If you ask service businesses the main reason why they created their websites in the first place, the answer from the vast majority will be “to generate leads online”.
Although the intent is pretty clear, the process is not always straightforward and easy.
Lacking a proper strategy or knowledge to apply it, many websites end up failing at attracting and converting the intended audience.
Great results require a good plan
Fortunately, there is a proven lead generation process being used by dozens of successful websites, that you can put in place right away.
The following are the essential steps of this process to help you stir the ship in the right direction – It will take work and it requires patience, but it will definitely replace the guesswork and frustration with confidence and positive results.
It all begins with the buyer
A problem we see way too often on businesses websites is that they focus too much on what they want to say and too little on the client’s perspective.
A successful lead generating strategy however, will always begin with a deep understanding of your buyer persona. Who they are, where they seek information and what exactly they are searching for, are some of the very important signals to direct your marketing decisions.
That’s why it’s so important to develop & refine your buyer personas and use this data to guide you in creating attractive content – Focusing on your customers and their desires and needs will make your website much more attractive and relevant to them.
Before you can convert you need to attract
One of the best ways to generate organic traffic to your site is having a business blog.
Blogging has the benefit of building trust with your visitors. Every time you address their questions and offer expert guidance, you build on your reputation and help them grow more familiar and comfortable with your business and much more likely to choose you over a company they don’t know.
By posting regularly on topics or keywords that your clients are interested in, you will increase exponentially your opportunities to be found in their searches.
Companies that blog regularly see improvement on their search engine rankings, increase on inbound links and steady growth in organic traffic.
To help maximize your exposure even further, use social media. Let your followers know whenever you publish new content and encourage them to like and share it with their friends.
Brake the resistance with an irresistible offer
Statistics show that the majority (70 – 80%) of visitors to any given website are not ready to purchase right away. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start the process of converting visitors into leads.
People are very reluctant to give out their personal information due to so much spam and interruptive marketing out there. But if you have something to offer (information) that is incredibly useful and helpful to them you will likely get past their initial reluctance.
With your buyer’s profile in mind, be sure to create irresistible content in a format that can be downloaded by your visitor in exchange for their basic contact information (lead). That can be and eBook, white paper, spreadsheet, etc…
Use CTAs strategically
Once you have your offer ready, the next step is to feature it on your pages and posts by creating a graphical Call To Action.
A good CTA is usually a nice looking graphic with just a couple of sentences and the cover art of your offer telling visitors to click in order to download. Make it stand out on your website by using a good size and colors.
The magic happens at the Landing Page
Once your visitors click on the Call To Action they should be taken your landing page where you will actually be able to place the form to collect their information.
A good practice is to make your Landing Pages short and free of distractions. You should even remove the website’s navigation and any other links, to bring the entire focus on filling out the form in order to receive your premium content.
Once they submit their contact information you can redirect them to a “Thank You” page where they can download your content and even see additional available offers.
Nurture leads into customers with Email Marketing
The initial leads are often very basic, only including your visitor’s name and email. This is where you can use Email Marketing to continue nurturing these leads.
Now that your visitors submitted their information and agreed to receive marketing emails from your business, you will have the opportunity to build on that relationship and gradually gather more information qualifying them for a sale.
Conclusion
The rules of marketing have evolved with technology. The unprecedented access to information of today’s market has caused the power to shifted in favor of the buyer. Businesses that understand and adapt quickly to this reality, are certainly to enjoy the benefits.
The reason this lead generation model has worked well for so many businesses is because it’s based on a fundamental and timeless philosophy – The customer comes first.
If you haven’t yet, start applying this methodology to your online marketing strategy today and soon your website will bring you more business than ever.
