Lead Nurturing: How to convert leads to customers effectively, every time

How many customers come to your business but end up not buying anything?

It can be hard to know for sure, but what is certain is you want this number to be as small as possible. For this reason, lead nurturing is essential.

One of the first steps of marketing, brand awareness, makes sure your prospects are well aware of your products and services. The next goal is to let them know what you offer is worth their money, and to encourage them to choose you over the competition. Sometimes this can take a while. At other times the decision is very quick.

In the old days, sales agents would drop in on prospective clients before leaving their calling cards and contact information as a form of lead nurturing. In 2018, there are a lot more ways to skin this particular cat!

To help you navigate the often confusion roads of lead nurturing, here are 10 ways to convert leads into customers, every time:

  1. Make buying / booking / signing up easy

Studies show that often customers get almost all the way down a ‘lead funnel’ before giving up at the final stage. This is because of two things. Firstly, it is all too hard. Secondly, they lack trust in your business.

Yawn! Who can be bothered entering fifteen different types of personal information, just to buy a pair of shoes or book a table at a restaurant? Too many tabs, too many forms to fill out… forget it!

Our customers are busy people the same as we are. Just as you would drive away from a servo if there are too many cars in front of you, your customers are similarly reluctant to waste their time. To make things easy for them, implement Paypal payments, allow sign up via Facebook or Google, or cut back your initial registration form to a simple first name and email address.

Another barrier to sign up is a lack of credibility. If your website doesn’t look 100% professional, your users may doubt it is secure. Similarly, if you seek too much information in one hit, they will back away, concerned that you may share it with a third party. These will cause your fresh leads to go very stale, very quickly.

Nurture your leads by reminding them your business is trustworthy. Make it clear you will not sell your clients’ information and add measures like two-factor authentication to give them peace of mind about security, especially if you are asking for financial details.

By making it easy and safe to sign up, you are nurturing your leads to improve your chances of making a sale.

2. Share a regular blog

It’s no exaggeration to say that everyone lives online now. The stronger your online presence, the easier it is for your target market to discover you. The more well-known your brand, the more promising your sales.

Blogging is a straightforward marketing strategy that strengthens your digital influence. Just like your brand’s social media accounts, this is another essential tactic that can boost business growth.

Writing regular blogs works in four ways. First, it draws traffic to your website, letting Google know that you have something good to offer. Second, it establishes you as a voice of authority with your audience, reinforcing that you are the expert in your field.

Next, blogging gives you a reason to stay in touch with your existing contacts. You can send a newsletter sharing your latest tips and info, reminding them to use your services. Finally, it strengthens your audience’s brand recognition and the connection they have with your business. They will be more likely to think of your business when they need it, or to recommend it to their friends.

Blogging and sharing your blog with your database is like watering a plant. Eventually, those leads will flower.

3. Use remarketing

Remarketing works by targeting people have already visited your website and serving them with advertisements, either on other sites or on their social media feeds.

Remarketing, a.k.a retargeting is an incredibly powerful strategy for marketers and sales agents as it is a cost effective way of reaching people who have already been actively seeking your business.

[This training business shares ads with professionals who have already investigated their website]

Studies show people who have an intent to purchase don’t always buy on the first visit to a site. By using remarketing, you are reminding those customers that you have what they want.

4. Add testimonials to your website

Whether your business is large or small, much of its success is dependent on what other people say about it.

Testimonials are the next best thing to word of mouth referrals. These are the stories of people who have already used your product or service and have experienced positive outcomes. By adding testimonials to your website, those brand new leads will get a better understanding of your credibility.

[This testimonial comes from a Canberra landscaper’s website. It is great… but an added headshot would also help]

People are more likely to cross the line from prospect to purchase when they see other people have benefited, particularly if those people look like someone they can relate to (hint, use a range of faces in your testimonials).

To gather gushing testimonials, you can email customers and ask them to send you two or three sentences reviewing your service. Alternatively, set up Google My Business, Yelp and True Local accounts and share the five star reviews you get on these platforms.

5. Make personal contact

Everyone wants to feel special and personalisation is fast becoming a secret marketing weapon. If you are selling thousands of products per week, at the very least make sure your customer’s first name is at the top of any email communication.

If you provide services to a smaller audience, check out a tool called Bonjoro. This app will notify you when you have an enquiry. You can use it to then send a quick, completely personalised video message to your new lead.

[Bonjoro is nurturing me with cute animal pictures!]

Consider this: Often when you fill out an online form, you have no idea who it is going to go to. A robot? Someone on the customer care team?

But what if you send a message asking about leasing a property and the agent themselves immediately pops up in your inbox with an attached video where they refer to you by name, thank you for your enquiry and let you know the next inspection time? Pretty cool!

Using Bonjoro doesn’t work for every business. But consider the difference this strategy or one like it could make to lead nurturing for yours.

6. Use a lead magnet to capture people’s details

A lead magnet incentivises prospects to become customers by offering them a free gift or a free trial in exchange for useful data such as their email address. Marketing geniuses around the world use lead magnets to capture leads email info before nurturing them into actual paying clients.

[Who can resist a 30 day free trial? And once you’re hooked, you’re hooked!]

Stan, Netflix, and other online services make full use of lead magnet tactics with free trial periods, and benefit from it greatly. The idea is simple: in exchange for something free, whether a trial period or a coupon, site visitors share their email address or phone number. Once the trial has expired, the lead can be followed up with via email and encouraged to join with a special offer or discount.

Lead magnet examples can also include first-time buyer discounts, ebooks, templates and cheat sheets, depending on the nature of your business.

7. Create automated follow ups

A customer relationship manager (CRM) allows you to keep track of your customers’ details, requests, background information, and so much more.

With this tool, you’re able to function as a social media operator, as your own personal assistant, and as an online robot that replies to customers who reach out to you via email or any channel online. Importantly, you can use your CRM to let you know which of your leads are the most ‘hot’, i.e. close to making a purchase, so you can direct your energy towards them.

A CRM automates marketing campaigns, personalised replies, and company updates. Your business may be small, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do big things all at once. Choose a CRM that works for you and leverage it to keep those leads warm.

8. Track your website stats

It is important for you to know what works and what doesn’t to ensure effective lead nurturing.

For example, your lead magnet may be falling flat. If nobody is downloading it, you need to have a rethink. But you have to track activity first to see how effective it is.

Knowing what pages your viewers visit, where they visit from, what website features they use the most, and what kind of information they look for is crucial in the maintenance of your online territory. This will give you an understanding of what your prospects are doing when they visit your website and at what point they are clicking away.

9. Sweeten the deal

Discounts and promos are a language everyone speaks!

One of the clearest benefits of offering discounts is that you can leverage them for a rush of new customers. From here, use your other strategies like marketing automation to keep your customers coming back. This is a helpful strategy for retailers and businesses which encourage their customers to come back to them regularly like chiropractors, massage therapists and yoga studios.

[Discount, up front, centre]

10. Gather feedback

The famous it’s-not-you-it’s-me break-up mentality can also apply in business. However, you won’t know why that customer didn’t buy unless you ask.

Rejig your website so if someone goes to leave without buying, they are served a short popup survey. Ask one or two questions about why they held back. The answers may surprise you or instigate a change in direction for your business.

If you have a marketing automation system which contacts people a few times before giving up, make the last email a feedback request. Again, you never know what you may uncover.

As you can see, lead nurturing requires a lot of forethought. However, there are many ways to automate it so you are in constant contact with your customers without having to put in hours of work.

To find out more about successful lead nurturing and turn those leads into buyers, contact Win More Clients today.

Related Tag: Marketing Automation Consultant

Tim Hyde

Tim Hyde

Tim is an Infusionsoft certified partner, fixer and seasoned business growth strategist with real world business experience. Tim works with coaches, consultants and small business owners to help them get more time money and freedom from their business by optimising and automating the customer lifecycle.

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