professionals, homebuilders often fail to capitalize on this lucrative group.  Frequently, one contact is made to the pre-registered list then often not followed up.  Dialoguing with these registrants is a fantastic way for builders to jump-start projects and pre-populate their new home sites.  They are also an incentive to the sales team and can assist them in further defining the target audience.

Never underestimate the power of an enthusiastic customer.  They’re hard to come by!

We'd love to hear from you.  If you have any comments on this topic, please forward them to Janice Johnston at jjohnston@adcomcommunications.com.

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