Forced registration vs. no registration

[rmasse10]

I think a forced registration is the way to go...you will need to play with it a bit and see what works best for your area in terms of teasers, etc.

[tommytx]

I say play it like PPC...split-test, split-test and split-test some more. The only way to be sure is to run it with forced registeration for 30 days, then with forced after 1 or 2 property viewings and finally immediate forced registeration. Then you know what works best for your site.

I vote to let them look in the store windows and get their lips whet with what you have for them and then force the registeration after they have had a look. I have tested this all ways but loose.

I would not buy from a store that says you need to pay at the door (give up personal info) before I even let you look into the window. If I can't see what you got I ain't gonna pay to get in... bottom line.

That is my 2 cents.

[jessiesc]

I used to be completely against registration.

Having had a non registration site for 2 years, I can tell you that the switch to required (I don't like the term forced) registration made a significant impact on our conversion rate.

We went from 1% visitor to conversion to 3.5% visitor to conversion.

Try it for yourself, I think you'll notice a significant change as well.

Best of luck.

[Tim Shepard Destin]

I've been requiring registration since 2003. Specifically, I require a phone number and an email address.

Back in the beginning, all the "experts" told me that registration was the wrong approach. They said "let the lead incubate until they want to contact you". Now these guys didn't have any data nor had they ever had to close a deal to pay the bills, but they were still against it. I called bs and went with registration from the beginning and never looked back! I had many colleagues that drank the kool-aid and gave up on internet marketing because they didn't get any leads.

The key is to capture the lead after the prospect has invested in your site. Specifically, make them enter their search parameters at a minimum. Then the decision becomes, do I click out or enter the data. If they are invested, they are much more likely to enter the info.

I don't think people are less likely to provide accurate email addresses just because you ask for the phone number. If they give you a bogus number, so what. But if they give you a valid one, then great! In my opininion, you lose nothing by asking.

Passwords are a different subject though. Use email addresses only for logging in to established accounts.

Someone previously posted an analogy about paying before you shop or something like that and that they would never do this. I'm the same way and routinely provide bogus information on websites.

There is one exception though, when I get really serious about something, I'll leave the correct information. Why, because I want them to call me. If they hadn't have asked for the lead, I wouldn't have gotten what I wanted...them to call me.

I receive a lot of bogus sign-ups but the good ones far out way the bad ones. Don't discount registration just because you don't like it, you may be wrong. That's the really hard part about Internet Marketing...knowing when you are right or when you need to listen to someone else.

[mitch.argon]

Hey guys - good perspective.

My current site is 'open'. I am going to build a new one and require registration after X number of listing detail views though so I can play both sides of the field.

Hopefully I won't get as much garbage as before when I required immediate reg.

[Mitch]

I've been a big advocator of forced registration. I tested non registration back in 2002 and then within a short time, a few months, I switched. For a while I would get upset when I only captured 12%-15% because I wasn't capturing the other 85%. I got over that quickly.

The way I look at it, in most cases, I'm sure there are exceptions, if you don't have them register, there is a slim chance for you to work them to a customer. If you have them register, you have a chance. Our conversion rates go from as good as 1 sale out of 24 leads which we hit last year to around 1 sale out of 30 leads where we are at now. That number should get better by the end of the year.

If you have a good conversion system, then your customers will be happy they registered on your site. If you don't take care of their needs, then they will unsubscribe.

In the 7 years we have been forcing registration and calling our leads, only a handful of people have been upset with us. Most say that they are so happy that we called. We hear that all the time!