9 Effective Strategies for Turning Leads into Customers

Published by George Denby on September 3, 2022

It can take time to generate leads and it can prove challenging to turn those leads into customers. But by adopting the following nine strategies, you can more effectively convert leads into paying consumers.

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1. Analyze Lead Conversion Metrics

When looking at how to turn more leads into customers, one of your top priorities should be examining your lead conversion metrics. You can then analyze and measure your marketing reach effectively and come up with better ways of using your marketing campaigns to boost your engagement with potential customers.

By utilizing lead conversion metrics, you can find out the retention rate of visitors to your website and the actions that they took on your site. You can also find out how much it is costing you to convert a lead into a customer. Furthermore, with lead conversion metrics, you can analyze where your sources of traffic are coming from.

Ultimately, by analyzing and measuring different metrics, you can learn more about your customer persona and adapt your marketing methods to get more prospective customers moving through your sales pipeline.

2. Create Special Events – Online or Offline (e.g. a Trivia Night at Your Bar)

There are multiple strategies you can use to turn leads into customers online, as we will see, but do not forget that you can also use offline methods to convert leads. One effective approach you can use online and offline is creating special events.

For instance, if you own a bar, you could get potential customers through the door by holding special events like trivia nights or karaoke. Bar owners can use Untappd’s information hub for businesses to help them come up with other effective strategies.

You can combine online and offline efforts by using a QR code generator. You can easily create a QR code that leads to any page on your website or any page that includes helpful information your clients or customers could use to learn more about your business. That QR code could be placed near reception or on each table of your establishment.

You can also hold special events online, such as informative seminars concerning your industry, to attract leads who could convert into customers after the events.

3. Use Calls to Action Wisely

You should definitely use calls to action on your website and in your marketing materials. Sometimes, all leads need is a slight nudge to convert leads into bona fide customers. For example, you could use calls to action to get visitors to your website to perform actions like downloading guides or signing up to email newsletters.

Once you have contact details, you can then use other methods, such as email updates, to turn those leads into paying customers.

While you can use simple wording like “Download Here” in your calls to action, you could see more success if you use more thoughtful combinations of words, such as “First Come, First Served” or “Contact Us Today.”

4. Utilize Email Marketing

You can use email marketing to get in touch with leads and, by providing the right content, get them to become customers. For instance, that could be as simple as sending emails about new products or informative blog posts that feature your products or services.

You could also send emails to both leads and existing customers on special occasions like birthdays and Christmas. You will then be able to build strong relationships with your target audience. To maximize lead conversions via email marketing, make sure you post engaging content.

You should mix some icebreakers into your email marketing and perhaps include some fun facts about your company to help your company stand out from the crowd and get noticed.

5. Employ Social Media Marketing

To obtain leads and stand a good chance of turning them into customers, it is crucial that you use social media channels in the right way.

You need to select social media platforms that your target audience spends time on, ensure you post content regularly, make sure the content is engaging, and link the content to your website or provide other calls to action.

The more you use strategies to leverage social media channels to your advantage, the more you can grab the attention of prospects and get them to purchase your products or services.

6. Optimize Your Website

Your website is your business’s central hub that leads will be directed to via social media marketing campaigns and will find by performing online searches, so it is critical that you optimize your website correctly. That means using calls to action, SEO methods, and keywords wisely, all with the intention of generating more sales.

You should also look at your website’s bounce rate, which refers to how many visitors leave after visiting a single web page, the duration of their sessions, and the number of web pages people visit. The longer people spend on your website and engage with it, the more likely they are to proceed with making purchases.

Organic traffic is especially heavily influenced by the user experience of your website. Also, you should direct both paid and organic traffic to different pages of your website.

7. Offer Freebies or Discounts

A simple but effective way to turn more leads into customers is to give your leads freebies or discounts. For instance, if your company attends a business conference or event, you could hand out free pens, T-shirts, or USBs.

For online leads, you can send them things like time-limited discount codes. The idea is to get leads more interested in your company and its products or services.

Offering discounts can be a particularly successful strategy. Even when some leads do not make purchases after you have offered things like discounts, you are still nurturing their interest in your company and they could make purchases later down the line.

Everyone likes getting something for nothing, so consider how you can use freebies and discounts effectively for your specific business.

8. Always Follow Up

You should know this already: after a lead has shown interest in your products or services, make sure you engage in follow-up communications. For instance, after initial contact with a lead, send an email or make a call asking if the person has any questions about your products or services. That simple act can be great for kickstarting sales. However, it typically takes more than one follow-up message to convert leads into customers.

Many businesses give up after just one follow-up call. But, many studies have shown that it takes several follow-ups to turn leads into customers. So, keep going with this strategy as long as the leads are still happy for you to contact them.

Also, when calling prospective customers, it is best to leave fifteen-minute gaps in between the calls. Many people will not pick up the first time they see an unrecognized number but will pick up on the second or third time because they will wonder if the call is important.

9. Set Deadlines for Uninterested Leads

There is no point in wasting time on leads who are simply not interested. So, it is a good idea to set up a no-communication deadline to remove uninterested prospects from your marketing funnel. Do that by sending a message like “We have not heard from you in thirty days,. So, this will be our final communication, but, feel free to contact us in the future if we can be of assistance.”

While this approach does not often actually help you to convert leads into customers, it does enable you to not waste time on people who have no intention of purchasing from your business. And by setting a deadline, you may get a few leads showing more interest in your company and even making purchases.