Leads equal sales and sales equal profits. But getting those leads in the first place – especially qualified ones – that’s where the problem lies.
It’s easy to slap an opt-in form on your website and call it “lead generation,” but the truth is, that’s no more effective than a postcard in the mail or an unwanted cold call on someone’s cell phone (i.e., not very effective).
Truly impactful lead generation is a delicate mix of marketing, targeting and timing, and many businesses – too many of them, in fact – get it wrong.
Want to make sure you’re not committing any cardinal sins of lead gen? Here are the most common mistakes we’ve seen in our line of work:
Using a singular landing page.
Landing pages need to be highly targeted and tailored in order to be effective. First and foremost, they should match up with the ad or link that brought the lead in – both in messaging and in intent. They should also coincide with whatever you’re offering for their opt-in. Are you giving away a white paper on fighting customer churn? Then that landing page needs to be all about the struggles of churn – its financial costs, the stress it puts on a company’s resources and team, etc.
Because these pages need to be so targeted, they don’t really work well for multiple campaigns. For the most part, you can pretty much expect to create a new landing page for every campaign, advertisement or promo you launch. It sounds like a hassle, sure, but it’s also the best way to deliver value to the lead – and earn their loyalty in return.
Too-long opt-in forms.
Today’s consumers are busy, and they’re used to lightning-fast speeds when it comes to their online experiences. Expecting someone to fill out a 5-minute form – especially if they have no preestablished relationship with you – is pretty much dooming your lead gen efforts for failure.
Think of the opt-in like a first date – or even a precursor to a first date – for your leads. They’re intrigued, and they want to know more, but they’re not going to give you their address, cell phone number and entire life story just yet. Prove your worth, show them why you’re worth their time, and gradually you can go for the big asks (and the big sales pitches).
Unclear CTAs.
Calls-to-action are the key to snagging the email address, phone number or other opt-in info. Knowing your CTA also helps guide your content, so that it always – at every turn – drives users to completing that action and making that connection.
CTAs should be clear, concise and highly visible on any page you’re driving leads to. They’re especially important on your high-traffic pages – places like your home page, your blog, any viral videos you have, etc. Like your landing pages, they also need to be highly tailored to what the lead is thinking, needing and expecting when they hit your content.
Buying instead of generating your leads.
It can be tempting to buy email lists, but in the end, it almost always hurts more than it helps. If you get flagged for spam (which you likely will, since the users didn’t actually subscribe to your emails!), the more your messages will go straight to spam folders – making them virtually useless and wasteful. On top of this, it also means you’re not connecting with very qualified leads. Those users haven’t shown any interest in your brand thus far, so trying to convert them into a sale? That’s an uphill battle.
You’re better off generating organic leads who actually want and need your services, and then delivering your products as usual. It’s a much easier sell when people actually want what you have to offer!
Forgetting the follow-up.
There’s no point in generating a lead if you’re not going to use it. If someone signed up for your emails or gave you their info, they were at least somewhat interested in what you have to say or offer. Find out what that something is, tap into it and start nurturing that lead until you close the sale. It might take a while, but if you put effort into building the relationship and earning their loyalty, you’ll have a customer for life.
How do you measure up?
Is your aerospace brand making any of these lead generation mistakes? Want help course-correcting and getting back on track? Contact Haley Aerospace today.
