A colleague today mentioned that a certain page on the web is getting a lot of leads but none of them are converting. If it were a lead generation issue, I’d focus on digital strategy. When it’s conversion issue, it’s usually content or presentation of the content. The drawback to focusing on more lead generation while ignoring the problem of conversion is you burn your leads. Burning through leads simply can’t go on forever, before you have to start over. So address content issues early. Here’s the advice of someone who excels in this area:
What to Do When Receiving Online Leads but Not Converting the Majority into Sales
Jean Tang is CEO of MarketSmiths “a copywriting agency dedicated to replacing generic content with the careful strategy of words”. In addressing the issue of when a brand “receives a lot of online leads, but does not succeed in converting the overwhelming majority into sales due to generic, non-reader-focused content,” Jean provides this case study example:
I own a copywriting agency dedicated to replacing generic content with the careful strategy of words. We were hired by a financial subscription service to rewrite an email campaign. Our client was generating hundreds of inquiries a week, but only closing 0.25%. We thought we could quadruple this number (or more) with nothing but fresh content. We assessed their needed website copywriting in addition to email content, and replaced all copy in emails and on the website with engaging, action-oriented content from the reader’s viewpoint. The inquiries jumped from 31 to 210 per week. They began to convert at 600% the previous rate, so that 1.5% of interested leads were purchasing the newsletter. At $150/month, this resulted in a projected spike of $249,500 in year one (a 28-day ROI, or 123:1).
According to Jean Tang, the Universal Problem with Non-converting Content is Threefold:
- Lack of perspective to channel an effective marketing message
- A tendency to articulate a commodity rather than inspire, differentiate, or activate
- The tendency to speak from the writer’s (brand’s) viewpoint, rather than focus on engaging the reader’s
So how do you know content is going to convert? Listen to this podcast with Jean Tang for more insights.
What About When Your Content is Neither Getting Many Leads, Nor Converting the Leads it Gets?
You want more leads, but how do you know more is better? What if they’re not the right leads? Creating a lead generation strategy requires discovering where your target audience spends their time. Discovering isn’t the same as assuming; you can use intuition, but also use data. Then, too, you need to dig deeply into what that target audience really cares about. That’s where lead generation crosses into content generation.
If you get at the honest truth about your audience, you’ll not only get more leads but more qualified ones. We simply can’t afford to stay in our own heads, shove offers without a relationship, and lose sight of the conversation we want to create. Lead generation requires not just an intrinsic connection with your current clients, but also with your desired clients. Solve the issue of being on the same page with leads, and you can get leads and win them.
To put together a digital strategy that brings together all the parts, contact MadPipe immediately for an appointment.
