Marketing game on point but still not generating enough sales?
Oddly enough, this is a challenge that most businesses face.
Over the years we’ve had tonnes of clients who invest a lot in their marketing efforts, and have created some brilliant lead-generating campaigns. While the leads keep coming in, we always hear complaints of ‘not-enough-sales’.
It is important to realize that your marketing efforts will not always generate customers immediately. Especially when targeting a cold audience, or rather, an audience that barely knows your business.
The right marketing will get people interested in your business but not interested enough to make a purchase immediately.
If you’re wondering why, then you need to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. It isn’t easy to immediately purchase from a company you barely know. Without the trust factor, it is only normal for customers to be wary of an immediate purchase.
It is for this very reason that leads change their mind quickly and shift loyalties very easily.
Ultimately it is up to your business to build a relationship with every potential lead, so they radiate towards your business when they are ready to make a purchase.
Let’s keep in mind that people who express interest in your business but aren’t ready to make a purchase yet are termed as warm leads; and people who are interested in purchasing from you immediately are termed as hot leads.
How your business approaches these warm and hot leads, makes all the difference.
So here’s where your Lead Conversion Strategy will step in.
If you get your lead conversion strategy right, you will convert those cold, warm and hot leads into customers and then you can focus on retaining and upselling to those customers.
And this is precisely where most businesses fail!
Why?
Well, lead conversion isn’t a simple task. It takes serious effort, strategy and commitment.
So here are some pointers on how you can refine your strategy and convert your leads to customers.
Don’t make your leads wait
Remember that your customers have a lot of options. Their interest in your brand will drop after they’ve expressed interest. You need to get them hooked before they move onto your competitor. Ensure that you have a proper system in place to handle all incoming leads within the first 24 hours.
Equip your sales team
Your sales team plays a role as important as your marketing team. Be it your receptionist or a full-fledged sales team that handles customers, they have to equipped to tackle every kind of customer request. Unanswered emails and phone calls are a complete no-no.
Monitor your sales funnel
We are well aware that not all leads are ready to make a purchase immediately. Some may take weeks, and some months. But your business has to be there when they are ready to make the purchase.
You will need to have a sales funnel or a system in place that tracks your leads and customer’s sales journey. Establish a system a communication based on how long it’s been since they’ve expressed interest and communicate with relevant information to keep their interest in your brand alive.
Once you’ve converted your leads to customers, you will have to shift your focus on retaining these customers.
The bottomline is that you have to create a relationship with your potential customers. There isn’t a market niche without intense competition. So what will really set you apart from your competitors is the relationship and trust factor that you have with your leads and your customers.
Don’t just look to forge a relationship. Understand your customer, give them valuable information and products and your qualified leads will definitely convert into customers.