When it comes to creating an effective online lead generation strategy, the main thing working against you is time. A lot of digital marketing agencies use expansive lead forms to try and acquire more customers. People who are in the mood to shop are more likely to call a toll-free number than fill out a long registration form. The tactic of using lead forms is probably a combination of new marketing automation systems and their incapability to integrate with call centers or computer telephony.
Consider making the lead generation form a secondary call-to-action rather than your primary means of customer acquisition. Encourage people to call if you can. The chances of converting that prospect are much higher with human to human interaction. The best case senario would be to put the phone number, the intended call-to-action; above the fold of the website and place any type of lead form below the fold.
In the event that you must use a lead form, it is okay to ask the respondant to fill out some qualifying questions. Try and let the offer or value proposition carry most of the load, and you will receive better leads.
If you initially ask for too much information, that is like asking someone to marry you on the first date. A form with tons of fields to fill out is not user friendly and leads to higher abandonment rates. Another reason to downplay the role of registration forms is they contain misleading information. In a survey conducted by Marketing Sherpa, they asked a group of B-to-B buyers to truthfuly answer how often they accurately answer lead form questions. Roughly 55% gave the right company name and 59% provided the actual industry name. Some question are seen as even more invasive as 38% said they alway give a vaild phone number and 29% say that they honestly tell their budget status or current needs.
In addition to shortening the lead form, try implementing some of these other tips:
• Whenever you have prior information about a prospect, try and pre-populate the registration form.
• You should make the form optional to fill out-especially if you are offering a white paper that positions your company as a thought leader.
• Try and make the form less formidable. For instance, tell visitors upfornt about how their privacy is protected.
• Provide more than one way to convert. This way, if the visitor does not respond to the call-to-action, he/she can be engaged in other ways, like seeing a short clip or signing up for a newsletter. Now you can use what is known as “drip marketing” to deliver a continuous stream of marketing initiatives wherever the prospect is in the conversion tunnel.
When dealing with the call side, here are a few things to consider:
• It is expensive to staff a call center. It is extremely important to verifiy the lead to make sure they are qualified before you send them to the call center.
• Keep in mind that the leads that get directed to the call center are extremely valuable, so make sure they are directed to the right follow-up resources.
Regardless of whether you use a form or phone to capture leads, time is your worst enemy and you should respond to any inquiry with haste to ensure higher conversion and customer acquisition rates. Just waiting one day to respond can cut your conversion rate in half! Do not risk the chance of your lead surfing the web for another competitor’s site and filling out their form and then choosing to go with them.
Response Mine Interactive (RMI) is a digital marketing agency that specializes in helping their clients acquire more customers through direct response digital marketing. For the past decade, RMI has generated billions of dollars in revenue for leading brands in the b2b, healthcare, travel and home services channels. If you would like more lead generation advice, download their white papers or visit them at Response Mine.com.
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