Today I’d like to talk about how to turn prospects into customers. While, your marketing is doing its job by generating leads, you need to be working on converting those prospects or leads into customers. In most buying scenarios the buyer or customer is not ready to buy when they initially see your ad or visit your website.
The biggest fear of most new customers is the dreaded buyer’s remorse. They want to be sure their money is being well spent – They are getting the best deal!
In a recent study it was discovered that only 3% to 9% of customers are ready to buy when they are first introduced to you and your product. In fact, it takes as many as 20 customer touches to close the deal. Leads or prospects are only the start to the marketing process. It is always good practice to measure the number of leads a particular marketing campaign produces. This measures the effectiveness of the campaign. This will not necessarily predict the number of customers that campaign will produce.
Your buyer is on a journey that leads them to their final decision point and beyond. They move through this journey moving from Awareness, this is where your ad came in, to Consideration, the information the ad led them to, to the final Decision to buy. It is critical that you understand that they may not act on their first visit so you must devise a way to keep your company front of mind without abusing the relationship you have now established.
Once a prospective customer becomes aware of your product or service, they require information to decide if your product or service is the best option – the best deal. You now need to move into the nurturing stage of your marketing. Establish trust and authority with your prospective client. Telling them how great your product or service is won’t accomplish this goal. They need the information to make the right decision confidently.
- Capture their e-mail and place them in an informative Drip Campaign
- Connect with them via social media
- Send them a free gift or sample
- Have them enroll in your newsletter program
- Ask them to follow the company
The important thing to remember here is follow up and stay connected. Give the prospect the information they need to move to the decision phase of the journey. You need to answer the questions or objections that have been preventing them from making the purchase. This is not a price thing, it’s a value and trust thing. Don’t fall into the trap of the best price wins because you will limit your ability to separate yourself from your competitors on anything other than price. Why are people willing to pay 2 or 3 times more for coffee at Starbucks? Because Starbucks spent time educating their customers about coffee and separated themselves from there competitors by selling the coffee experience rather than the drink itself.
Stop selling to your prospects and start supplying them with the information they need to make an informed decision that they won’t regret. Follow up after the sale to be sure they are satisfied with the product or service. This will show them that you want a relationship rather than a one-time purchase.
“By making it inviting, easy, informative, non-threatening, educational, inspiring and fun to do business with you, you’ll loft your company above the competition.” Jay Abraham
Need help with figuring out the best strategy for converting prospects into customers? Visit our website ( https://tec-coaching.com/ask-us/ )and ask the expert for free advice on your marketing approach.