Driving consistent traffic to your website and generating tons of leads is all great to see, but these metrics don’t mean much if they aren’t converting – aka turning into customers. For you to maximize your ROI on your digital marketing, you’re going to want to convert these leads into something tangible.
Here at Avenue, we use several lead capture tools on your website to help drive more leads into your business. Our lead capture tools connect you with leads who have registered some kind of intent to work with you and have provided their contact information.
If you want your online marketing to yield great results, you can’t rely on your website to convert your leads into customers for you. Here are some reasons your web leads aren’t turning into clients:
You don’t respond immediately
When it comes to online marketing, you can’t expect leads to sit still and wait for you to get in touch. There’s a good chance these potential customers have reached out to other businesses as well during their research stage. A study by MIT discovered that 78% of leads end up choosing the company that reaches out first.
As a business owner, you might be working with a current client or handling backend tasks when a new lead comes in. You won’t always have the ability to drop everything and get in touch with them. Your time is valuable, which is why it’s important to set up automated systems for handling incoming leads. We recommend using Zapier (it’s free!) to automate and build workflows that engage and nurture your leads. Find out how to use Zapier to connect your Avenue Account with other apps.
New leads are more responsive if you reach out within 5 minutes vs a day or two later because:
1. You know where they are – since the lead just submitted their contact details, you can be pretty sure they are online and accessible by text or email.
2. People search on the web when they want something – a few days later and they may not even remember they were on your website. Responding immediately means you reach the lead at their highest point of interest.
3. You can impress potential customers with your speed and responsiveness.
You give up too soon
No matter what type of services you provide, you’re also a salesperson. Sales people work to make contact, then deal with objections, and communicate the value and benefits of their services. According to Hubspot, 80% of sales require at least five follow-up touchpoints before a lead converts. People don’t always answer on the first try and if you give up after only one follow-up, you could be leaving money on the table. That would mean that you’re handing over more than 80% of your potential business to your competitors!
Most follow-up emails or calls don’t work because they sound like a sales pitch. Just like a marketing email, a sales follow-up requires an angle and a hook that makes it interesting to read or listen to. People want a slight reminder that you can help them. They don’t want to be pressured into making decisions they’re not ready to make or attacked with information they didn’t ask for. If you want your prospects to engage in the conversation you’re trying to have, it’s on you to tailor it to what they need by providing relevant information.
You’re too focused on making the sale
Remember that each lead is a real person; their email and phone number are connected to real people. There’s a reason behind why they’re looking for your services. They have lifestyle preferences, a unique sense of humour, and some are more skeptical than others. All of these qualities factor into the way in which people will respond to your follow-up tactics.
If you’re looking to get rich quick as a small business owner, you’re going to be very disappointed. Scaling a business is all about long-term success—gradually growing your sphere of influence, nurturing relationships slowly over time, and serving as a trusted advisor. Each person left their contact information for a reason, and there are reasons behind those reasons. Get to know them. Have a conversation and really listen to them. Without building a relationship with a lead, you can potentially miss out on their business and any future referrals. By prioritizing building relationships with your leads and taking an interest in their world, it can significantly improve the odds of securing a customer and retaining their trust for the long-term.
With strong nurturing and relationship building skills, you can easily improve your conversion rate. To learn more about how to build trust, check out Avenue’s tips on when to follow up with your online leads.