Business owners are more confused, perplexed, and frustrated then ever when it comes to their digital marketing.
They worry that they are not keeping up with the latest advances and fear they’ll look foolish if they ask for help. But there are many, very important questions to ask, such as:
- “How do I acquire the right visitors?”
- “How do I generate more qualified leads?”
- “How do I create an engaging experience that extends and deepens relationships with customers and prospects?”
- “How do we accelerate sales and return on investment (ROI)?”
After 20 years of academic research and experience in the private sector at Predictive ROI, we have developed proven and reliable ways to increase sales. And the best part is that you can do them on your own.
We call them the 8 money making opportunities.
Opportunity #1: Harmonize offer with need
The first opportunity is adapted from what SUCCESS Magazine publisher Darren Hardy calls “the white knight strategy.” Essentially, you take your X-Y-Z statement (see my post about 8 Money Draining Mistakes), blend it with what you know about your client avatar (again, see post for details), and create a statement that shows prospects you have the solution to all their pain points.
Be sure to blend your new “white knight” statement into presentations, articles, proposals, books, training videos, or wherever you introduce yourself and your business.
Opportunity #2: Build your list
The most valuable asset in your business is your client list. And to build your list, you need to develop a cool offer — something that will provide your prospects with massive value all while remaining focused on your X-Y-Z statement and white knight.
Your cool offer could be a free PDF, video series, or an exclusive audio insights podcast. Don’t hold back.
After you’ve established your offer, feature it throughout your site for maximum distribution. When you do, and if your value exchange is truly valuable enough, 6 to 13 percent of your site visitors will “opt-in” and give you their email addresses.
The iCapture app is a tool that makes the process of building your list a little bit easier.
Opportunity #3: Nurture relationships
Once you have someone’s email address, you can guide them into what John Jantsch, in his book “Duct Tape Marketing,” calls “the know, like, and trust funnel.”
In my opinion, email marketing is one of the most effective ways to build relationships because by offering valuable content to your list, you prepare prospects. What this means is that when you offer something really awesome, like a discounted product or program for a limited time, you get immediate conversions and your sales increase. Here’s the same practical and tactical blueprint our team uses when implementing #2 and #3.
Opportunity #4: No friction lead generation
The form you use to capture email addresses (i.e. leads) needs to be placed in such a way that the “friction” (or the resistance to filling out the form) is reduced.
What is your form located next to on your Home Page? Ads? Your blog?
Instead, place your form next to your cool offer or place visual credibility indicators adjacent to the form. These could include the logos of the professional associations where you are a member or media logos where you have been published.
Credibility indicators instill a sense of security in your qualifications as prospects offer their contact information.
Opportunity #5: Create anticipation
Continuously seed and open loops to your sales message within your emails, blog posts, webinars, and presentations.
Within your “Know-Like-Trust” emails, be sure you are not trying to sell anything. Just offer a tip. For example, include 1 of the 47 tips you have for increasing the value of your home. Deliver awesomeness one small piece at a time and create anticipation.
Opportunity #6: Social media done right
When visitors come to your website from Facebook, Twitter and other social networks your conversion rate increases dramatically.
More specifically, social media visitors are 780 percent more likely to buy from you because they are already social followers. They are further along in the “Know-Like-Trust funnel” than someone who finds you through a Google search.
We have found that if you post 2 times a day (once in the morning and once in the afternoon), you will attract and retain the most followers.
Use our 6 to 1 ratio for posts: 6 professional or life posts for every 1 product or sales post. For example, create 6 posts related to events you have attended, awards you have received, blogs you have written etc. Then write 1 post that invites followers to buy now, download an offer, or attend a webinar. This strategy will increase site traffic by 23 percent.
Opportunity #7: Multiply conversion rate by 200 to 800 percent
We encourage our clients to use Adroll.com, the leaders in retargeting or remarketing. Retargeting means that after someone has visited your site, but not converted, they will see your ads as they click around the web to other sites.
These retargeted ads increase your conversion rate by 600 to 800 percent because they build on the familiarity prospects already have with your website and offering.
Opportunity #8: Conduct A/B testing
Before you make any major changes to your site content, conduct A/B testing to see which changes produce positive results in your conversion rate. Tools like Visual Website Optimizer (VWO) can help you create a test in a few minutes. We have increased conversion rate by 200 percent through one A/B test.
Remember to make one improvement at a time and see how your results change. You can also conduct more sophisticated multivariate tests using VWO.
Take advantage of these opportunities and you will increase your return on investment by 200 to 500 percent or more in the form of more visitors, more leads, and more revenue.
Grow your business with Email Marketing
You’ll get:Free, award-winning coaching that’s just a call, email, or online chat away.
Templates that ensure your emails are beautiful, professional, and sync with your organization’s colors and logo.
Real business results with a tool that reaches your customers where they are every day: their inbox.