Have you noticed an increase in traffic to your website, but no increase in conversions? That attractive new web design may have drawn people in, but you need to go further than web design to turn your leads into potential customers. You need to show them the next step - what action to take. Increased traffic to your website may make you feel good, but it is the customer's action on your website, not their visit to it, that gets you the conversion.
In this post, we will examine some of our favorite tried-and-tested marketing tactics that will help you jumpstart your lead conversions. Get ready to watch your leads take action and your customer base grow faster than it ever has before!
1. Ignite Curiosity
You already sparked their interest enough to get them to visit your site and sign up for your offer, newsletter, etc. Now how do you get them to take further action? Try introducing some content that ignites further curiosity about your product or service. This can be a blog post announcing some exciting news or a heart-melting story, a sneak peak video, a surprise giveaway, or even user-generated content that shares an experience from one of your recent customers. The type of content you use doesn't really matter, as long as it is creative and gives them a piece of information that is valuable to them in some way.
Make sure to not give away a ton of information though - leave a little mystery to keep them coming back for more! This builds anticipation, like when your favorite TV show makes you wait until next time to find out what happens. It also sets them on a journey to discover something... and hopefully along that journey, they discover that they need your product or service in their life.
2. Use the Scarcity Principle
Building on the curiosity idea - your leads won't be curious about something they can get anytime they want. This is where the scarcity principle comes into play - the theory that people tend to value something more if it is rare or harder to get. The scarcity principle seems especially relevant in today's culture, where everyone is trying to be unique. It's hard to be original when you have what everyone else has, or are doing something that everyone else is doing too!
To use the scarcity principle in your marketing, offer a limited number of products or set a time frame for when leads can make a move. You can also play around with creating limited access to your products, services, sales, or features. This may seem counterproductive, since you want as many conversions as possible, but inviting only a few to participate can work in your favor by making your leads feel special and important. People treated like a VIP by you are going to feel partnered with your brand. And just like with other causes they feel partnered to and support, they'll want to support your business too.
3. Simplify the User Experience
This one is a bit of a no-brainer. You didn't bring your leads this far just to disappoint them now... make sure the process they have to go through to make the next move is simple and seamless. Nothing frustrates leads more than when something is confusing, so go through the user experience yourself to notice any bugs in your process, unnecessary steps, or content that could come off as sketchy. Correct anything that might make your leads want to quit, move on, or lose their trust in you or the product/service.
Not sure what to look for? Check out this handy list of practices to follow to make sure you are providing your leads with the best and easiest user experience possible.
4. Act Quickly
Waiting too long to follow up with your leads may cause them to lose interest. Researchers at Harvard Business Review found that businesses have about an hour to really take advantage of a prospect's interest after they send through an online query. But even if a lead doesn't lose interest, making them wait to hear from you may annoy them and drive them to check into what your competitors are offering. This is definitely not what you want!
If your current workflow involves checking and following up with new leads only once or twice a day, then you really need to re-prioritize. Whether you implement an auto-responder, or add someone to your sales team who is dedicated to first time follow ups, you need to have a process in place for quickly handling incoming leads. With the right process, you can be sure to not miss out on leads when they are in their prime time of interest in your product or service. The faster they hear from you, the faster they are likely convert.
5. Develop a Consistent Follow Up Strategy
In addition to a quick response time, you also need to develop a strategy for follow up communications that will nurture and engage your leads after the initial contact. The number of times you will contact them, how often your communications are sent, and what kind of targeted content you will use are all things to consider when developing your follow up strategy.
No matter what your team decides about content and frequency, make sure your communications are consistent with your brand image and offerings. Consistency helps your leads come to know what to expect from you, which in turn builds their trust in your brand. This is especially true for any lingering leads who aren’t quite ready to convert.
Use the tactics above to help your team move leads through the sales funnel faster! We'd love to hear about how they work for you, so be sure to tell us about your experience in the comment section below!
