After Marketing Delivers Prospects, Don’t Drop the Ball

Capturing new customers to grow your business is a multistep process. Advertising is only the beginning. Ideally, your marketing efforts will deliver quality leads, and you’ll do a good job handling the crucial early interactions with those prospective clients. As a result, you’ll enjoy increased revenue and a healthy return on your investment. On the contrary, if your operational processes and practices scare away the leads your advertising attracted, your ROI will be abysmal—and you may be inclined to blame your marketing as ineffective.

Our agency helps your small business adopt a strong brand and implement it consistently everywhere—from fleets and HVAC website design to retail store signage and direct mail postcards. We use digital marketing tactics, such as search engine optimization and a positive user experience on a conversion-friendly website, to reach the right audience. Now, what happens next—after the phone rings or a contact form lands in your email inbox?

Win Over Your Prospects

This is your time to shine—when you prove that the positive image your brand and marketing portray is an accurate representation of the way you do business and treat your customers. You need solid internal processes, customer service and adequate staffing to turn those leads into booked appointments and, eventually, lucrative long-term relationships.

Because our agency’s digital marketing services include analyzing lead generation, we’ve seen many examples of companies that excel at converting prospects and plenty of others that routinely miss opportunities to make money. Here, we compiled some tips about best practices for capturing leads to help ensure your marketing investment is driving revenue.

1. Respond in a timely manner.
   Whenever possible, don’t let the phone ring too long or go to voicemail during business hours. Don’t require callers to navigate an over-complicated phone menu to find the department or person they want to reach. Consider offering a text-messaging option or a live chat tool that’s always manned by staff who are adept at converting inquiries to booked calls. Ensure you promptly reply to people who submit contact forms via your website, either by email or a phone call. People these days are impatient. Be responsive. If they need to wait to hear back from you, it’s likely they’ll seek out someone else instead.

2. Prepare customer service representatives.
   The people who answer the phone need to sound professional and informed. If they do not have a comprehensive understanding of the ins and outs of your business, provide them with easy-to-read documents they can quickly reference to answer frequently asked questions. Employees who answer the phone should follow a script to ensure they gather all of the necessary information in a sensible order. Remember that requiring customers to answer questions multiple times or keeping them on the phone for longer than necessary may frustrate them and cause them to feel negatively about their interaction with your company.

3. Ensure appointments are available within a reasonable timeframe.
   You can order a product on Amazon and have it delivered for free in a day or two. Smartphones, high-speed Internet, Wi-Fi and on-demand media channels deliver information and images instantly. You can call ahead for a table at a restaurant, and physicians offer video visits to diagnose acute illnesses. No one likes to wait, and we’re growing accustomed to waiting less often. When a customer needs something fixed to keep their home comfortable, they expect prompt service. That means being adequately staffed to be able to offer an appointment within 24 hours or so. If you can’t, a new customer who hasn’t become loyal to your company yet is more likely to find a company that can rather than wait for you.

4. Set clear and fair fee structures.
   Defining simple rates and maintenance plans is important—not only because a lot of leads are price shopping, but also because confusing, over-complicated fee structures can feel deceptive. For example, do you charge a trip fee and a separate diagnostic fee? Do you waive any fees if the customer hires you to complete the repair? Explaining this clearly when booking appointments can prevent potential frustration for the customer. Skeptical people who are wary of whether to trust home service contractors may believe unclear pricing is an attempt to take advantage of them.

Don’t Lose Those Leads

You won’t book every appointment or close every sale. But the goal is to minimize the number of leads who leave before you have an opportunity to establish a relationship and generate a return on the marketing investment you made to attract their initial interest. These tips cover just a few of the ways our most successful clients capitalize on their lead generation efforts.

We can help your small business thrive, too. The best logos, fleet branding and web design in NJ that KickCharge Creative offers, coupled with your company’s strong operations and customer service, are a winning combination. Contact us today to discuss marketing strategies that will bolster your bottom line.