Wednesday, November 16, 2016

SEO, social media and leads

There are many ways to get leads and it has been common knowledge that getting referrals from existing customers is a big YES to most of us salespeople. Go talk to them and ask them and give then something as a gift that usually helps.

More information:

Email seemed to lose favor with many marketers following the rapid rise of social media and content marketing. However, it seems that email newsletters have seen a recent resurgence and many companies are starting to use them as part of an integrated marketing strategy.
As far as I am concerned if yo do not over abuse this marketing tactic it can work.  YOU also can get valid e-mail opt in addresses to market to in the future.

“Local marketing is really important if you are a locally based agency. Face to face is always where you want to get to, because if somebody’s looking for someone local to them, it’s going to be because they feel better about working with someone that they can get in the same room as.” Tamsin Fox-Davies,  Constant Contact. That is an interesting comment coming from a giant in the e mail business but it is that e-mail that gets in front of a decision maker who you then follow up with a phone call to set up an appointment!

How long does it take to convert a lead?
Only 5% to 10% of qualified leads actually convert for the majority of marketers, so it’s important to keep track of their progress through your sales process. Agencies and consultants are usually faced with quite long buying cycles and, on average, it can take 84 days to convert a lead into a sales opportunity. OK people, think about that as I always do, it takes time so that sales funnel has to stay full!

Conclusion:The challenge for digital marketing agencies isn’t necessarily that they lack the skills to attract new clients, it tends to be that they don’t devote the same attention to marketing themselves as they do for their clients. Ideally there would be internal resource dedicated to business development, but for smaller agencies and consultants this isn’t always possible. Instead, a clear strategy is needed to ensure that the skills contained within the organization are utilized eff ectively for increasing sales. This involves a mixture of online and offl  ine channels, and knowing how each of these can be used to complement each other at diffe rent stages of the marketing funnel. Budgetary restrictions also mean that paid advertising won’t be an option for many agencies, but the opportunities presented by social media and content marketing can be a great equalizer. If an agency successfully fi nds a niche, it can use its expertise in that specifi c area to generate unique and insightful content. In turn this will result in credibility and, ultimately, attract clients. But attracting leads is only the fi rst part of the challenge. Converting those leads into clients is, perhaps, an even bigger one. In order to increase conversion rates, marketing agencies and consultants sometimes need to view the situation from the perspective of the client. Think about what it is that they would want to see rather than what you want to deliver. The client doesn’t know what effe ctt hisw ork will ultimately have on their business until it’s been tried and tested, so the initial focus should be establishing credibility and building trust. I can honestly say I am guilty of spending more time on my clients than I do on myself. I am starting to add more to me such as my blogging but I will not get away from helping my clients because they put the bread on the table.

Some of the above came from Constant Contact.\

Until next time!!

Joe Rossini

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