Aug14
But they are also unreliable and unpredictable. To establish and maintain a successful business, you must be consistently finding and nurturing new leads. Word of mouth, networking, and similar marketing efforts can bring in a lot of revenue.
This may sound overwhelming. As a business without a massive marketing department, you don’t have the time and manpower to develop complex systems of advertising and marketing campaigns. Where do you even begin? Start small. Begin by refining your lead generation funnel.
A lead generation funnel provides direction and purpose for your marketing. To bring in more leads and close more sales. It’s called a funnel because the first stage captures the attention of a broad audience, and this marketing becomes more refined and detailed in the following stages. Here are the four main stages of a lead generation funnel.
To develop a successful lead generation funnel, begin by keeping the funnel full of fresh leads. You can do this by developing a great free offer in exchange for a prospect’s contact information. Which you then use in future marketing. This is how you keep your lead funnel full.
A great offer begins with an irresistible hook. Identify the problem your clients want to solve. Consider what they may ask Google or research in their search to solve their problem. Then, use that search to create a valuable free download. Here are a few examples:
So you have a great hook, something your audience finds value in, and now it’s time for you to create your landing page to generate opt-ins. This landing page should be visually attractive, easy to read, and entice your leads to enter their information in exchange for your free gift.
Once you have your offer and landing page ready, it’s time to get as many eyes as you can on that page. Organically, you can use your social media to address the problems your followers have and send them to the link in your bio as the solution.
To generate even more leads, use targeted paid advertising to lead people to your landing page. Use Google ads to target people asking the question your offer answers. Use Facebook advertising to target users who fit your ideal customer. The more targeted people who visit your landing page, the more leads enter your funnel, and the more sales you can close.
This is how you create an ever-flowing lead generation funnel. If you stop here, you have a collection of leads at the top of a funnel but no movement down the funnel. You have only leads. Leads are not sales. Leads are only the beginning. From here, you need to nurture these leads in your email marketing campaign.
Nurturing your leads requires you to deepen your relationship with them step by step. Refer to the previously covered lead generation funnel stages. The leads in your funnel now are already within the awareness stage.
To carry leads through the engagement stage with your email marketing, build rapport with them. On average it takes 7 “touches” before someone will commit to a purchase. Continue to demonstrate your expertise with emails that compliment your lead magnet like “How to Choose the Right Mattress.” or “Your Perfect Workout Awaits!”
The conversion stage seals the deal. Promote a special offer through your email sequence or social media. If you’ve done the previous stages right, you’ve got a great chance of gaining a new customer and potential referral machine.
Sometimes it can be challenging to know which campaign will be more effective. Everything from your headlines, copy, calls to action, and design all play a role in how well your campaign converts. Run A/B tests to gauge which design or hook works better. Customize your campaigns to match how far along your lead is in the funnel. The longer someone has been in your funnel and the more they have clicked on your emails, the warmer they are. The closer they are to making a purchase. Target these warmer leads with conversion-heavy content to seal the deal. Always be testing and refining your strategy.
Want help developing a strategy that fits the needs of your business and helps you increase your revenue with a steady flow of new leads? Connect with us today about creating your very own custom lead generation funnel for your business and start seeing results within days!
Keywords: Business Strategy, Marketing, Sales