If you’ve ever gone fishing you know that you need more than just a standard rod and lure to catch something worth your time. Oh, and a little bit of skill never hurt either. Without the proper equipment and skill you may end up sitting out by the lake for hours and never catch a single fish. In our initial meetings with clients, we usually hear our clients speak about a similar problem; not being able to generate and capitalize on leads. Listed below are some ways in which we use online lead management to help our clients reach their ideal customers.
Assembling Your Tackle Box – How to Effectively Utilize Online Lead Management
The first time I went fishing my brother and I sat on the bank next to the deepest part of the creek for the better part of 3 hours (and we didn’t catch a single thing). A new group of fishermen came by and set their equipment down next to ours. Out of courtesy we left, and on our walk up (which could not have taken more than 5 minutes) we heard the sounds of jubilation that usually accompany a fairly large catch. Our disappointment was palpable. But, looking back, the experience wasn’t a complete failure. With some practice I became a better fisherman and that lesson taught me about the importance of proper equipment and training. Two assets that are absolutely essential for online lead management.
Tackle Box Item #1 – The Right Analytics
At Fat Guy Media, we use a platform called Hubspot for two purposes. The first is for online lead management and the second is to survey all of our clients data and analytics (who’s coming to their website, what content do they want, etc.). We’ll fashion that information into buyer personas and campaigns that are designed to best attract their ideal customer. While doing research may not be something that you can physically put in your tacklebox, it may just be your most essential piece of equipment. Every fish has their own habits, their own personality and their own unique lure. If you can identify that lead, it just becomes a matter of using the right technique and equipment to attract them (and your research should reflect that).
Tackle Box Item #2 – The Funnel Lure
When you’re fishing, your primary goal is to guide the fish to your lure and then carefully reel them in. In marketing, your goal follows the same structure (a structure that Hubspot enjoys comparing to a funnel). At the top of the funnel you have your initial website visits and leads and at the bottom of the funnel you have nurtured those leads into full fledged customers. You might have given them an e-book, sent them a link to a content marketing page or even got on the phone with them. Every lead (defined by your buyer personas) will have their own lure. All you have to do is identify what stage of the buying process that customer is in, which buyer persona they fall into and then use effective online lead management and lead nurturing to turn that lead into a customer. While a simple two-step process may seem simple to follow it takes a lot of time and effort to identify, quantify and nurture your leads effectively. To utilize online lead management to its’ fullest capacity you should expect to designate some of your employees to specifically work on lead management. However, if you can’t afford to assign your employees to the aforementioned task then you may want to consider hiring a team that can handle the additional responsibilities. Online lead management can be a long and stressful process but, with the right analytics and lure you should be able to reel in quite a bit of additional profit. Best of luck!
