If your business struggles to move those phone numbers and emails into customers paying you money, this article will help organize the process and steps that you can take to increase profits.

Odds are, if you are using social media for your business, you are familiar with the process of generating leads through advertising.

The challenge that many face, however, is converting those leads from emails on your mailing list into paying customers. This process is called lead conversion, and companies that master this process benefit from larger profits as a whole.

Recent studies show that only 10-15 percent of leads generated become customers, which proves that many businesses struggle with this process of conversion.

You can calculate your company’s lead conversion rate by dividing the specific number of closed sales within a time period (a month, for example) by the number of leads that you generated within that same time frame, and multiply it by 100.

For example, if you made 75 sales last month and generated 300 leads within that month, your lead conversion rate would be 25%.

Even within this example, however, the conversion rate is relatively low, but this is still higher than many businesses. Businesses need to then resolve the issue of converting their leads into customers to obtain a higher lead conversion rate (and ultimately, higher profits).

In order to have a more definitive process for lead conversion, it is important that businesses understand the general process that individuals go through from not knowing your product to eventually becoming such a satisfied customer that they promote you to many others.

The consumer’s journey

In order to get someone from the stranger phase to a prospect, businesses can run ads on social media or post blogs with relevant keywords that the average ideal customer would search for. This will drive traffic to your website and potentially gain your following on your business’s Facebook or Instagram page.

As a prospect, individuals will then keep your business in mind and possibly return to your website seeking after your products and services. This is where it becomes beneficial to place logical call-to-action buttons on your website that drives these prospects to take action.

For example, if you own a construction company, then you can include the call-to-action button to “Get an Estimate” for visitors on your website to retrieve a quote for your services.

Within this form, you can request the prospect’s contact information (ideally name, phone number, and email), at which point they are no longer just a prospect or visitor on your website, but now a lead.

As the process of creating ads can be challenging, automated social media management tools can simplify the process of running ads to a few simple steps. On Practina, you can set your ads with the goal of lead generation and customize your lead form, so that when your target audience views your ad, it will be simple for them to leave their contact information.

Once you have generated a sizable amount of leads for your business, this is where the process of converting your leads into paying customers becomes more stringent.

Best practices for lead conversion

Establish communication with your leads immediately:

One of the most important things that a business can do is to contact the lead as soon as possible. This shows that you care about their needs and interests and that you are available to help them.

In fact, studies show that more than 75% of customers looking to purchase a product or service move forward with the first business that responds to them. This is helpful in establishing trust with the potential customer and building that relationship right away.

If your potential customer visited your website and clicked on a call-to-action button, you can try giving them a call to discuss their needs and how your business is ready to help them.

If they do not pick up the phone, businesses can benefit from sending a follow-up email regarding what they are requesting, and letting them know once again that your business can assist them.

If a prospect instead saw one of your ads and visited your Instagram or Facebook page, they can submit their information through a lead form. Then, in a similar way, your business can quickly establish communication with them, only with social media, you now have this tool as an effective means to contact them as well.

Businesses can capitalize on sending a direct message to their leads either on Facebook or Instagram in order to open that door of communication.

Also Read: Your Leads Are Useless If You Don’t Respond In Time

Develop a seamless follow-up system for your leads:

While it is most ideal to open communication right away, this is not always the case as businesses oftentimes have a lot on their plate. In some instances as well, the customer may not respond to the initial attempts of communication.

This is where follow-up is crucial.

Businesses can send follow-up emails to their prospective customers regarding their interests and needs, as yet another reminder that your business is there for them.

Email marketing is a meaningful tool to promote specific products and services that your business offers to pique the interest of your potential customers.

Make it simple for the recipients of these emails to add the product or service to their cart, and lessen the steps needed to purchase, so that your prospective customer does not give up along the way.

In the instance that they do, other tools, like abandoned cart emails, are helpful. Businesses can close deals with those who abandoned their cart and did not complete the checkout process by offering a discount, encouraging them to follow through.

Having a clear system in place for those who willingly gave you their contact information will be the difference between you closing the sale or losing out on the opportunity to do so.

Through this system, your business is likely to develop paying customers, which is ultimately the goal of generating leads in the first place.

Businesses who take it a step further, however, are able to capitalize greatly on the final step of the consumer’s journey.

Read: The Ultimate Guide To Facebook Lead Ads

Turning paying customers into promoters of your business:

If customers are satisfied with your product or service, inevitably the first thing that they will want to do is tell everyone that they know. How many social media posts have you seen of people raving about a product that they loved (and oftentimes just as quickly, about a product that they hated)?

Satisfied customers become promoters of your business, so the mindset of a business owner cannot be just to drive the sale and end it all there.

Businesses can further develop that relationship with their now customer by following up to see how he or she is enjoying your product or service. Opening that door of communication will let the customer know that you care about their satisfaction and are working to ensure it remains.

Sending follow-up emails with enclosed surveys of no more than five questions gives the customer a chance to share their experience, while also providing valuable feedback for the business.

Businesses can also encourage customers to post reviews on their social media page by incentivizing it. For example, restaurants can offer a 15% discount to customers who post a review on their Facebook, Google My Business, or Yelp page.

Reviews oftentimes cannot do very much just sitting on the review platform, but businesses can take advantage of automated tools to post reviews directly onto their social media accounts for them.

Businesses can also further encourage positive reviews by reposting mentions of their business on their Instagram story, for even more people to see. Businesses that employ this practice build hype and encourage many other prospective customers to purchase and do the same exact thing.

Final thoughts

Lead conversion does not have to be a stressor for your business, but you can take advantage of leads that have been generated by developing a clear process to nurture each potential customer, even beyond the moment of their purchase.
While the process itself can seem like a stressful one, businesses can lighten their load by automating parts of the process to make it easier for themselves. Social media management tools like Practina can create postings for your business, simplify ads, and produce leads in just a few minutes. Find the plan that best fits your needs today.