When I talked to the sales manager for the company, the reason became clear. The product didn't really have any significant advantages over the competition. In fact, it had some significant drawbacks over the competitive, much less expensive, much more widely available products. The sales manager was quite candid about the situation, once I pressed him a little. His reasoning was that the uninformative Web site was intriguing enough that it would draw potential customers into the clutches of his sales force where they could be persuaded to buy the company's product.
Every salesman knows the importance of a strong close.
What's astonishing is how poorly that notion is translated onto the Web. Your prospects have reviewed the information on your Web site. They are excited by the persuasive presentation of features, the carefully crafted prose, and the compelling graphics. The prospect is ready to take the next step, perhaps even to buy at that instant. It's a high, spiraling pass right into the arms of a receiver in the clear.