Marketing your business is almost as important as starting that same business in the first place. Letting people know who and where you are as well as what you do gets customers coming through your front door.
In terms of online sales and marketing you don’t have a storefront so your website’s home page acts in much the same way, enticing customers to travel deeper into your products and services. But how do you get those customers to show up at a storefront that only exists on the Internet?
That’s exactly what lead generation services are for. Canopy Media keeps the customers coming to your online front door, giving you chance after chance to complete the sale.
How Lead Generation Services Work
Now that we have traffic we have opportunities to complete sales. These potential customers may buy something over time but when they enter your site they are only prospects. If, on average, one customer or ‘prospect’ out of ten actually makes a purchase then as long as you have a steady stream of leads your business model is secure.
From here it’s simple math: more prospects = more leads = more sales. So, the more leads you have, the more sales you execute.
Once you realize that a consistent percentage of your leads convert into sales you’ll stop selling and start telling… people that you exist. The sales will take care of themselves.
Generating Leads
There are more ways to generate leads than there are to skin a cat. The trick is to be active and responsive in the lead campaigns you undertake. Here’s a few of the most effective ways to generate leads for future sales.
Backlinks: Backlinks are by far and away the best method for leading sales to your website. We’ve all clicked through a link before. It’s usually a piece of highlighted text that, when clicked, directs you to a related piece of material on a completely different site.
Being on the other end of the link process can direct extra leads to your business, especially if it comes from a website with web authority or a similar topic and focus as your site.
Social Media: Having a website fighting for leads all alone just isn’t enough anymore. Many people use social media religiously liking businesses and recommending services to their peers. Create or tap into existing audiences and give them something to talk about.
Posting links and materials, answering questions related to your industry and getting involved in groups and conversations is a sure fire way to succeed on all social media platforms.
Article Submission: Running a blog on your website is never a bad idea. It gives site visitors extra material to read and possibly share with others and everything you write can be republished on article submission sites for extra links and influence.
A few edits and your now original materials can work on countless submission sites.
Email Marketing: Repeat purchases and sales is the backbone of many businesses. Web traffic or site visitors can be convinced to make regular visits and even sales if you stay in touch. Adding the options to join a news feed or newsletter keeps you connected to those customers.
Mass emailing all those past customers all at once to tell them about a new sale is a great way to target people with interest in your products and services, without too much effort and research.
Directory Listings: Awareness is huge in business. If people don’t know about you it’s unlikely that they would purchase your products and services. A storefront sends out flyers to locals and hangs balloons and banners by the sidewalk, all in an effort to get your attention and get you in the front door.
The Internet can’t hang balloons from your website for you but it does provide countless business directories. Sometimes a Google search just won’t do. When people want specific services they go straight to the source. If you aren’t listed you won’t be one of those ‘sources’ that people turn to.
Once you’re listed it’s there for life, or at least the life of that website.
So, being consistent and involved will increase your leads bit by bit over time and that’s all it takes. Sales will come as long as you’re generating leads.
For more information on how to generate leads or for lead generation services contact Canopy Media. We build websites that work.
