THE 8 STEP ROADMAP TO LEAD GENERATION

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1 THE 8 STEP ROADMAP TO LEAD GENERATION Grow Your Business by Attracting Qualified Customers and Converting Them to Loyal Advocates Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 1

2 Lead Generation, or Lead Gen, builds pipeline to grow your business in the short and long term. It identifies and engages prospects through all stages of the decision journey - from unqualified leads to satisfied repeat customers to advocates. In the past, sales professionals generated leads by networking at events and conferences, sitting in a trade show booth, or making cold calls. But web sites, social media and search have turned this upside down. With so much information accessible online, customers conduct a significant amount of research on their own, especially in the beginning of their decision journey. An insight-driven Lead Gen program influences prospects to start the conversation with you, instead of you chasing after them. Rather than wasting valuable resources on unqualified leads, you can focus efforts on qualified leads who are genuinely interested in your business. The 8 Step Roadmap to Lead Generation Set objectives Entice prospects Transform leads to customers Create a positive purchase experience Exceed customer expectations Create loyal advocates Measure and optimize Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 2

3 1 SET OBJECTIVES START WITH BUSINESS GOALS THAT ARE SMART Start with business goals that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound. Be clear on expectations of your Lead Gen program. How specifically will Lead Gen build your business? Here are a couple of ways to quantify business goals: Number of Leads to Meet a Sales Goal $ Sales Price % Close Rate Lead Value $ Sales Goal Lead Value Lead Value $2,000 %10 $200 $50,000 $ Leads to Generate Estimate Future Sales # of Leads Conversion Rate Estimated Future Sales 40 Leads/Month 5% Conversion Rate +2 new Customers/Month Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 3

4 2 ENTICE PROSPECTS GET TO KNOW YOUR TARGET Get to know your target as well as your friends and family (almost). It s all about the insights who they are, how they think, what they want, and their decision journey. Combine those insights with demographics - such as age, gender, income or profession - to write meaningful marketing messages and content that draws people in. Before you dedicate time and money to develop new content, conduct an audit to understand what content you currently have. Assess what you can reuse, repurpose, improve or customize. Consider curating content - sharing from another source - and including a link along with commentary. Use a decision journey map to choose the right touch points and frequency to deliver your content and messaging when, where and how it matters most to people. Optimize your search with relevant keywords, well-constructed content and external links to show up at the top of people s search results. 3 CONVERT PROSPECTS TO QUALIFIED LEADS CREATE A WORTHWHILE REASON To qualify leads, you ll need some information first. How do you obtain it? Create a worthwhile reason and simple process for people to share their information: Use customer insights to create compelling offers and calls to action Use transparent, concise language to create trust Create a sense of urgency, to persuade people to act now Construct a seamless experience from the call to action to the landing page Usability testing tells you which landing page tactics such as content, design, copy or images are most effective. While testing, determine tactics to help decrease or increase your lead response rate. If too many leads don t meet your criteria, decrease your response rate through stricter offer terms. Or, if not enough leads meet your criteria, increase your response rate through flexible offer terms. Talk with your sales team to determine which criteria have the greatest likelihood to convert a prospect to a qualified lead. Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 4

5 4 Transform leads to customers FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR LEADS AT THE RIGHT TIME The magic bullet is figuring out when your leads are ready to buy. Use lead scoring to understand what stage leads are at in their buying process, so you ll know who s ready to buy and when. There are many lead scoring models. Most companies start with a simple spreadsheet that includes qualifying criteria and a points or ranking system. Here s an example: QUALIFYING CRITERIA Company size SCORE 1-10 (1 = LOWEST, 10 = HIGHEST) 8 Budget range 7 9 Lead Score = follow up with qualified lead immediately 6-7 = nurture qualified lead 0-5 = disqualify lead Customize communications through segmentation and dynamic content. Follow up with your leads at the right time in the right way. You ll be more likely to close the sale and your sales team will work more efficiently because they ll focus their efforts where it matters most. Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 5

6 5 Create a positive purchase experience CREATE A CLEAR AND SIMPLE PURCHASE PROCESS The average online shopping abandon rate is over 70%. Create a clear and simple purchase process so people who are ready to buy will buy. Think through all the detailed tactics to create a seamless, positive check-out process. While no business wants problems during the purchase process, the reality is that problems inevitably happen. The key is to fix the problems immediately. Provide a variety of communication channels so customers can choose whatever method they prefer, whether it s phone, chat or . When you resolve a customer s complaint to their satisfaction, in most cases, they will do business with you again. Know your competition. Understand competitors strengths and weaknesses in their purchase process. Position your company and brand as better than the competition by matching or surpassing their strengths and capitalizing on their weaknesses. Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 6

7 6 EXCEED CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE DOESN T END WITH THE PURCHASE You ve closed the sale. Think your job is over? Think again. The customer experience doesn t end with the purchase. How a company treats a customer post-purchase often determines if they become repeat customers and recommend a brand to others. Keep customers informed with personalized offers, rewards and content. Survey customers to ensure they are satisfied or to improve products or services. Surprise and delight customers by engaging them in social media. Answer questions, agree or disagree with comments, respond to complaints, or ask for product ideas. Use these insights to improve your offerings and customer experience. Let customers know which ideas you ve implemented so they feel heard and respected. Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 7

8 7 CREATE LOYAL ADVOCATES Your customers can be your biggest advocates The most trusted recommendations come from friends, family and peers. Business Week s study showed that 7 out of 10 people who read reviews share them with friends, family and colleagues. Sharing amplifies the impact of those reviews. With one simple post, a customer can reach thousands of followers in a matter of seconds and generate a wealth of leads by tapping into a network of followers who trust and respect their opinions. Referral marketing builds credibility and is highly targeted. Industry studies show that referrals rank in the top 5 forms of trusted marketing. The person making the referral knows their network well - what they like and need, and which products or services they seek. An effective referral marketing program includes three components: Rewards to persuade customers to make referrals Internal communications and incentives for employees to make referrals External partnerships to cross-promote across complimentary companies Obtain testimonials with permission to use publicly in your marketing campaigns. Find testimonial opportunities through your web site and social media analytics; for example, referral data or people who share opinions or links. Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 8

9 18 Measure and optimize Lead Gen isn t static. It s an ongoing process How did your Lead Gen program perform? Compare in-market data to your business goals to understand what s working well or what you need to improve. Understand the why behind the what. Lead Gen isn t static. It s an ongoing process. Continuously measure and optimize your program tactics against your goals, customers changing needs and competitive activity to win in-market. Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 9

10 SUMMARY A best practice Lead Gen program builds pipeline and grows business by attracting qualified leads, nurturing those relationships and creating loyal customers who advocate for your brand and business. Watch the Lead Generation Fundamentals online training video: If you re a lynda.com member click here. To redeem a free trial click here. Yorkville Consulting provides best-in-class marketing training to help clients grow brands, build high-performing marketing teams and engage employees. We develop and deliver marketing training and facilitation through instructor-led and online formats. AUTHOR Dina Shapiro CEO and Founder CONTACT US: info@yorkvilleconsulting.com Yorkville Consulting 2015 All rights reserved yorkvilleconsulting.com 10