Getting Started with Marketing Automation in 5 Easy Steps Posted on November 3, 2015June 18, 2018 by jmiller If you are moving from an email marketing strategy to a marketing automation strategy, it can be overwhelming the first time you see how it all works. Once someone sees the level of sophistication of a marketing automation tool, it can cause spontaneous paralysis and a quick retreat into the old way of doing things. Don’t give in! Be ready to make a change…and…EVOLVE. I speak with customers every day about how to get started with marketing automation and how to avoid getting lost in the details. Marketing is not an exact science. You have to test, try new things, learn what works and improve. A solid foundation is the best starting point. Here are 5 steps to get started: Make an Offer Capture Leads Engage your Audience Stay in Touch Keep customers up to date Make an Offer The best way to attract a new client? Offer something that you have that they don’t have and want to have. Identify what that offer is and give them a taste of it. Come up with an enticing incentive, or lead magnet, to offer people in exchange for their contact information: Your offer could be something like: White paper Case study Report Free sample Free 30 minute consultation Leveraging existing content/expertise is the most efficient way to go. If you have multiple offerings, use them all. Test out different offers to see what works best to attract the right audience. Protip: Don’t give more than two offers on a single webpage, or more than one offer on a landing page. Capture Leads Putting a white paper on a website for instant download can limit perceived value. Don’t give away valuable content for free; require information in exchange for the offer. Design and embed a lead capture form on your website or landing page. The more value you offer, the more information you can request. For example, require an email address to sign-up for your blog, but request more information if you are offering someone 30 minutes of your time for a consultation. Protip: Make sure the information you request matches the offer. Engage your Audience Now that your contact has requested information, send them a little more information. An engagement campaign is a short term campaign that ultimately leads to a specific call to action, like request a meeting, signing-up, or downloading information. This type of campaign can be 3-7 steps over a 2-3 week period (this can vary depending on content available). Emails within an engagement campaign can include, but are not limited to: An introduction to your company A case study A testimonial Educational material The goal of the engagement campaign is to drive the contact into your sales process. Protip: A simple engagement campaign can have 2 emails and 1 phone call to follow up. Stay in Touch Not everyone is ready to buy right away, but it doesn’t mean that they never will. Build out a long term nurturing campaign to stay in touch will all of your contacts on an ongoing basis. A nurture campaign may include an email every 30 – 60 days. The goal of a nurture campaign is to educate your audience, offer validation as to why they should do business with you (case studies, testimonials) and simply to stay top of mind. The nurture campaign may have calls to action or offers that can pull someone into an engagement campaign or directly into the sales process. And, with marketing automation, you can track engagement activity; if someone starts to engage, a good marketing automation tool will trigger actions that can pull contacts into your sales process over time. One tip to help build out nurture campaigns is to use a resource like www.alltop.com, where you can leverage 3rd party articles and recommend them to your audience. Protip: 1 email sent every 60 days means that you only have to build 6 emails to stay in touch with your contacts for a year! Keep Customers Up to Date Don’t forget to share your blog, a newsletter or a deal of the month. “Just in Time” communications offer you the freedom to communicate when the mood strikes you. The objective here is the same as a nurture campaign but includes timely information; a new product offer, PR updates, recent newspaper articles, upcoming events. “Just in Time” communications can also be influenced by the season or time of year. Protip: Returning customers spend 20% more than first time buyers, so staying in touch with your customers is just as important as staying in touch with prospects. Getting started with marketing automation can seem like an enormous task. But, by taking a step-by-step approach, you can easily tackle attracting new leads, nurturing prospects, and staying in touch with customers.
Be a Door Opener: Lead Generation Basics for Small Business Posted on June 26, 2014November 21, 2016 by Jessica Lunk Do you hold the elevator door open, or frantically push the close button as you see others approach? As Hatchbuckers, we try to be door-openers – not door closers. You’re probably a door-opener, too. But when small business build websites, they don’t always think about opening their virtual door for leads that visit their site. You work hard to get the word out about your brand and to drive traffic to your website through: Social Media Online Ads Direct Mail Print Ads Blogging Networking Events So the next time you think about website optimization or redesign, ask yourself: How can we hold the door open for online leads? Letting web traffic bounce from your site and leave without a trace is like slamming the door shut on a window shopper. You’ll never know who they are, or what challenges your business could help them solve. If you don’t have a way to identify interested site visitors, you’re missing a big opportunity to generate new leads. Lead Generation Forms One mistake we see a lot of business websites make is an absence of lead generation forms. Lead generation forms invite prospects to learn more by offering something of value in exchange for a few contact details so that you can assist them down the line. For example, if you sell eco-friendly cleaning products, your best customer might be interested in eliminating toxins from their environment. You can offer a report, like “10 Shocking Toxic Chemicals Haunting Your Home.” When a visitor to your website downloads the report, two things happen to help your sales and marketing team: 1. Segmentation: You know what the lead is interested in. In this case, it’s creating a healthy environment for their family. 2. Identification: You have the lead’s contact details. Now you can reach out to them down the road with a related article on healthy homes, or with an offer to try your latest product line. Timing is Everything Do you have a catch-all “Contact Us” form on your site? While effective at attracting spammers, the generic contact form does little to generate new leads. Contact form submissions are usually well into the sales process, prepared with questions and looking to make a decision soon. Lead generation forms, on the other hand, capture prospects early in the buying process, during their online research phase. By interacting with them earlier, you gain more control of the whole sales process: 1. Education: You can educate them on the issue they face, making it less likely that they seek information elsewhere, like from your competitors. 2. Optimization: You can shorten the sales cycle. When your contact fills out a lead generation form, they essentially raise their hand and say, “Here’s my problem.” Now you’re equipped to help them reach a solution much faster. 3. Awareness: You’ve positioned your brand as the go-to expert. When the time comes to make a decision, they’ll deliberately reach out to you first. By offering resources that speak to the needs of your prospects, you open the door to better leads early in the sales cycle, giving you the opportunity to close business sooner and more often.
How to Stock Your CRM with Fresh Leads Posted on February 10, 2014October 2, 2020 by Jessica Lunk Catch and release is great for conservation, but when it comes to business, you’re playing for keeps. Don’t let great prospects slip by. Keep your small business CRM from going stale by capturing leads in person and online. 1. Convert Casual Site Visitors into Nurtured Leads If your website feels more like a static brochure than a lead generation machine, it’s time for an upgrade. Feed your CRM by placing forms throughout your site to convert the casual website visitor into a nurtured lead. Try one (or all) of these: The Contact Form If you have a web presence, chances are that you have a generic contact form. That’s a great place to start. Contact form leads are actually nice and warm. Someone has actively hunted down a way to reach out to you. They are aware of your business and your product or service offering, have done some research already, and are likely in a buying state of mind. But don’t stop here. A contact form only captures a fraction of the people who come to your site. What about those visitors who are just browsing, but aren’t ready to commit? They could be great opportunities down the road. Capture their info now so you can nurture them until they’re ready to buy. Newsletter Sign-Up Most businesses send out some form of correspondence on a weekly or monthly basis, whether in digital or physical form. So why not leverage that content to stay in touch with prospects? A newsletter sign-up form can capture leads on your site who are interested in your products and services as well as the expertise you share. To increase retention and conversion of your newsletter sign-ups, segment your leads by the type of content they’d like to receive, like: Updates on the latest deals and discounts. “Let me know when your resume-writing services go on sale.” Industry tips and tricks. “Send me the latest blog posts on sustainable urban living.” Specific product or service updates. “Share the availability of your seasonal beer.” Gated Content Use your expertise to generate helpful, informative, in-depth content. Then give it away in exchange for contact information. You’re producing content everyday, so re-package it in an enticing way: Bundle your best blog posts into an ebook or guide Share recorded webinars Create a whitepaper based on your most frequently asked questions Online Ads Whether you’re using banner or text ads, don’t simply direct visitors to your homepage. Instead, create a custom lead generation form with content optimized to convert visitors into leads. As a rule of thumb: Address how you can relieve the pain-points your customers face Outline the key benefits of your product/service Create trust through testimonials, reviews, accreditation, certification, etc. Provide a strong call-to-action that compels prospects to act now Product Information Don’t forget to ask for what you really want – a sale. Capture hot leads by making it simple to get the product or service information that opportunities need to make a buying decision, such as: Demonstration Product trial or sample Consultation session Quote Social Networks Remember that you don’t own the followers on your social media platforms. Promote your lead gen forms to your social media followers. Once they opt-in through your form, you can keep them engaged with your brand no matter what new social network craze comes next. 2. Follow Visitors Out the Door Leads aren’t just captured in the digital sphere. You’re fielding inquiries and connecting with prospects in real life everyday. Don’t let them leave without collecting their calling card. Take advantage of touchpoints at your brick and mortar location(s) to capture: Business cards Newsletter sign-ups New customer emails 3. Keep in Touch with Attendees Whether you’re sponsoring a networking session, attending a trade show, or hosting a webinar, you can leverage events to convert attendees into leads. Capture attendee information through: Registration forms (online and onsite) Giveaways and door prizes Networking exchanges Your CRM should be more than just a storage bin for customer data. Don’t let the big fish get away. Turn your website, store front, and events into consistent lead generators that keep the top of your sales pipeline stocked with fresh leads. Flickr Creative Commons Image by Agustin Rafael Reyes