Imagine a world where Sherlock Holmes has the sharpest mind but no intriguing mysteries to solve. Or Iron Man without his tech-suit. They are simply incomplete without one another. 

In the same way, lead generation is the lifeline of businesses. Without a consistent inflow of customers, even the best business idea will fail to flourish. And you don’t want that, do you? 

This is where we come into the picture. Today, we bring you the top 10 lead-generation strategies that work like a charm in 2024. Each one, when done right, can help you achieve your goal without any difficulty.

So, let’s jump right into it!

1. Content Marketing

7.5 million blogs are published each day. There is a reason why more and more businesses are jumping on the content bandwagon.

This is because the content is just not the king but the entire kingdom! And if you look at it, truly look at it, you will know how true the statement is.

Content is everywhere. From the billboards to radio ads and pop-ups and more, there is no escaping it. But when you have enticing content by your side, that’s a whole other story.

Content marketing goes beyond promoting products. When done right, it helps provide information that solves problems or addresses the needs of your audience. Inclusive content plays a pivotal role here, as it ensures that diverse voices and perspectives are represented, resonating with a broader audience and fostering a sense of belonging.

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When you consistently deliver quality content, you can position yourself as an industry authority. This is super crucial because it helps you stand out and build trust and loyalty among your audience. This trust is a key factor in lead generation.

Why? 

At the end of the day, potential customers are more likely to consider and choose a brand they perceive as knowledgeable and reliable. It is seen that companies that post 15 blog posts a month generate almost 1200 new leads per month on average.

When it comes to content marketing, the sky is the limit. From blog posts to infographics, content marketing serves as a powerful tool.

2. AI and Personalization

Have you ever noticed Amazon telling you when your favorite product is back in stock? Or Maybe you receive an email from your favorite store with a whopping discount just because they miss you.

So, how does this make you feel? It feels incredible, doesn’t it? This is the beauty of personalization. And they leverage AI to run the personalization process.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of an ecommerce store owner who deals with hundreds of consumers every day. Personalization becomes a bit difficult, understandably. But what if AI could help you out?

Unlike putting in manual efforts, AI uses advanced algorithms and data analysis, which intelligently predicts user behavior and customizes your approach to offer your audience a unique and engaging experience.

This personalized approach not only captures attention but also establishes a deeper connection with potential leads. In fact,  89% of marketers say that personalization fetches them positive ROI.

By understanding and responding to each customer’s needs, AI personalization makes conversion an easy possibility.

Whether it’s recommending relevant products, delivering targeted messages, or predicting user intent, AI makes every interaction meaningful.

And 2024 is a tech-savvy era. With so many OpenAI development companies assisting businesses create their own generative AI model, there is no shortage of tools that can be used for personalizing communication throughout the customer journey. So instead of shying away from technology, it’s high time that you embrace it.

3. Social Media Marketing

From the time of its inception, social media has changed the way we humans communicate and consume content. Today, 66% of marketers generate leads from social media by spending only six hours per week on social media marketing.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn hold so much potential. The key is to come up with a well-structured marketing campaign plan and have engaging content that fully resonates with your audience.

When you come up with a consistent and interactive approach, it builds brand awareness and trust where you easily convert social media users into potential leads.

With social media lead generation tactics, you can check how your content plan is fairing with in-depth insights through analytics. It lets you tweak your approach as you go.

4. Free Demo

Picture this. You are looking to explore a new tool. Everything sounds good on paper but something is holding you back. At the same time, the competitor with similar features offers you a free demo. Which is more enticing? The free demo one right?

Offering product or service demos is a potent lead-generation strategy. It offers firsthand experience, which lets potential customers interact with your offering.

You no longer have to go on and on about how great it can be. Instead, your consumers can go through its functionality to see if it aligns with their requirements.

Remember, with free demos, you are engaging prospects in a practical, immersive way. Demos cut through all the noise and make a lasting impression.

5. Email Marketing

Don’t shun email marketing just because it has been around for quite some time now. It is still powerful and going strong in 2024. It generates $42 for every $1 spent.

Email marketing makes use of targeted campaigns to nurture potential customers. However, plain old boring emails won’t cut. This is the era is all about being different. Don’t hesitate to experiment if you must. The end result must be alluring and personalized messages that solve the specific needs and pain points of your audience.

Strategic segmentation is a must to make sure that each email resonates with its intended audience.

Most importantly, don’t forget to implement calls-to-action and exclusive offers to push your audience to take the desired steps to move them through the sales funnel. Consider incorporating engaging email newsletters to regularly deliver valuable content and updates, nurturing your relationship with subscribers. Again, don’t create emails for the sake of it. Analyze metrics and fine-tune your approach as you go.

6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Your website and SEO go hand in hand. When you amplify your website content, meta tags, and backlinks, you are taking care of SEO. These efforts are rewarded by elevating your online visibility. This is the first step to conversion.

This visibility captivates organic traffic and can convert casual browsers into potential sales leads. Keyword optimization is still a strong SEO tactic in 2024 that aligns content with user intent. This is super crucial to strike a connection between your brand and your target audience.

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As your SEO efforts start making a mark, your website ranking starts climbing upward and soon reaches the first page. However, it is important to be patient with SEO as it can take at least six months.

7. Paid Ads

As aforementioned, social media is a powerful lead-generation strategy. However, if you are looking for quick results, paid ads are incredible.

50% of people arriving at a retailer’s site from paid ads are more likely to buy than those who came from an organic link.

Paid ads are like a shortcut that lets you reach specific audiences with precision and in no time. Platforms like Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Instagram Ads, and Facebook Ads offer robust targeting options.

Additionally, tapping into ad networks such as the Google Display Network or Twitter Audience Platform expands your campaign’s reach across a wide array of websites and apps. What does this mean? It’s simple. Your message reaches users interested in your products or services.

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But paid ads are no magic. It is all about the strategy and efforts you put into it. With careful keyword selection and demographic targeting, paid ads maximize visibility.

The beauty of paid campaigns is that they generate likes in its immediacy. It offers quick results, which drives potential leads to your website or landing page. 

The best part is that you can keep an eye on the metrics and adjust campaigns in real time. You can leverage an AI Ads generator to create compelling ads that will get you better results.

8. Chatbots

Chatbots can be your secret weapon when it comes to lead generation. Why? Because they provide instant and personalized interactions on websites.

As mentioned earlier, we live in a tech-savvy world. So, an AI-driven virtual assistant can engage visitors, answering queries, and guiding them through the initial stages of the sales funnel.

Your AI assistant can also collect user data and preferences. The immediate response and 24/7 availability can improve user experience. After all, if someone is there for you whenever you need them, it just makes you feel good!

9. Influencer Marketing

The influencer marketing industry is now at $21.1 billion, and it has only seen upward growth since it became popular in the recent decade. So, in this era when everyone relies on social media, influencers can help you reach your goals quite effortlessly.

Here, you partner with influencers whose ideologies resonate with your brand value. You use the trust and credibility these influencers have built within their niche and tap into their established audiences.

For instance, let’s say you are a skincare product. You can collaborate with a well-known influencer for an authentic endorsement. This type of social proof can do wonders.

By strategically partnering with relevant influencers, you can generate high-quality leads who are already interested in your products or services, making influencer marketing a powerful tool for B2C lead generation.

10. Webinars

When it comes to lead generation, webinars may be the last thing on your mind. But it’s time to give this idea some merit. 89% of marketers say that webinars perform better than other channels when it comes to producing qualified leads.

One of the reasons why it strikes the right cord is because it combines education and engagement. Hosting webinars positions your brand as an industry authority. When the quality of your webinar is high, it helps attract a targeted audience looking for valuable insights.

During your webinar, make sure you address queries in real-time. This instantly creates a direct and personal connection.

Also, attendees willingly provide contact information to access the event. It helps you with a set of engaged prospects for post-webinar follow-ups.

Bonus: Use Q & A Platforms Like “Quora”

Quora has over 300 million monthly visitors. You might have logged in too in search of a solution. We all do. However, the platform is still underestimated in marketing circles.

If you are wondering how Quora can help you, well, it helps businesses understand the audience’s problems by providing a space for users to pose questions and seek answers.

Let’s say, you are an agency. You come across a question about content marketing. Now, avoid fluff and advertisement-like content at all costs. Instead, be genuine and write authentic answers. In the end, direct users to your website. Do it strategically to convert a Quora user into a qualified lead.

Final Words

As a business owner, you already know how crucial lead generation is for you. But the key lies in choosing the right set of strategies that align with your business needs.

Remember, what works for business X may not work the same way for business Y. Lead gen is never a one-size-fits-all solution. That said, when you implement the top tips we have discussed in the above article, you are bound to make a mark.

The post Mastering Lead Generation in 2024: 10 Strategies to Propel Your Business Forward appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

There’s something comforting and enjoyable about creating a routine where people know you, whether that’s a favorite coffee shop or place to walk or a local beer store where they call your dog by name.

Many businesses can create this personalized shopping experience to convert more browsers into buyers. But, it can be tough to do that online where you can’t look into a customer’s eyes or easily ask what they need as they browse digital shelves. Still, we regularly hear about the need for eCommerce personalization.

To tackle that opportunity, let’s define personalization, the best way to start implementing it, and methods to optimize your efforts.

Defining “Personalization” in ECommerce

Personalization and customization can feel like the same thing, but some important distinctions exist. Breaking these out makes it easier to understand personalization and how it can apply in eCommerce operations.

For your website and sales efforts, personalization uses data and customer insights to craft a specific shopping experience for every customer. These efforts may include showing relevant products, serving recommendations, and adjusting content based on the customer’s past behavior.

Companies may also try personalizing service levels or selecting specific pop-ups and overlays based on customer status. 

Customization, on the other hand, generally refers to customer-driven choices. These range from the obvious (selection or sorting by size, color, price, etc.) to detailed efforts specific to the individual (a customer chooses not to see certain types of products). When you think of customization as something helmed by the customer, you’ll start identifying ways to use their selections to craft personalized experiences.

How Personalization Creates a Better Shopping Experience

To create a personalized shopping experience, eCommerce businesses need to invest in audience research. By understanding your customers and what they want, you can create an individualized experience that will convert browsers into buyers.

You’ll want to create as complete a picture of the shopper as possible. Ask core experience questions, including:

• What are their needs that you can and can’t address? 
• What are their wants or things that tip them over the edge to make a purchase? 
• What motivates them to make this purchase at this time?
• Why should they choose you to meet their specific needs and wants?

Once you understand your customers well, you can start creating a shopping experience tailored to them. Take learning about their immediate needs and wants. I

t’s easier to suggest the right products when you know what they’ve recently viewed or what ad they clicked on to get to your site. You’re building based on their tastes and refining suggestions based on what gets that second purchase.

Understanding why someone values your brand can also help you create personalized discounts or special deals that gain shoppers. If you’re known for customer service, you might leverage this for an ad tagline: “World-class customer service meets free shipping on every order over $20.”

It’s more than just a deal; it’s one couched in the language you know they appreciate. Tying it back to shipping and order support also reinforces your brand as one that cares about the customer.

Finally, it is important to ensure the customer feels valued and appreciated. Thank them for their business and promptly take care of any issues they may have. Creating a positive relationship with your customers ensures they keep returning for more.

3 Steps to Take to Get Started with Personalization 

To get started with personalization, businesses need to take three steps: collecting data, analyzing data, and implementing personalization.

1. Collect Data 

The first step is to collect data about your customers. This could include information such as their demographics, location, what devices they use, what pages they visit on your site, and what products they are interested in. There are a number of ways businesses can collect this data, such as through website cookies, surveys, and customer loyalty programs.

2. Analyze Data 

Once you have collected data about your customers, it is important to analyze it to understand their needs and preferences. This will help you determine how to best personalize their shopping experience. Several tools are available to help with this analysis, such as analytics software and customer segmentation tools.

3. Implement Personalization 

The final step is to implement personalization into your eCommerce store. This could include creating a personalized homepage, recommending similar products, using data to segment customers into different groups, or offering discounts. By personalizing the shopping experience, businesses can increase conversion rates and average order value.

The Top 5 Ways to Personalize the Shopping Experience

Personalization can be an incredibly complex experience or a simpler operation based on your tech stack and the amount of data you use. To get started, there are some core efforts to implement that can start with minimal, current-session data and then move to longer-term tracking and utilization.

1. Use Data to Recommend Products

One of the most effective ways to personalize the shopping experience is to use data to recommend products. This could include data from past purchases, browsing history, and social media activity.

By understanding what customers have bought in the past, businesses can make recommendations for similar or complementary products. This helps customers find what they’re looking for more easily and allows businesses to upsell and cross-sell effectively.

2. Create a Personalized Homepage

Another way to personalize the shopping experience is to create a personalized homepage. This could include features such as recommended products, recently viewed items, and even a custom welcome message.

By creating a personalized homepage, businesses can make sure that each customer feels valued and that they can easily find what they’re looking for — reinforcing your brand identity as helpful and in-the-know.

Consider tying homepages to traffic and referral sources so that someone looking at your Instagram account hits a page filled with both products and the videos you create. It’s an easy way to start the fruitful process of understanding customer behavior across channels.

3. Use Data to Create Targeted Marketing Campaigns

Another effective way to personalize the shopping experience is to use data to create targeted marketing campaigns. This involves using customer data to segment customers into different groups and then creating marketing messages that are tailored to each group. This could include offering discounts or special promotions to specific groups of customers. 

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Don’t neglect small lifts here. Greet customers directly by name. Adjust messages based on user region. Adapt to local events and other broader experiences that keep your content from feeling too general, even if it isn’t hyper-personalized.

4. Use Data to Segment Your Email List

You can also personalize the shopping experience by segmenting your email list. This involves grouping customers together based on their interests, demographics, or purchase history. Most email marketing tools track detailed customer information you can leverage.

For example, monitoring when customers last visited allows you to email people about how “it’s been a while”. 

By segmenting your email list, you can send more targeted and relevant messages to each group of customers. This can lead to higher open and click-through rates, as well as increased sales and revenue.

5. Personalized Product Pages By Creating Variants

The final way to personalize the shopping experience is to use data to create a personalized product page. Or, at least create a page that feels catered to the individual based on broader context and information.

When you can get very detailed, this involves using customer data such as purchase history and browsing behavior to recommend similar or complementary products. You’ll need a dynamic site that can adapt to their history and habits in real-time.

If you don’t have a robust site, consider building blocks for each section of your landing pages or product pages for each SKU. Then, you can create groupings that feel customized because the pre-existing blocks you use match what people see in broader marketing campaigns. As you get more sophisticated, these blocks can then be what you dynamically insert into different elements as the customer shops around your site.

By creating a personalized product page, businesses can enhance conversion rates and have a better chance for higher order values because of the relevance of up-sell and cross-sell promotions.

The Benefits of Personalization for Businesses

There are many benefits of personalization for businesses. By creating a personalized shopping experience, businesses can increase conversion rates, average order value, and customer loyalty.

Conversion rates improve because customers are more likely to buy from a store that recognizes them and offers products they are interested in. If you’re marketing to the same people, small efforts like using someone’s first name in an email can increase conversion rates.

Companies that personalize offers also tend to see average order values increase in multiple ways. These incentives help push people to make more impulse purchases and reach higher overall orders — a benefit you can compound when making traditional online offers like free shipping on orders of a certain value.

Finally, studies also show that personalization can improve customer loyalty. Studies have found that more than half of people are open to receiving personalized experiences, and 72% who get these end up spending more or buying more often. This is because customers feel appreciated and valued when they are recognized and offered products they look at or follow.

Overall, personalization is a powerful tool that can help businesses improve conversion rates, average order value, and customer loyalty. When used correctly, it can be a key driver of success for eCommerce businesses.

Create an Experience You’d Enjoy

When it comes to personalizing the shopping experience, businesses must take a few steps to ensure they are doing it correctly.

First and foremost, they need to collect data about their customers so they can understand their needs and preferences. Once they have this data, they need to analyze it to determine how best to personalize the shopping experience for each customer.

Then, they need to implement personalization into their eCommerce store, which could include creating a personalized homepage, recommending similar products, using data to segment customers into different groups, or offering discounts. 

The final piece, however, is reviewing the effort and ensuring that it adds value to the shopping experience. Ask if it is something you’d enjoy or if the elements and personalization get in the way. You don’t want to be overly burdensome or overly creepy. The aim is to show people what they want to see without them feeling like you’re crunching a lot of data behind the scenes.

The post Crucial Steps to Converting Browsers into Buyers appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Convincing new clients to sign up for your marketing services can be a challenge in a sea of other competitive offers. 

Because marketing is not a tangible service, persuading potential clients that your business is the one to go with requires a tactical strategy that delivers value. 

To do this, you need a solid marketing proposal. 

Perfecting the art of an effective marketing proposal is the key to winning lucrative clients and boosting your business sales. Once you’ve nailed it, you can rinse and repeat – saving you hours of time creating new proposals from scratch. 

Read on to learn how to write a marketing proposal that will drive new clients to your agency like bees to a honeypot. 

What Is a Marketing Proposal?

A marketing proposal is a document that outlines the proposed marketing strategy, tactics, and deliverables for your specific client or project. 

It acts as a convincing method to encourage potential clients to hire your services. You can achieve this via your marketing proposal by demonstrating your understanding of their business, industry, and target audience, and showcasing your expertise and experience in creating effective marketing campaigns. 

A well-crafted marketing proposal can help you win new clients, establish long-term partnerships, and grow your business – all whilst showing why clients should choose to work with your agency instead of the competition.

What Are the Components of a Marketing Proposal?

To win the conversion phase of marketing, your marketing proposal must act as a clear communication method. Demonstrating both why prospects should choose you to work for them, and exactly what you plan to do in order to grow their business. 

To this end, the key components of a marketing proposal include:

• Executive Summary: A brief overview of the proposal, highlighting the key points of your marketing strategy and why it will benefit your prospective client.

• Situation Analysis: A detailed analysis of your client’s business, industry, target audience, and competition. This demonstrates your understanding of your prospect’s needs and challenges.

• Objectives: Clear, measurable goals that the proposed marketing strategy aims to achieve – such as increased brand awareness, lead generation, or sales growth.

• Strategy: A detailed plan outlining the recommended marketing tactics, channels, and messaging that will be used to achieve the stated objectives.

• Pricing and Payment Options: A breakdown of the costs associated with implementing the proposed marketing strategy, including any fees, media costs, and production costs.

• Timeline: A detailed schedule outlining the proposed timeline for the marketing campaign – including key milestones, deliverables, and deadlines.

• Metrics: The set of metrics that you will use to measure the success of the marketing campaign – such as website traffic, conversion rates, or social media engagement.

• Conclusion: A summary of the proposal, emphasizing the benefits of the proposed marketing strategy and why you are the right choice for the client.  

Some of these components are fairly straightforward and don’t necessarily require a more detailed explanation.

Others we will look at in more granular detail to help you to create the most effective marketing proposal. 

How to Perform a Situation Analysis

As we’ve mentioned, you must demonstrate a thorough understanding of your prospect’s business, industry, target audience, and competition.

To achieve this, you must perform a situation analysis to understand where the business is at right now, and the challenges they’re facing. Start by researching the business – this includes its history, mission, values, and products or services. Identify the client’s unique selling proposition (USP) and competitive advantages.

Next, research the industry and market to understand the current trends, challenges, and opportunities. Identify the target audience, their demographics, psychographics, and their buying behavior.

Identify the prospective client’s main competitors and analyze their marketing strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. Identify the gaps in the market that your prospect can fill.

Research and consider your prospect’s pain points. These are the problems within their current marketing strategy that needs fixing. Your prospect will either know that they have these problems, but don’t know how to fix them, or they may be altogether unaware of any issues. 

An example of a pain point could be inconsistent messaging. When the messaging across different marketing channels is inconsistent, this leads to confusion and a lack of brand recognition. Fixing this problem may involve developing a cohesive messaging platform that is aligned with the brand’s mission, values, and value proposition.

You’ll also need to know exactly what you’re currently working with. This involves reviewing the existing marketing efforts – their website, social media profiles, advertising campaigns, and content marketing. Identify what’s working and what’s not. 

How to Set Clear Objectives

Once you’ve completed your research and ascertained the current position, you can begin to set the clear and measurable goals that you’ll include in your marketing proposal. 

Some examples of marketing proposal clear objectives can include:

1. Increase brand awareness within the 20-35 year old female demographic by 20%.
2. Improve open rates by 10% through email marketing efforts.
3. Generate 20 new leads per month. 

Each of these objectives should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Including clear objectives in a marketing proposal can help to align the marketing strategy with the business’s goals, provide a clear roadmap for success, and track progress and results over time.

How to Create the Marketing Strategies

We’ve looked at the what. Now we’ll explore the how part of the marketing proposal.

This section of your marketing proposal should include concise information about how you plan to improve your prospect’s marketing strategy. Basically, it’s time to show off your skills. 

Let’s use our aforementioned objectives as examples:

1. Increase brand awareness within the 20-35 year old female demographic by 20%.
2. Improve open rates by 10% through email marketing efforts.
3. Generate 20 new leads per month. 

The marketing strategies you create to achieve these objectives could look like this:

1. To increase brand awareness in this specific demographic, develop a social media strategy that includes regular content updates, engaging visuals, targeted social media ads, and influencer partnerships to increase the brand’s visibility. 

2. To improve open rates by 10% through email marketing efforts, segment the email list to include more targeted subscribers, optimize email subject lines, personalize emails using automation software, and ensure emails are optimized for mobile devices.

Say your prospect wants 20 new monthly leads for their JPG to PDF software service. The strategy would be to  develop  a lead magnet as an incentive to offer potential leads in exchange for their contact information. Then, plan to optimize the business website with clearer CTAs to direct visitors to the lead magnet.

Remember to add in this section of the marketing proposal that you will include regular monitoring to determine the effectiveness of each of the marketing strategies. 

How to Create Pricing and Payment Options

When it comes to pricing and payment options in your marketing proposal, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

Firstly, always be transparent. Prospects appreciate transparency, so be clear and make sure that your pricing structure is easy to understand. Be upfront about what is included in each package or service, and make sure there are no hidden fees or charges. 

Offering multiple options gives your potential clients flexibility and choice. For example, you might offer different levels of service at different price points, or offer a discount for clients who sign a longer-term contract.

You could also consider an online payment system that accepts multiple forms of payment. This can make it simpler for clients to budget for your services and make payments on time. 

Be sure to highlight the value of your services in relation to the pricing. Clearly explain how your services will help your prospective client to achieve their goals, and why your pricing is reasonable in comparison to the results they can expect to see.

Marketing Proposal Tips 

Focus on the Prospect

Ensure you write the marketing proposal with the prospect at the forefront. It needs to be all about their problems and business, and how you can help. More You, and less We.

Include Visuals

Where relevant, include eye-catching infographics to demonstrate your points. If you’ve got success stories from previous clients that include impressive stats, add them in, too. 

Use Templates

To make life easier, explore Proposify alternatives that will help streamline your marketing proposal creation process. Customize templates to come up with the best one to work with for your business’s needs. 

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Be Clear

Include transparent timelines for marketing campaigns and one-off projects. This looks like specific milestones and key deliverables dates. 

Encourage Action

Include a clear and compelling call to action that encourages your prospect to take the next step. This can include scheduling a call or meeting, signing a contract, or requesting more information.

The Art of Persuasion

Writing a marketing proposal that convinces new clients requires a thorough understanding of your audience’s needs, clear communication of your unique value proposition, and a well-structured plan for delivering your solution. 

By following the tips outlined in this blog post, you can create a proposal that effectively differentiates your business from competitors, provides evidence of your effectiveness, and clearly outlines your approach and process. 

With these key elements in place, you can create a persuasive marketing proposal that helps you win new clients and grow your business.

The post Crafting a Winning Marketing Proposal appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Conversions are your bottom line. You can have the best SEO, the best relationships, and more social shares than you’d ever thought possible, but it all won’t mean much if no one is converting. 

For many companies, conversions mean making a purchase, but the term can go far beyond just monetary value. The term “converting” to you may mean completing a form, becoming a lead, calling your team, and more. 

Whatever your end conversion goal may be, it’s crucial you get there if you want to continue to grow and evolve.

1. Work on Those CTAs

A call-to-action is what drives people down your sales funnel. Make sure you take them seriously.

There are hundreds of different ways that a company can create a call to action. Consider some of these tips as you create your own call to action on your website:

1. Size: You want your call to action button to be easy to see, but not overwhelming. Websites with large call-to-action messages and links can seem like spam to many site visitors, but small calls to action can get lost (and potentially confuse a reader looking to follow through).
2. Frequency: It’s important to have your call-to-action buttons and messages dispersed throughout the page. Many first-timers only include one call to action section, but it’s best to give site visitors ample opportunity to follow through on your website. Do not be overbearing, but have at least three different ways someone can make a purchase or become active in your company.
3. Location: Make sure you put at least one call to action above the fold. This will ensure that people see the next steps they can take (especially if they don’t read the content).
4. Images: Images always make content more exciting. This is where a reader’s eyes are typically drawn, so you absolutely want to incorporate an image into your call to action. The image can be small and next to the text or be part of the text, just make sure it isn’t too overbearing and visitors can still read the page content.
5. Color: The most important thing to remember about color is that the text can still be read. Make sure the background is in direct contrast with the text of the call to action button. Also, make sure that this button is a different color than the rest of your website (while still matching). This will help draw attention to your call to action.
6. Linking: You ideally want people to click on your call to action button, but there will always be people who click on an image or your logo. Make sure that these aspects of your website also send site visitors to your call to action page.
7. Voice: Try to avoid passive voice. Tell your site visitors what you want them to do in a clear and straightforward manner. If you have a deal that won’t be around forever, let your site visitors know. Give as much information as possible in as few words as possible and you’re sure to get more clicks.
8. Mobile Considerations: You should always consider that your website or email marketing message might be viewed through a mobile phone. Make sure that your call to action button is large enough for those clicking with their fingers, and make sure that your images can be loaded quickly and clearly on a mobile phone. There are quite a few CTA plugins to make this step easier for you.
9.  Secondary Call to Action Buttons: Many site visitors are not ready to buy right away, so it’s a good idea to have another option for these people. If there is a change that someone would need more information, have a “more information” type button and put your primary call to action button on that page.
10. Use your CTAs across all your channels. Consistency is key when it comes to conversions. People see the same colors and wording in two or three places, and they feel much more confident taking an action. Use your CTAs as end screens on Youtube, on your social media, and, of course, in your reps’ email signatures when they reach out to your prospects. Have your salesperson create an email signature including your main CTA and branding, and you will notice your company’s emails convert much better.

You can also use AI-powered tools to come up with some ideas for creative CTAs if you feel stuck:

2. Shorten Your Sales Funnels

Do you know why you lose most of your site visitors or prospects?

Your conversion funnel is too long.

Email back-and-forth, waiting time spent waiting for a reply, manual invoicing, conflicting schedules – all of that can get lots of people to give up on your brand.

The solution: Shorten your sales funnel.

Automate what you can automate and let your site visitors convert instantly.

Here are a few ways to do that:

• Scale your phone support using technology like Interactive Voice Response (IVR) which would interact with your prospects, collect information about customer inquiries, and even help them make a purchase right away
• Use instant appointment scheduling option: Let your site visitors set up a meeting with you right away by clicking a link and choosing a day and time that works for them. There is online booking technology you can use for it, and it will even manage payments and reminders for you to immediately convert your site visitors into clients.
• Automate your invoicing process allowing your site visitors to pay instantly without waiting for your team to get back to them with an invoice. Depending on the nature of your business, tools like Quickbooks or PayKickstart can help you do that.

Something that can be considered an umbrella for many of the things we have already discussed is that your checkout process should be optimized. This extends beyond length and speed –  it should appear secure, be intuitive, easy to use, and require as little information on their end as possible while also giving you the data you need for future marketing.

Optimize checkout in every way possible! Make it easy for people to make a purchase with you.

2. Use Youtube Remarketing

While there are several powerful remarketing channels available to businesses these days, Youtube is often overlooked. And that is unfortunate. YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine with billions of active users each month. Perfecting your marketing strategy for such a large platform can have enormous benefits for companies, and what many are realizing is that the remarketing aspect of YouTube has huge potential.

Youtube presence is a great way to generate more quality leads to help you drive your business growth forward.

The reason YouTube is so great for remarketing is not only the fact that they have a large audience, but the platform (or search engine) itself allows you to create remarketing lists of target audiences based on the type of content a viewer generally watches – even if that content isn’t yours. This offers you several different benefits, many of which are either weaker or simply don’t exist when thinking about remarketing on Google:

• Better ROI. Remarketing almost always has better results than simply putting out an advertisement to hook new consumers. You can also optimize for cost-per-view as opposed to using impressions or the number of times your video displays in order to yield a higher ROI.
• Longer ads. Unlike social media where you only have a few sentences to get someone’s attention or an ad where you have a character limit, Youtube gives you 30 seconds to make your case in a video as opposed to a static ad and image.
• Better engagement. The average Internet user spends more time on a website with video. With more and more people interested in watching videos over reading articles, there is a good chance you’ll reach an entirely new and relevant group of people (in addition to the large number of visitors discussed earlier).
• Location targeting. YouTube is very helpful when it comes to location targeting, much like other remarketing campaigns you may run on other platforms.
• Brand Awareness. In other words, traditional remarketing benefits. This includes staying on a viewer’s radar and capturing their attention frequently. It helps build brand awareness and gives targeted users more repeated options to engage with your brand, YouTube or otherwise.

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So what does this have to do with leads? For starters, all of the points mentioned above will help bring people back to your page and hopefully help people engage with your page. Because of the nature of YouTube and the enhanced features of AdWords remarketing, you can remarket to anyone who shares your video.

Don’t Forget Your Existing Customers!

Obtaining new customers tends to remain a top priority for many e-commerce companies. While this is important, it is really critical that you don’t forget about your current and returning customers. These consumers are much more likely to make another purchase from your site than a new consumer is likely to make a first transaction.

Offer incentives to returning customers at the time of check-out or send emails with rewards after purchase. Always remember the importance of returning customers.

The post Three Ways to Turn Prospects into Instant Clients or Leads appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is fundamental in building long-lasting relationships between a business and its clients. With a solid CRM strategy, you can improve your communication with customers and new prospects and increase the chances of repeat custom and loyalty. 

Let’s see why a CRM system is advantageous for digital marketing and how it can boost ROI.

What Is CRM for Digital Marketing?

Businesses can use a CRM system to collect valuable customer data. This can then be used when it comes to marketing strategies. It allows you to capture and retain customers. When customers are satisfied with the service you have offered them, not only are they more likely to return, but they’re also more likely to recommend you to a friend.

If a customer is dissatisfied with what you have provided, they may feel they need to warn others not to do business with you.

Other than word-of-mouth, customers may come across your business via a web search. From the moment they visit your website the customer needs to feel welcomed and appreciated, which is where a good CRM system comes in.

If they have a question or problem, they should be able to easily reach a team member for help. A CRM system can also remember customers who are coming back, offering a more personalized approach each time. 

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Why Use a CRM?

A CRM system can be helpful for a number of reasons to improve your business, namely:

• To collect and store customer data to use in the future
• To track sales and analyze which promotions are the most successful
• Connecting the sales team with customers in real-time
• Improving follow-ups and ensuring customer loyalty is there
• To keep the sales team updated with customer information, potential customer leads, and insights into specific customers
• Sharing files and information between the team so everyone is kept in the loop

How Can CRM for Digital Marketing Help Boost ROI?

Here’s a look at how a CRM system for digital marketing can help boost ROI.

1. Build long-lasting customer relationships

CRM platforms are designed to collect customer data. This then allows you to dive deeper into customer behavior and how they spend their money with you. You can view previous purchases, all communication and track how they interact with your business. This makes it easier to customize future interactions, as you already know about their previous activity.

Some CRM systems can track website visits through social media engagements and email link clicks. Businesses can use this information to look for trends, such as the type of posts that typically get more engagement and website clicks than others. It helps to build a long-lasting relationship with customers as you can see what content they are genuinely interested in seeing.

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2. Boost customer service

Improving customer service is one of the many reasons why businesses invest in a good CRM tool. Ultimately, this can increase customer loyalty and improve overall relationships between the business and customers. Good customer service can go a long way. Customers need to feel listened to and respected, and their problems need to be solved swiftly and effectively. 

As more and more data is collected, you can also refer back to previous customer interactions and build a rapport with customers who may be returning. 

A solid internal communication system can ensure no customer is left behind. Many companies opt for a cloud PBX business phone system that lets them keep in touch throughout the day. This means team members can connect and discuss customers if there are any issues.  

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3. It can be used alongside KPIs

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are often used by businesses to measure performance over a period of time. It can go hand-in-hand with your CRM strategy to help you better understand your customers. They must be specific, measurable, actionable, and realistic. You can use your CRM system’s data to measure your KPIs. 

A CRM system may also nudge you in other areas and pick different KPIs to track. For instance, if you feel like customer interactions are dipping, you can adjust your KPIs and analyze why this is happening to improve it for next time. 

4. Improve customer retention

Customer retention is essential for businesses that want to grow. You need a healthy balance of loyal customers combined with new customers who are just trying your business out for the first time. A CRM system can help to improve your customer satisfaction level as it looks at building long-term relationships. These can then be nurtured over time to keep customers coming back for more.

It’s only natural that when a person receives good service from your business, they are happy to return. Furthermore, satisfied and loyal customers are more likely to refer their friends. You can even see who is sending the referrals with your CRM system.

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5. Find new customers more easily

Customer data is powerful, especially when it is from customers who have shown an active interest in what you have to offer. Using CRM tools can help you ascertain what is and isn’t working within your marketing strategy. It allows you to make more informed decisions to change how your customers interact with your business for the better. 

With a CRM system, you can track customer information such as demographic, frequent purchases, etc. This means you can create more meaningful targeted adverts when trying to get them to visit your website. If you’re a B2B and they search ‘inventory management software,’ you don’t just want to gain their interest; you want to sustain it. 

6. Enhance business performance 

A CRM system can improve your ROI, among other digital marketing KPIs, as it enhances business performance and the overall sales process. CRMs can automate emails, customer service responses, and much more, meaning you can nurture customer relationships without much effort.

Your CRM can show you who is interested in what and often includes other add-ons such as  lead scoring, upselling, and cross-selling. 

Which CRM Features Are Essential for Marketing?

It’s important that you choose the best CRM for your business, as many systems offer different benefits and functions. Here are some key features to bear in mind.

1. Lead tracking

Lead tracking lets you know your customer’s journey from the source. It can help you implement marketing campaigns based on your customer’s preferences. This data can also mean you only send relevant information to your customer, so they’re more likely to interact. The data from lead tracking is vital for capturing attention and converting customers. 

2. Customer filtering

Customer filtering is a crucial feature of a CRM system as it comes in handy for multiple reasons. To start, you can segment your customers into groups such as location, lifetime value, last purchase, and more. You can do some exploratory testing to check whether your chosen CRM system is up to the task.

This helps with digital marketing as you can specifically target customers. It can also save money as you aren’t just spending money in unnecessary places, these are customers you know and have built a relationship with.

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3. Automated follow-up emails

We all know what it’s like to sign up to a company’s mailing list to access a one-off discount. But as a business, how do you stop those customers from unsubscribing? Great content and consistency are key here.

A good CRM system must be able to help your marketing department by automating a few of those tedious processes, with emailing being one. You can arrange email lists and send follow-up emails quickly and efficiently with a CRM system, this means customers are constantly kept updated on the latest offers. 

4. Third-party integration

By connecting your CRM software to other platforms you already use, you can save on time and money. No need to start searching for RingCentral alternatives when it can all be kept in one place. It also means your team doesn’t have to get to grips with a completely new system. 

The key is choosing a CRM system that is easy to set up and compatible with your existing tools. Once you’ve found the best one for your business, you can go ahead and install it knowing that it won’t affect your other marketing platforms. 

Choosing the Right CRM

Choosing the right CRM is difficult for a business, as many offer the same fundamental function with varying features. Overall, though, it’s important that your CRM works best for your business. That means it easily integrates into your existing tools and your employees find it easy to navigate and use. A good CRM system can help boost your ROI and ultimately contribute to your business’s future successes. 

The post Here’s Why CRM For Digital Marketing Helps Boost ROI appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

And it has completely changed the game for him. Not only has he seen his close rate with clients double, but he now can charge more for his services because he is providing more immediate value to his clients with this new structure.

Steven taught his new meeting structure at a recent Certified Partner Training Day, and we reached out to learn a little bit more about what made him want to change his process, what the results have been, and what exactly went right. 

We wanted to both showcase Steven’s success and break down some of the winning tactics that might just be the missing piece in your own agency’s puzzle. So here is Steven’s story and the 4 tactics that make this new strategy tick that you need to integrate into your business.

Making the Change

The main driving force behind Steven’s business shift was simple. He moved. With the change in location came a change in priority. And with the global shift to virtual communication due to COVID-19, Steven found himself in the perfect position to try something new.

He simply didn’t need to focus on local clients anymore.

And while he had seen success with his previous process—he had been sending his clients through the Double Your Sales Session and then through the 90-Day Accelerator Program—he wanted to be able to bridge the gap between prospecting in a new area and really leaning on the virtual end.

Not only that, but he had struggled with the extended sales cycle of the textbook CP meeting structure. He was constantly going through a long process of talking to a potential client and trying to convince them to hop into the DYSS. And then he wasn’t generally closing the DYSS right then and there, which meant he was waiting even longer to see any sort of payment.

So Steven was looking to shorten his sales cycle in a way that would deliver more value to the customer quicker, and by extension drive profitably more immediately.

That’s when he turned to the strategy session format he uses now.

Making it His Own

Running a shorter strategy session instead of the full 90-Day Accelerator wasn’t an entirely novel concept and has been thrown around by different marketers in the industry, but it wasn’t until Steven took the advice of one of his mentors that he gave it a shot himself.

On top of that, Steven had been trying to move away from some of the bespoke, done-for-you services and website design that had previously been the center of his business offerings. He wanted to be able to help his clients with their marketing strategy at large, since he saw so many of his own clients who were struggling with the bigger picture.

Which meant that a strategy session was perfect for him.

And since he already had all of the valuable tools in the DMCP program, he just had to put it all together. 

So Steven pulled the most immediate, value-driven tools from the 90-Day Accelerator Program and condensed them into a single, 3 hour long meeting that would create an immediate strategy basis for his clients. 

Now his sales funnel looks like this:

Steven has a free 20-minute discovery session with all potential clients where he learns what his clients are looking for. If it seems like a good fit, he offers them a single, paid-up-front strategy session.

The strategy session goes through the three most impactful DM tools: the Customer Avatar Canvas, the Customer Value Journey, and the Bottlenecks and Opportunities Chart. Using these 3 tools, Steven creates the foundation for his client’s marketing strategy in just 3-5 hours. And throughout the meeting, he is keeping an eye out for opportunities for future work that he can pitch to the client at the end of the strategy session.

If the strategy session goes well and Steven feels like he can help them with some of those opportunities, then he will make an offer immediately for a single project or a short term contract. 

Results

This strategy may seem super simple, but Steven has seen incredible success with it. 

He went from around a 20–25% close rate sending his clients from the DYSS to the 90-Day Accelerator, to consistently 50% (and even upwards of 70%) sending them from the discovery session to the strategy session. 

Not only that, but he was able to nearly double how much he charges for his strategy sessions, because he proved to himself and to his clients that they are worth a higher cost.

But as impressive as the numbers are, Steven’s success is more than that. He gets to actually focus more on the parts of his job that he actually wants to be doing: the strategy. And he does that without sacrificing income or time.

His clients are happier because they not only feel heard in the discovery session, but they then feel taken care of because they see immediate value in their working relationship with Steven. 

So while there was absolutely nothing wrong with his old system, Steven’s new sales process gets him exactly where he needs to be.

Why This Works (And What You Can Do Too)

There are several reasons why this worked so well for Steven, and we’ve broken down a few of them so that even if the strategy session isn’t right for your business, you can pull the core benefits out and integrate them, so you can double your own close rates. 

Start Small

After Steven got to know his client in the discovery session, he didn’t just make an immediate pitch for a long term retainer contract. He started small with the strategy session and then offering small projects or short contracts. 

Starting small not only means that Steven provides immediate returns because of the smaller timeline, but it also means both he and the client feel a level of space and freedom. Nobody wants to be trapped in a bad contract. So keeping things small at first means both he and the client get to feel things out before committing.

Value First

This was a huge element of success for Steven, and it was a driving factor in why he made the switch. He wanted to shorten the amount of time it took for his customers to see value in his services.

When your customers immediately feel like your meetings or work have been worth your time, not only are they going to be happy, but they are going to be way more willing to pay more.

Additionally, when you can promise your potential clients immediate results, your close rate is going to skyrocket. 

Look for the Right Opportunities for You

The quickest way to build a bad relationship with a client is to promise work you can’t—or don’t want to—perform. The quality of your work will suffer, and your clients are sure to feel the bad will when you hate what you are doing for them. 

So when you are looking into the opportunities for more work, make sure you know what your strengths are, and only make offers for those services. Offering fewer services that are better executed is way better than trying to cram every potential service into a contract and having it fail down the road. 

Make the Offer Right Away 

One of the elements that Steven emphasised in his talk at CPTD was to make the offer right away. You want to take advantage of all the warm feelings and good rapport that you have built up in your meeting and make the offer right there on the spot (if you are making an offer to work together more).

The longer you wait, the more the client will start to forget just how much you helped them, and just how great that meeting was. So make sure to pay attention when you are looking for opportunities and have your offer on hand, so you can jump on just the right time to make an offer.

Changing for the Better

If you take nothing else away from Steven’s story, just remember that while changing the core offer or structure of your business is incredibly scary, if you set yourself up right, it can be incredibly successful.

All you need to do is make sure you are using winning tactics that you know work (like those listed right up there ^), and keep the success of your customers the centerpoint of any change. In no time, you’ll be seeing your own close rates double and you’ll wonder why you were ever afraid to change things up. 

The post How Steven Werley Overhauled his Sales Funnel to Double His Close Rate and Shorten His Profit Cycle appeared first on DigitalMarketer.