Every Business Website Needs A Lead Capture Strategy
What’s the point in spending big bucks to drive traffic to your website if you’re not prepared to capitalize on that traffic?
Your lead capture strategy must come first. You can get people to your website, but first you have to know what you want them to do when they get there. Under no circumstance should you ever launch a digital marketing campaign without first having a lead capture plan in place.
Unless you sell items directly on your site, your goal is to make contact wiith potential customers, especially when they are at the bottom of the sales funnel. Preferably they will call or email you, and you must be prepared to answer the phone or respond in a timely fashion.
But not every qualified lead is prepared to pick up the phone, and in that case the next best thing is to capture their contact information so you can follow up with a sales effort.
Make It Convenient
The more hoops you make people jump through, the less likely they are to comply with your request. So make it easy for them to give you what you want:
- Put the form in a place that is prominent and hard to miss, ideally “above the fold,” i.e. visible without scrolling. Popups work, too.
- Limit the number of fields, especially mandatory fields. Email address is often sufficient, but some people prefer a phone call so an optional phone number field is a good idea.
- Don’t leave them wondering if they submitted their information correctly. Follow up immediately with an automated confirmation email.
Make It Compelling
Give them a reason to hand over their contact details!
- Have a clear and compelling call to action, like “Sign up to receive more information” or “Get a free quote!”
- Offer something of value, e.g. a free quote, a free guide, or a discount.
- Consider “disguising” your lead capture as a tool relevant to your business, like an interest rate calculator.
Make It Count
Don’t let your lead capture efforts go to waste! Make sure you get the most out of every lead.
- Follow up each lead with a sales call and/or personalized email.
- Use automated emails and drip marketing to stay in touch and top of mind.
- A/B test everything: the form, the offer, the call to action, the follow up sales effort, etc. Test, refine, optimize.
How to Get Started
A number of platforms offer excellent lead capture solutions. We use a combination of Sumo and MailChimp, but there are many others with a wide range of features to consider.
It’s easy to jump the gun and start paying for ads before implementing a solid lead capture plan, but that is a sure way to pour money down the drain. If you need help setting up an effective lead capture strategy, that’s what we’re here for!
