How to Squeeze Every Drop of Valuable Visitor Data from Your Forms (Without Complicated Programming)

It’s the great marketing catch-22: You need visitor data in order to create value-filled, personalized, highly targeted offers. The more information they provide, the greater your ability to build personas that fit your ideal customers.

But your visitors still aren’t convinced. Like jittery fish, you’ve presented them with the tastiest bait, and they’re hesitant to even take a nibble. So how can you get the information you need without scaring them off?

The answer is…

Progressive profiling.

What is Progressive Profiling?

Progressive profiling uses dynamic form fields to ask for and collect information on prospects based on the information you already have about them. Like a first date, it gets to know new customers in a way that’s gentle and unassuming. What’s your name? What’s the best email address to contact you at? How can I help?

Then, as the customer’s interaction with your product or service continues and greater trust and brand recognition is built, more questions are asked – helping you not just capture leads, but build on the intelligence you’ve gained.

Progressive profiling may start with name, email and question, but can gradually lead to vital details that will help you better understand where your prospect is in the buying cycle: are they evaluating products? Comparing features? Focused on pricing?

Asking questions about their timeframe to purchase and where they are in the decision-making process can help you better understand how and where your product fits according to their needs. Understanding how they plan to use the product can give you valuable insights into tailoring your offer across every stage, leveraging the information you already have about them.

How Does It Work?

Let’s say you sell a product and you have an email newsletter filled with valuable tips and techniques on using it. As is often the case, your prospective customer is asked for their name and email address. Simple enough, right?

They subscribe and get their first couple of newsletters. They’re starting to feel comfortable with your brand and enjoy what they’re getting so far. Here’s where the progressive part comes in. You’ve got another freebie for them – you just need a bit more information about how they plan on using your product, when they plan to purchase, and approximately how much they plan to spend.

Since you don’t need their name and email address again, the form simply asks the relevant questions you’ve set up. This information helps you gradually begin to understand this customer based on how much they’re willing to share as your relationship with them progresses.

Obviously you’ll want to space these out and give as much as you get – take the time to answer questions, clarify features and options, and so on. Don’t expect the customer to be receptive to answering personal questions by day 2.

Are you interested in applying progressive profiling? Kissmetrics is a great tool to help you with progressive profiling. We collect customer and behavioral data that you can use to optimize your forms. Try Kissmetrics today!

Don’t Forget Your Best Practices

In addition, you’re not going to want to throw best form practices out the window when implementing progressive profiling. Things like:

Being Clear about What Information is Needed (And How It Should Be Presented)

This example from Threadless tells customers precisely how to enter their payment information.

Explaining, if Necessary, Why Certain Information is Needed

The example below, from Money Supermarket tells people why they need the registration number of their car.

Source: eConsultancy

Make sure your reasoning is reasonable – Money Supermarket could have said, “We need your information to help get you an accurate quote”, but it still wouldn’t answer the prospect’s why? The fact that they need it to find that same exact car and get you a quote is much more sensible.

What Happens After They Subscribe?

And finally, don’t forget to be clear about what happens after the sign up process is complete. How can they download the freebie? How often will they receive email newsletters? Can they unsubscribe or change the frequency? And so on.

BufferApp sets newsletter expectations before asking for subscribers’ info

How Can You Implement Progressive Profiling?

Progressive profiling is a relatively new function, but there are a variety of solutions on the market that make integrating it into forms easy and hassle-free. Oftentimes, you can do this without any programming knowledge at all. Here are a few services that offer Progressive Profiling as part of their systems:

Salesforce Pardot

Adds a progressive profiling feature that ties in with your existing use of Salesforce Pardot

HubSpot

HubSpot refers to progressive profiling form capabilities as “Smart Forms” and provides a variety of best practices you can follow when implementing them.

Act-On

As with other services, Act-On lets you define a set of rules for which other form fields will display. The site also provides an example tour through how its Progressive Profiling system works.

JumpLead

An example of the JumpLead dashboard

JumpLead is a sort of marketing automation/lead generation platform of which progressive profiling forms play a role. Like many of these other solutions, they offer a full scale of marketing automation tools. For WordPress users, JumpLead also has a plugin that can integrate progressive profiling into their existing WordPress system.

How to Get the Best Possible Results from Your New Progressive Forms

It’s easy to fall into the tempting trap of asking for more and more information through more and more form fields as your relationship with the prospect progresses. However, small bits over time (and depending on the customer’s stage in the product’s overall lifecycle, as well as their buying cycle) will help foster a reciprocal relationship while giving them the personal attention and nurturing they crave.

And don’t forget, progressive profiling is just one tool of many designed to help improve your forms and increase your conversion rates. As with any tool, it’s not a silver bullet – it’s all in how you use it. By making progressive profiling a part of your overall sales and conversion optimization process rather than looking at it as “yet another form component”, you’ll be poised to start forming lucrative customer relationships built on a foundation of mutual trust, understanding and expectations.

Now It’s Your Turn

Are you using progressive profiling in your own lead generation forms? How has it worked out for you so far? Share your success stories and triumphs with us, as well as your thoughts on this unique practice in the comments below!

About the Author: Sherice Jacob helps business owners improve website design and increase conversion rates through compelling copywriting, user-friendly design and smart analytics analysis. Learn more at iElectrify.com and download your free web copy tune-up and conversion checklist today!

8 More Great Office Collaboration Tools for Your Team

We highlight eight great online tools that can help your team collaborate and manage projects more effectively. Whatever your business needs, one of these tools is sure to be the right fit.

The post 8 More Great Office Collaboration Tools for Your Team appeared first on AllBusiness.com.

World markets hit as Greek crisis intensifies

The crisis in Greece now has the full attention of investors around the world -- and they don't like what they see.

The 4 Rules of Bond Investing

For any investor considering investing in bonds, there are some important things to know beforehand. We present the four key bond investing rules to follow:

1. Know what you are getting with bond funds.

Bond investors can invest in individual bonds or in bond funds, which hold a mix of bonds. Bond funds have the advantage of allowing the bond investor an easy way to diversify his or her bond holdings. In addition, bond funds are run by professional bond investors who closely monitor their bond portfolios.

However, a bond investor must be aware of the fundamental differences between bond funds and individual bonds when selecting one of these investment options. If a bond investor is keen to perform his or her own analysis and invest in the bonds of select companies, the bond investor will usually need to purchase individual bonds.

Another difference between bond funds and individual bonds is that individual bonds mature; that is, the principal is paid back at the end of the term of the bond. A bond fund does not mature, but when the bonds it holds matures, the bond fund reinvests in other bonds. This aspect of bond funds makes it more difficult, relative to owning individual bonds, for a bond investor to keep close watch on his or her bond portfolio.

2. Understand your risks.

Bonds are issued by an enormous variety of entities (governments, corporations, municipalities). The range of risks offered by bonds mirrors the diversity of their issuers. A successful bond investor has to understand the risks in his or her bond portfolio; failure to understand these risks can be catastrophic.

Risks of bond investment should not be understood narrowly to mean the risk of a price decline in the bond or the risk of default, but should include opportunity risk and inflation risk.

To fully understand the risks of their bond portfolios, bond investors should develop a circle of competence in bond investing, and stick to that area of proficiency. Bond investors who dabble in wildly different kinds of bonds with different risk profiles are flirting with disaster. Often, such a portfolio is a sign of reaching for yield.

3. Don’t reach for yield.

A bond investor reaches for yield when he or she no longer is satisfied with the bond yields available and moves outside of his or her circle of competence to invest in higher yielding bonds. This is very dangerous, and can end badly for the bond investor.

There is nothing wrong with investing in lower quality bonds that have a higher yield, but a bond investor who does this must understand high yield bonds. Problems arise when an investment grade bond investor moves into high yield bonds simply because the bond investor wants to get a greater return. In this situation, the bond investor has not ensured that he or she is getting paid the right amount to take the additional risks offered by the high yield bond.

While reaching for yield can produce higher returns for several years or several months, a bond investor who does not demand an appropriate premium for risk can eventually get burned. A bond investor must be willing to let money be idle rather than accepting too low of a risk premium.

4. Monitor your portfolio.

Bond investors must monitor their portfolios closely. If a bond has moved outside the investor’s circle of competence, the bond investor should be willing to sell the bond.

For instance, if a corporate bond owned by an investment-grade bond investor is downgraded to junk status, that bond investor must strongly consider selling the bond. Although the bond investor will undoubtedly take a loss on the bond, it is better than holding a bond whose investment qualities are not understood by the investor.

Likewise, if a high yield bond investor owns a bond of a company that defaults and files for bankruptcy, that bond investor should strongly consider selling that bond unless he or she understands distressed debt investing.

Bond investors should always demand an appropriate premium for the risk represented by a bond. This is not only true when purchasing bonds. If a bond moves out of an investor’s circle of competence, the investor can no longer be sure that he or she is being appropriately compensated for the risk of holding the bond.

Similarly, bond investors should be aware of possible bubbles in their area of the bond market, and be prepared to sell bonds when prices are too high and yields are too low for the investment risk.

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How to Teach Kids to Save Money

When you begin to teach your children how to save, there are some very simple steps to keep in mind at all times. There are five ways to give a child early lessons in saving money that may also lead to financial responsibility as an adult.

1. Start Early

You can begin teaching your children about saving money when they are as young as toddlers. Young children think in very concrete terms. While they may think that a nickel is worth more than a dime because it is larger, they still know that change has value.

Begin teaching them the value of money by using a piggy bank. Piggy banks come in all shapes and sizes; find one that will interest your toddler or preschool age child and give them hands-on experience. If you use an ATM, you could explain that your ATM is similar to their piggy bank, in that you must put money in the bank before you can take money out of the ATM.

Have them find a toy that they really want, then help them save for that toy by using their piggy bank. Remember that children of this age do not have a long attention span, so do not let them set up a goal that requires too much time in which to save. Also, tape a picture of the toy to the piggy bank so that the child does not forget his goal.

Another way to reinforce early saving is to find books on this subject geared to this age group. One book that might aid in the idea is It’s a Habit, Sammy Rabbit! It also comes with a companion CD and is available at www.itsahabit.com . Throughout this entire experience, always remember to keep it fun! Do not make saving a chore.

2. Keep it Simple

When you talk to children about money, keep it age-appropriate. Do not attempt to describe a Roth IRA when all they want to know is why they cannot have a particular toy. Instead, explain that it is not in the budget this week.>

3. Use an Allowance Wisely 

By the time they begin school, children understand money to a greater degree; they understand how money has buying power. Older children can also think further into the future. These attributes make elementary and middle school ages an appropriate time to introduce an allowance.

An allowance opens the door to lessons in using money wisely. Introduce the use of money for different things like spending, saving, investing, and giving. These ideas learned at an early age can give children a sense of empowerment. Kids will also become more comfortable with making wise money choices when they are older.

An allowance also provides the opportunity for you to match their savings. This could be a method of teaching what a 401(k) is — an early lesson on saving for retirement. Once your children have achieved their goals, allow them to spend some of the money. By reaping the rewards, they establish a goal that keeps the fun in the saving.

4. Teach Financial Responsibility

The teen years bring hormonal changes and increased pressure to buy. Thus, teen years can be the most frustrating time to teach your children about saving. Peer pressure and the need to impress during these years seem to override intelligent, rational thinking. Teens readily admit that they will overspend in order to impress peers during this time in their life. Therefore, it is best to add the responsibility in small increments.

Your teens may already get an allowance; now is time to increase what they must buy out of this allowance. Make them responsible to pay for things like birthday gifts, concerts, gasoline, other car expenses, their own clothing, holiday gifts, and dates. When a teen must pay for these items themselves, it creates a natural incentive to save.

5. Offer Other Reasons and Ways to Save

Give your teens a goal. Also, match what they save if the item is expensive, like a used car or brand new phone. If they work, encourage the teen to directly deposit a percentage of their paycheck into a savings account. Explain how savings will pile up easily because the money is redirected before it hits the main checking account.

Teaching your children about savings will result in them becoming adults who are savvy about spending and saving. Such lessons also spill over into other areas like character building and maturity — key characteristics in responsible adults. Throughout your lessons, remember to keep it fun, and the children will be eager to learn.

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Dealing With Unemployment: 10 Steps to Take After Getting Laid Off From Your Job

Unemployment can be a difficult and stressful time for anyone, but you can take steps to lessen the impact and help regain your financial and emotional footing.

1. Make Sure You Are Properly Compensated

Depending on your job type and employment contract, you may be entitled to some departing benefits: severance pay, paid vacation days that were not taken, and other financial benefits may be available. It is important to research these benefits and convey your requests clearly upon leaving the company to ensure that you get full benefits.

2. Apply for Unemployment Benefits

Applying for unemployment benefits can help, financially, while you search for another job. Although the benefits are not usually as much as you would have made in your previous job, they can help provide food and essentials for your family. Apply for unemployment by visiting your local employment security office or by going online and filing a form. Each state usually has its own website that will guide you in the process.

3. Do Not Despair

After losing a job, it is easy to slip into depression or despair, which can only increase stress. Try to avoid getting depressed by surrounding yourself with loved ones and friends. A friend or relative can also help you with accountability and motivation needed for a new job search.

4. Write or Update Your Resume

It is likely that your resume will need updating, or you may need to create a new one. Keep it professional and remember to state all work and education you have completed. It should include:

• Previous employment dates
• Synopsis of your skills and abilities
• What you believe you can bring to the workplace
• Previous notable achievements
• Any volunteering you have done
• Three or four credible references, usually previous employers who can recommend you to a new employer

5. Lower Your Expectations

You may have held a high position in your previous job; however, after the layoff, you may stand a better chance of finding a new job if you lower your expectations. While positions such as manager or VP of a company may look good on your resume, you will need to show that you are willing to work in a lower ranking or less glamorous job.

6. Explore All Types of Media While Job Hunting

There are many places to go when you are searching for a new job. Try online job sites, word-of-mouth from friends, and various types of social media, such as Facebook and LinkedIn; also don’t discount ads in newspapers. You can also receive help at the local employment office or career office of a local college or university. Place your profile on employment websites such as Monster or CareerBuilder so that employers can find you.

7. Find Part-Time Work or Volunteer

Consider doing some part-time work or even volunteering in your area of expertise. A part-time job will get you out of the house, and you may also earn a small income. If you choose to volunteer, it may not be financially beneficial, but it does prove your willingness to work.

Both of these may work in your favor when job hunting. Potential employers like to see that you are honing your skills while waiting for the next job opportunity.

8. Tighten Your Budget

The loss of an income will require cutbacks and an overhaul of your budget; even if you receive unemployment benefits and severance pay, those funds eventually do vanish. Track every expense and see where you can cut.

9. Change Your Career Options

Depending on your own preferences, this could be an opportune time to explore another profession. Some people use this time to go back to school to earn or finish a degree; others explore professions that they never had the opportunity to pursue before.

Community colleges and state universities are often affordable, and you may qualify for financial aid. In addition, there are online degree programs, such as those at the University of Phoenix.

Contact your previous employer; some companies offer reeducation benefits that can help with tuition and supplies.

10. Organize Your Needs

Keep lists of all of your expenses, needs, and goals. Use these lists to help you readjust your life until you are gainfully employed once again.

The post Dealing With Unemployment: 10 Steps to Take After Getting Laid Off From Your Job appeared first on AllBusiness.com.

How to Be a Financial Role Model for Your Children

Parents, or other adult guardians, can be financial role models for their children in many ways. Since children often copy what their parents do, it is beneficial for parents to practice, as well as preach, good financial habits. In times of plenty, or in times of recession, children with a grasp of sound financial practices will more likely grow up to be financially-savvy adults.

In an article at CNNMoney, financial industry experts believe that a person’s spending and saving habits are shaped between the ages of 5 and 7. Moreover, according to a study by Women & Co., 85 percent of Boomer women believe they would be financially better off in life, and know more about investing, if they had had better financial role models when they were growing up.

Children can earn their own money through allowances, chores, summer jobs, birthday or graduation money, or helping in a parent-owned business. Children and teens have tremendous buying power, and national retailers and merchants are highly aware of this. Follow some common sense rules to encourage your children to be financially responsible.

Set up a Youth Savings Account

Young people under the age of 21 can open youth savings accounts of their own, cosigned by a parent. When a child has a safe place to put money, he or she can learn how to save it, how to retrieve it when it is wanted, and how it will earn interest. Be sure to set guidelines on how much money to withdraw and when.

Give your child an introduction to how banking works by going with him or her to the bank when you do your own banking. Also show your child bank statements to see how saved money can grow over time. Also, show your child how to use an ATM card.

Be sure to select an account with:

• A low minimum deposit, such as $5 or $10
• No monthly service fee
• An ATM card
• A newsletter or online activities site that teaches kids about banking

Credit unions may offer better interest rates and lower fees and some even have special programs for kids. For example, MidWest Financial Credit Union offers a Kids Club, special savings program for children ages 12 and under. Check with your own local credit union to see if they offer similar programs.

Don’t Buy Your Child Everything He or She Wants

Children are experts in pestering parents for every little thing they want. Resist the urge to buy that toy, and instead suggest that they save their money to purchase it on their own. Don’t be tempted to make it easy for children to acquire things without learning the value of money.

When a child uses his own money, he learns:

• Money has value and needs to be earned before it is spent
• The value of things that he has worked to get
• Rejecting frivolous items that are not worth his own money to purchase

Be Frugal in Your Own Shopping Habits

As children tend to copy the actions they see others do, especially adults, be frugal in your habits when shopping with your kids. Try to do the following:

• Buy items on sale
• Use coupons
• Haggle over prices, where possible
• Shop on sale days
• Pay with cash or debit, not credit cards
• Shop with a list and stick to it

Also, keep your own debt under control by practicing what you preach to your children and paying your bills on time. If you are constantly worrying about high debt and are sitting around the kitchen table amid a mound of bills, your children will notice and see the distress that comes with debt.

Make Children Pay for Essentials

To prepare older children and teens for real world expenses, have them pay a token percentage of their earned money toward essential life expenses such as clothing, rent, car, food, phone, and the internet. Teach them that in the adult world, people need to earn money for boring things like food and rent, not just for cool things like trendy clothes, music, and video games.

When older children have part-time jobs or regular income, demonstrate to them the need for a budget and a spending limit. Allow teens to spend a portion of their income on themselves, but insist that most of it be saved for the future — for school or for larger purchases, such as a car.

Be Consistent

As with anything you teach your child, be consistent. Do not pay for a frivolous toy one day, and then scold the child for wanting another one the next day. Do not pay your teen for taking out the garbage and washing the car one week, then forget to pay the next. If your young adult is paying rent to live in your home, make sure he or she pays on time each month; if payment is late, then charge a late fee.

MsMoney.com suggests that parents establish family rules and tasks when making financial plans, create consequences for breaking the rules, and be consistent when monitoring those rules.

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7 Tips to Cut Household Expenses

In any era of financial concerns and economic strains, everyone looks for ways to save a dime and stretch a dollar. And there are ways that you can cut expenses around your home in order to keep more green in your wallet.

1. Reduce Your Electricity and Gas Consumption

Today’s consumers rely greatly on electricity and gas to stay comfortable. In the winter months, thermostats are set high to stay warm; in the summer, air conditioners may run constantly from the first warm day that produces a slight amount of perspiration. Changing the way you use electricity or gas to manage the temperature in your home could save quite a bit of money.

• Set your thermostat to 68 degrees (Fahrenheit) and your air conditioner (if separate from the heat) to 79 degrees (Fahrenheit) or higher. To stay warm in the winter use blankets and wear warmer clothing.
• To stay cool in the summer months, manipulate the flow of air through your home by opening or closing certain windows and using fans. Buy a dehumidifier to dry out the air.
• Close the blinds to cool your home. Closing the blinds or curtains will reduce the amount of heat that radiates into your home.
• Turn off your lights when not in the room and unplug any appliances like televisions and computers. Plugged in appliances, which have lights glowing, still use electricity even if they are turned “off.” When you are not using these items, unplugging them saves money.

2. Reduce Your Water Consumption

Water is often wasted when doing simple tasks such as washing dishes or brushing your teeth. When brushing your teeth, for example, turn off the water when actually brushing. Also, try to take shorter showers. Try using a timer to help get in and out sooner. Another great water saver is reducing outside watering from daily to two or three times a week.

3. Choose a Cell Phone or a Landline

Reviewing your need for having both a cell phone and landline could help you shave dollars off your monthly expenses. Keep only the phone that is used the most. Take into consideration your long distance usage as well. For instance, many cell phone carriers include long distance in the monthly minutes.

Meanwhile, landline companies often charge extra. If you make frequent or lengthy long distance calls, you may want to consider dropping your landline’s long distance carrier and instead use your cell phone for those calls.

4. Plan Your Meals

Planning meals for the week will help you to save some money on your grocery bill. Making a list of all the ingredients that you need when you go to the supermarket will cut back on the extra items that find their way into your cart.

5. Review Your True Need for Cable or Satellite Channels 

Satellite television or cable is a luxury and not a necessity. Some of the programs on the hundred plus channels may be interesting but they are not necessary. This is especially true in today’s world of internet program simulcasting. (Programs air online as they are shown on television.) For some free TV whenever you want it, visit websites like www.hulu.com and www.fancast.com as well as those for your favorite network.

6. Try Not to Live Beyond Your Means by Using Credit Cards

It is easy to fall into the credit card trap. Credit cards offer the chance to buy those unneeded items and pay for them with small payments each month. However, the interest charges and annual fees added to those original costs take quite some time to pay off. Imagine paying for that tank of gas for the next five years.

Instead, keep those credit cards paid off each month, and use them only when needed. Close all unnecessary credit accounts to avoid temptation.

7. Use Coupons Whenever Possible

There are hundreds of coupons available on thousands of items. Saving small amounts of money here and there adds up to great savings. Coupons are available on grocery items as well as clothing and personal items; they are also available for services such as carpet cleaning, tax preparation, and many others.

Cutting back on your household expenses is not difficult once you review your expenses and your necessities. If you create a plan and stick to it, you can save yourself a bundle of cash and stress.

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How to Save on Your Phone Bill

Many simple and inexpensive ways, such as minor modifications in calling habits and changes to your current plan, can help you save on phone bills. Whether the effort is big or small, start today to start saving.

Simple Changes = Big Savings

Know what you’re paying for. Read over your phone bill every month to be sure you know what you are paying for. For service, only your line charge and a few mandated federal charges are required; everything else is optional and may be removed.

Research the features on your line. If you have anything other than a plain line, call your service provider to ask for competitive rates. Also, remove the equipment maintenance protection from your bill; this plan is optional and can cost more than your phone.

Block unwanted services. If you do not want a particular service that incurs a charge like 900 number calling, ask your phone company to block it. With most carriers, the blocking service is free. Blocking 900 number calling will help you to avoid steep charges — even if they are misapplied or accidental.

“Let your fingers do the walking.” Keep phone directories around for frequent or sporadic number searches. Most telephone companies charge when you dial directory assistance for information. Save online phone directories to your internet favorites in order to reduce the urge to use directory assistance.

Monitor who uses your phone. Do not allow guests or business associates to use your phone to make personal long distance calls.

Pay your bill on time. If you become disconnected, you may be charged a large fee to reactivate your service.

Cancel services that you don’t need. Remove long-distance service from your landline if you have another phone service available. Some long-distance providers charge a monthly fee even if you do not use the service. Check with your mobile carrier and find out if they offer a discount for landlines. If the rates are better than those provided by your current carrier, make the switch, or consider dropping your landline altogether and simply using your cell phone.

Research other phone technology. These include internet phone, VoIP and PC-to-phone services.

Type instead of talk. Utilize email as an alternate form of communication. You can chat with anyone in the world for a rate that is included in what you may already be paying.

Pay as you go. Explore pay as you go cell phone options.

Do research. Speak with your telephone company for suggestions to save on service costs. Some websites offer information and additional resources to find other phone services and providers in your area. Check rates and services offered by traditional phone service providers and compare them to those offered by technologically-advanced providers.

• CNET’s Reviews (reviews.cnet.com/) provides information on internet phone service.
• MyRatePlan (MyRatePlan.com) lists cell phone carrier comparisons.

Seek low-income help. Senior citizens, low-income, and unemployed consumers should learn if assistance is available from their state, by phone providers, or through any government assistance program. Many carriers have different payment plans for senior citizens on a fixed income. The U.S. Department of Human and Health Services may offer grants and services that help low-income families make long-term changes to help with their phone service needs. Also visit USA.gov for information on benefits, grants, and loans.

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