How to Turn Leads into Paying Customers

You have identified your audience and unique selling proposition and your business has done a good job of reaching your audience. Now comes the hard part.

You have to turn customer leads into lifelong patrons of your business.

You will hear the word “conversion” thrown about in the world of digital marketing. Conversion is just a simplified way of saying “turning leads into customers.” You’ve gathered people interested in your brand, and now you must find a way to close the sales deal.

Why Building Lead Magnets is Important

At its most fundamental definition, a lead magnet represents the process of providing something of value in exchange for a potential customer’s personal contact information. If you have signed up for a free newsletter online, chances are you gave the owner of the website at least your email address, as well as permission to send you more information about the business.

The business located you by creating a lead magnet. You were the lead and the free electronic newsletter was the magnet.

Why Your Business Needs a Lead Magnet

Building lead magnets make your job much easier as a business owner who also performs some, if not all of the other marketing duties. Instead of spending time pounding the pavement trying to drum up customers, you can efficiently use your time to attract potential customers by providing something of value in exchange for their contact information.

Although the cash register doesn’t ring when you find a lead magnet, you have initiated the process of getting a potential customer to eventually make you cash register ring for years to come. If you offer an irresistible lead magnet, you can cut the customer conversion process time by a considerable amount, which helps your business enjoy increased sales.

How to create a powerful lead magnet:

• Decide on which customer prospects to attract (a/k/a target audience)
• Identify the value you offer customers
• Give a memorable name to the lead magnet
• Choose what you will offer
• Unveil the lead magnet

Smooth Landing on Your Website

A landing page is a web page that is designed to implement a marketing program. It is the page that visitors land on when they visit your business website. Landing pages have several things in common, but the most important similarity is referred to as a “call to action” (CTA). A call to action encourages landing page visitors to take some type of action that eventually leads to a sale.

The Importance of a Landing Page

Many of the initial interactions your website has with customers come from both paid and organic searches. Because of this, landing pages ranking high in the three major search engines is a critical component of any business marketing platform. Your landing page will be the first impression a prospect has of your brand…and you know what they say about first impressions.

In essence, business marketing programs that lack compelling landing pages are doomed to fail. Landing pages are a highly effective way to turn leads into customers, as well as introduce customer prospects to new products and services your company plans to introduce down the road. Above all, landing pages build credibility by directly messaging and encouraging potential customers to conduct business with you.

What Should Be on a Good Landing Page

What goes on a landing page is limited only by your creativity. However, there are a few components that should be on every landing page.  A headline that grabs the attention of website visitors is a must! Most people quickly scan web pages and if they do not find something that piques their interest within a few seconds, then they are gone like the wind. You also want to bullet point the benefits a product or service gives customers right under the compelling headline.

Then, you can dive into the specific features of a product or service, especially the features that differentiate a product or service from what the competition offers. Be sure to include some type of customer testimonial section near the top of the page. A short video of a few customers talking about your product and service builds the all-important credibility.

You should include multiple CTAs using different wording throughout the landing page. Adding a link within the CTAs to the same sales page is a good idea as well.

Nothing Beats Customer Referrals

Word of mouth advertising has played an integral role in marketing programs since the first caveman recommended a particular rock to sit on to a neighbor. In the digital era, word of mouth advertising, or customer referrals in the new marketing paradigm, involves receiving effusive praise online. Customer review sites such as Yelp and Google are the new word of mouth advertising platforms. The key to your business is to motivate customers to leave positive reviews for you online.

One way to encourage customer referrals is to create an incentive program that rewards current customers that refer your business to friends, family member, professional peers, or anyone for that matter. Customer referral reward programs can include product discounts and the use of free services for a limited time. You can also put a number of referrals needed to enjoy the perks of your business. Just make sure the customer referral reward number is reasonable.

Word of mouth advertising accounts for up to 50% of all purchases, and that is strictly recommending a business by talking to a friend or family member about it. The power of the Internet will one day make word of mouth advertising the most important marketing tool business owners have to turn leads into customers.

Think about this: By simply telling a friend or family member about a business, you have gained a customer without having to do anything more than offer high-quality products and services. Your loyal customers are the people that find lead magnets and encourage others to hop onto your business website’s landing page.