Top 10 Small Business Marketing Mistakes - #2 Generating Leads, Nurturing Leads and Converting Leads

Top 10 Small Business Marketing Mistakes - #2 Generating Leads, Nurturing Leads and Converting Leads Generating leads, nurturing leads and converting leads are all key components to the long term success of any small business. Understanding the differences between these three stages will help any business owner better manage and maintain their lead generation efforts and ultimately succeed in growing their business and increasing their profits. The difference between thriving and failing in business is often determined by the number of leads that are generated as well as the quality of those leads. Nurturing a lead involves keeping them up to date with the latest news and developments within your company in order to build a relationship with them over time with the goal of them converting into a paying customer. Below you will find relevant information that will assist you with lead generation, nurturing those leads and converting them.

A very important note about lead conversion and your role as the business owner Approximately 80% of all leads that you generate for your business will never result in a sale. That is a baffling and painful number to digest when you consider the amount of money you spend on generating leads. There are some fundamental changes that you can make as a business owner that can increase your business's conversion but there is one very important thing to note with that statistic. The "80%" number was generated through numerous different studies which combined the averages of all the companies polled and evaluated. This means that there were some companies converting much higher than 20% of their leads and a lot more companies converting far less. As a business owner, it is your job to know exactly what your conversion rate is and what steps you are taking to improve that.

What is the conversion rate for your business?

It is important that you are able to gauge how well your business does at converting leads. Many business owners fall into the trap of spending a large amount of financial resources on generating leads but have no idea how qualified those leads are. They also rarely know what the percentage is that converts into an actual sale. This is such an important aspect for business owners to understand and grasp and to act on. As a consultant, it is very frustrating because there are so many tracking systems out there which are affordable and very accurate - and most important automated. There really is no excuse for any business large or small to not know their conversion rate generated from their marketing efforts.

The mental trap of making more money this year than last year!

Yes, this is a good problem to have of course but a common mistake by business owners is looking at the increased revenue and assuming everything is working out perfectly. Revenue generation is of course vital for your business but an increase in revenue does not mean all your marketing is working nor that your company is great at converting leads. Understanding the conversion rate of your incoming leads also will help you understand the sources of the highest converting leads. It is estimated that 40% of all your marketing dollars are wasted on advertising mediums that do not work for your business.

Understanding your conversion rate will help you identify what marketing is and is not working - and this will allow you to put more funds towards the highest converting marketing sources. If done properly you will be able to spend less money marketing your business but receive higher converting leads. The 40% of your marketing budget that was being wasted can be used for more effective marketing, other avenues for business growth or your retirement account. 

Steps to generating qualified leads There are numerous avenues to generate leads for your business and it is important that you find the right mix for your particular business. The most effective lead generation tactics involve a mix of an online presence including your website, social media presence, online reputation (reviews) along with your offline marketing which can include billboard advertising, community events, and local mailers amongst numerous other brand awareness strategies.

However, in order to generate qualified leads there are important steps you need to take in order to maximize the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

1. Who is your target market? This may seem like a no-brainer but you would be surprised how many business owners fail to identify who they are marketing to or what industry they are looking to reach.

Once you have identified your target market it will be easier for you to create marketing tactics that speak directly to them. It is important to thoroughly research this as well and not just assume you know the answer – often you are unaware of your actual target market or segments within that market.

2. What are the Demographics of your clientele? This is important to know for numerous obvious reasons. One very effective marketing strategy with your online marketing campaigns is that you can target very specific demographics so that your ads will only show to the people you choose ranging from their location, income level, general interests and so on. Knowing who your clients are gives you a tremendous opportunity to market to them specifically through many online mediums.

3. Website Effectiveness. It is important you have a visibly pleasing, well designed and mobile friendly website. You want your potential clients to be able to find information about your business quickly and easily from any device they are using. You want them to be able to quickly find contact information or service information. It is literally ridiculous to spend thousands of dollars marketing your business if you have a crappy website. It is one of the first mediums that the potential customer can see and if their first impression is a bad one - they likely will not contact you. Your website represents your business - if it looks cheap and is not maintained customers will instinctively think the same about your business.

One quick example that always sticks out to me is a plastic surgeon my company assisted after he reached out to us. He was spending thousands of dollars every month on Google AdWords but had no clue what his conversion rates were. As with most websites, the majority of his traffic was from mobile visits. He paid a website designer to build him a beautiful website but the designer focused (under the plastic surgeon's direction) on only design and not the usability of the website. The website was slow, full of large images and would not load on most mobile devices. We were able to quickly figure out this issue and within 30 days his new website was live - focused on conversion and he noticed an immediate increase in leads which were highly converting. If you are unsure about how well your website is built focused on conversion and search engine rankings, you can sign up for our unbiased and free online marketing audit.

4. Social Media Presence. Having a social media presence is an effective way to market your business online but it can hurt your lead generation if you are not properly maintaining it. Customers expect quick replies to their messages, the ability to find information quickly along with what your business is and why it will benefit them. If you are not able to answer those questions and reply to comments/interactions then it will cost you in qualified leads. Never forget it took them one click to find you and they are only one click away from your competition.

5. Online Reviews. 90% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. That is terrifying because it means that your online reviews that you have little control over can cost you leads prior to that person even considering your business. You need a great reputation management system in order to ensure that you get a maximum amount of positive reviews. It is important to respond to both positive and negative reviews. Investing in a smart reputation management system is an extremely wise decision both in the short term and long term. You can learn more about the importance of your online reputation here.

What is lead nurturing and why is it important?

Lead nurturing is developing relationships with potential customers that have contacted your business over time in order to eventually have them convert into an actual paying customer. It allows your company to stay in touch with them throughout all parts of the sales funnel and nurture them into a converted lead. This is mainly done electronically and there are numerous systems in place that make it a seamless process for your company. This is one important aspect that can heavily increase the long term conversion of all the incoming leads you generate through your marketing programs.

The largest benefit of lead nurturing is that it keeps people who showed initial interest in your company engaged so that when they are ready to purchase you will hopefully be the first company they contact. There are numerous benefits of implementing a lead nurturing program for your business.

1. Increases conversion rates of leads over time.

2. Saves your company money in the long term by increasing conversions and creating a larger customer base.

3. Allows you to stay relevant with customers by keeping them up-to-date on new products or services.

4. Maintains communication between your company and potential clients.

5. Improves customer service and satisfaction after sales have been made because customers feel more involved with your company and have expectations set by being continuously updated through lead nurturing techniques. This also can lead to more positive online feedback.

The most advantageous thing about lead nurturing is it can be automated and is a simple process for your company to jump into immediately. It will show results quickly and is something well worth moving forward with sooner rather than later. If you have problems finding a company that is a right fit for your small business feel free to contact us through our website and we can point you in the right direction. Visit SayWhat Consulting.

Avoid these common mistakes with lead generation and conversion There are numerous things a business owner can do to increase the amount of leads your business generates along with converting those leads. The list is almost endless. There are also some very common mistakes I have seen over the years that many businesses make. I made a much longer list but here are my top 5 mistakes I see with both new and established businesses.

1. Staff not responding to leads or taking too long to reply. This is a frequent issue with small and medium sized businesses. We have systems to help you evaluate it but initially there are

numerous steps you can take in order to check it yourself. One easy way is to have a friend fill out a lead form on your website in the late afternoon. You can easily monitor how soon your staff reply, what they reply with and if they are following the procedures you set forth.

2. Speaking of it – Have Set Procedures for Incoming leads – Website leads, social leads and incoming phone calls. Numerous small businesses I have consulted with have no written out procedure for how to handle incoming leads. This plan needs to include numerous important elements including the time frame required in responding to leads, set time frame for returning calls and methods to track the staff’s performance in order to ensure their job is being completed accurately.

3. Poorly Trained Sales and Support Staff – How many times do you call a business and you are put on hold? Or transferred voicemail without being told? How many times have you called to inquire about a service or product and the representative knows less about it than you? This happens in small businesses frequently because the staff are given multiple roles within the company and that are not experts in one certain aspect. Generating revenue is of the utmost importance and it is your job as the business owner to ensure your staff is properly trained. We offer a call audit service which can assist you with finding out how well your staff actually does with incoming leads and lead nurturing. Click here to find out more.

4. Not Tracking Incoming Leads – This can be detrimental to your marketing efforts as mentioned previously. I wanted to make a few quick notes. 1. There are numerous services out there that can affordably handle all of your incoming lead tracking. It is worth the investment.

2. If you have not trained your staff to ask people, on their first call into your office “How did you hear about us?” - Then you need to correct that immediately. It will help you determine the effectiveness of all your marketing efforts.

5. Trust – It is important that as a business owner you trust your employees to do their job. It is also equally important that trust is gained over time. As the business owner you need to ensure that everyone understands their roles within the company and have measurable goals for them to meet. It is also important that as the business owner you trust, but verify they are doing their job properly. This means you need to ensure leads are being followed up with, ensure that calls are being returned and that your staff is doing all they can to convert as many incoming leads as possible.

Written by David Phillips, CEO and Founder of SayWhat Consulting. With over 20 years of experience, Mr. Phillips has consulted with small, medium and large businesses in marketing, business management, staff training and day-to-day operations. SayWhat assists clients in numerous industries including cosmetic surgeons, plastic surgeons, med spas and attorneys in family law and criminal law. We also assist other industries as well and our primary clients are small and medium sized businesses.