With the internet overtaking all other mediums of marketing in terms of reach and impact, businesses around the world have finally started embracing online marketing with open arms. It used to take a lot to help small and medium-sized businesses understand why having a strong online presence is important but thankfully, people are finally realizing the power of online marketing.
Today, when people think of marketing their products and services online, all they consider is coming up with a way to generate more leads. A lot of businesses make the grave mistake of thinking most leads will automatically convert to sales.
The truth is, generating leads and converting those leads into paying customers are two very different things. And, many businesses learn that the hard way after spending huge sums on online marketing but not having a system to convert those leads into sales.
So, to help our readers avoid making this mistake, we have compiled some of the most effective techniques and methods that they can use to ensure maximum signups.
Know who your audience is and how to impress them
Ever had an experience where you opened a website or clicked on an ad but as soon as you took a quick look, you learnt that the website wasn’t offering what you were hoping for and thus you ended up leaving? This is a pure example of a business failing to fully understand what exactly their audience is looking for.
One thing that’s common among all internet users is that when we click on a link or open a website, we’re looking for a reward. This reward can take many forms, some blogs offer infographics while some businesses offer free gifts or nice discount offers.
The important thing to remember about this reward is that it does not have to be big and expensive, it should be just enough for your website to successfully convince the user to sign up for your service. Once you have their name and email, it’s all about educating them about your products and getting them to order something.
Following up is the most important part of the process
A survey conducted by HBR found that for most businesses, the average time taken for following up on a lead is 42 hours. And, what’s even more shocking is that the survey revealed 23% of businesses never followed up at all.
For the businesses that are not even bothering with reaching out, what are you even doing spending funds on marketing? All your leads are going down the drain and if you don’t act fast, your business will be in big trouble pretty soon.
Now, for the majority of businesses who take about 42 hours to reach out, this time period is too long. If you wait this long to follow up, it is pretty likely that the person would have forgotten the thrill of getting the reward that you offered, or worse, they could have forgotten about your website entirely. In both cases, the person is very likely to ignore any of your follow ups.
Following up can be very effective at converting leads to sales but only when it is done at a fast pace. 42 hours of waiting period is not good enough. Today, our lives are busier than ever, so if your business is taking more than 24 hours to follow up, you’re just hurting your own chances. When it comes to reaching out to potential customers, keep one rule in mind, the quicker the better.
Let the client decide which product to buy
In the case of online leads, if a potential customer has given you their contact details, it is pretty evident that the client has at least some idea regarding what kind of product they want to buy. When online businesses ignore this and try to sell something of their own choice, the client can feel insulted and that makes them very likely to say no regardless of how good the product is.
Modern-day businesses are too scared to lose their leads and hence, they rely on a hard-sell approach to sell their most expensive plan or product to the potential customer. What businesses need to understand is that today’s consumer is more educated and well-informed than ever before.
Another thing to remember is that these days, consumers rely on online reviews and feedback from their social circle before buying something. Taking the hard-sell approach will only push away potential customers.
So, once you have a lead, it’s important to reach out and ask what kind of solution they are looking for. Once they tell you about their problem, then you can offer them a much more appropriate product or service and it will be a lot more difficult for the client to say no.
Study your competition
Thanks to the internet, today’s consumer compares prices of different products before making a purchase. So, if your product is priced higher and the industry that you’re operating in is price-sensitive, it’s pretty likely that you’re losing out on some sales.
There’s a pretty direct link between cost and selling price. So, if you are running your business at the same efficiency as your competitors but your products still end up costing more, it is likely that your products are of higher quality than your competitors’. You need to use this information to start attracting more consumers towards your products.
Same approach can work in the opposite direction, if you find out that your products are offering lesser features than your competitors’ you can use your products’ lower selling price as a way to attract clients. In both cases, what remains unchanged is that you need to study what your competitors are doing and in which areas their performance is lacking.
So, now that you know some of the most effective ways being used by online businesses to convert leads to sales, you can start implementing them for your business as well.
