(Part 1 of a 2-part series on getting the most from your online marketing strategy)
Have you noticed that your marketing budget isn’t bringing in the volume of leads that it did 18 months ago? You’re not alone. Inflation and higher levels of online competition mean more people must compete for the same leads in your area, which drives prices up. If you can supercharge your conversions, you’ll experience lower costs per acquisition. Many businesses are urgently working to figure out how to do more with fewer leads. Here are three actions that can be implemented quickly to boost your conversion rate.
The leads described here are exclusive, live leads because they inherently have a higher close rate than shared leads. Shared leads are often attractive to small businesses on tight budgets because they are less expensive than exclusive leads. However, leads distributed to 4-5 competing companies have a lower close rate. Bids are won to the fastest responses and lowest bids. Having to cut prices to compete lowers profits. For this reason, 99 Calls only provides high-quality exclusive leads.
The price tag may be higher with exclusive leads, but the ROI is higher too. If you’ve decided to give exclusive lead generation a shot, the next question to answer is, “How I manage my exclusive leads to gain higher conversions?”. Properly managed exclusive leads have 60-70% higher conversion rates than shared leads.
How your staff and systems manage leads is key to improving your conversions. This includes phone operation and best practices for capturing and storing those leads. We’ll delve into proven lead capture and engagement techniques.
1. Phone Operations & Responding to Missed Calls
Professional phone etiquette and high-quality customer service are essential for managing inbound calls. However, many businesses don’t have adequate staff and many calls go unanswered. Other call issues include improperly set up voicemails, full mailboxes, or even poor phone etiquette.
A study by Jo Meunier of Alliance analyzing 142 small businesses revealed troubling phone practices: 47% left calls unanswered, and of those who answered, 37% failed to engage the caller. 81% confirmed the company name, but only 29% confirmed the name of the call receiver. When people call a contractor, they want to know they’ve reached the right place! Businesses with answering services fared better, answering 35% more calls on average. Notably, those with phone support missed almost 40% fewer calls.
Alarming statistics from this study underscore the critical role of professional phone practices in local businesses. Proper voicemail setups, well-trained customer service representatives, and even utilizing an answering service can significantly improve call handling. These measures ensure callers reach the right place, receive attentive service, and leave with a positive impression.
Missed Call Text Back – Powerful Tool for Engaging Customers
A simple and inexpensive solution is to deploy a missed call text back service. For example, 99 Calls clients pay just $49 per month for a service that will send a text message to the caller when they can’t answer the call. When the caller receives the text and responds, our clients get text and email notifications and can engage with their customers. This is a tremendous help for busy contractors and far less expensive than hiring round-the-clock receptionists or an answering service.
For more on missed call text back, check out this video from our team: The Power of Missed Call Text Back: Boosting Revenue
2. Capture Lead Information via Form Fills
At 99 Calls, we advocate for the value of form fills alongside exclusive leads across our websites. While some contractors prioritize phone calls, others find that form submissions are valuable leads, even among the best they receive. So, what’s the verdict? Calls remain important, but studies and contractor experiences demonstrate that form fills are a crucial opportunity for small businesses in today’s market. This is because many consumers, especially young adults prefer to engage with forms online rather than call for a quote.
Here’s why online forms are powerful lead magnets:
- Collecting an email and phone number will allow you to further engage with your lead to convert them later. People who fill out a form are less likely to need your service immediately than those who call, but by collecting this information, you can engage with them in the future (see short-term nurturing below) and stay “top of mind”.
- Marketers love them: Nearly half say web forms are their top tool for converting website visitors into leads (HubSpot).
- Cost-effective and efficient: Inbound marketing tools like forms, cost 67% less than traditional outbound marketing and are demonstrably more effective (HubSpot).
- Scalable: Companies generating 40% or more leads online (often through forms) grow four times faster than those relying on offline methods (Hinge Marketing).
- Popular: The widespread adoption of forms across industries highlights their effectiveness. Almost every industry leverages forms to capture inbound leads. If your competitors offer a form on their website and you don’t you may be creating friction in your sales process.
A note on creating forms; don’t get carried away with asking too much of your contact too soon. Shorter is sweeter. Studies show that 5 form fields is the golden number for getting people to complete them (HubSpot). Requesting too much information upfront drives potential customers away.
3. Engage Your Leads With Short-Term Nurturing
Key actions like offering promotions, writing quality calls to action, having a positive online reputation, and more can help a business convert leads from a click to a contact. Effective lead generation goes beyond attracting website visitors. This recent post shows the research behind the importance of responding to leads. Only 20% of callers leave voicemails. If a voice message is not responded to within an hour, the lead is often lost, translating to missed revenue, particularly in Google Ads campaigns. Short-term lead nurturing campaigns can significantly improve conversion rates by beginning a relationship with new contacts automatically.
Research by Gartner highlights the power of SMS for customer communication. They report SMS open rates as high as 98%, compared to email open rates typically falling between 10-20%. This significant difference translates to a much greater chance of customer engagement when using text messages for communication purposes.
What’s the big takeaway?
Even with a skilled staff and exceptional service, effective lead nurturing and communication remain crucial. Successfully converting leads requires a balance of human touch and operational efficiency. In today’s dynamic market, the right tools and strategies are essential to achieve business growth and enhanced efficiency, ultimately helping you reach your goals.