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10 GOLDEN RULES IN CONVERSION OF CONSUMER LEADS

By Richard Dorsett

Many companies and organisations generate new customers either wholly or partially through generating leads by inviting consumers to ‘find out more’ about their product or service, often by requesting a brochure, catalogue or information pack. We call this type of customer recruitment ‘2 step’ because the first point of contact with a prospective customer – be it by press/TV advertisement, direct mail, or through the internet by email or banner – asks for the consumer to respond to ‘find out more’. The second step is usually to purchase from the communication(s) sent as a follow up.

The cost of two step promotion is made up of the cost of generating the consumer lead in the first place and the cost of following up the lead – by mail, telephone, email or personal call – and the follow up cost is usually a significant part of the overall recruitment cost (sometimes more then 50%).

Therefore the proportion of initial responders who actually are converted to buy is crucial in the cost effectiveness of new customer generation from 2 step promotions and is usually referred to as the ‘quality’ of leads ie the higher the proportion of initial consumer leads to actually buy, the higher the ‘quality’ of leads.

In order to maximise conversion of consumer leads into buyers 10 simple rules need to be followed.

(1) Ensure your proposition is correct and comprehensive – make it clear in your initial advertisement (which ever media used) who you are targeting and be sure that the description does focus on the most relevant points to the potential customer based on research and not your ideas/guess.

eg if your product or service is really only suitable for home owners, make this clear in the copy

(2) Follow up Quickly – this is perhaps the most important rule to maximise conversion of consumer leads: the likelihood of an enquirer converting to a buyer reduces over time. Therefore it is important that the enquirer receives the information/brochure/catalogue or telephone follow up that they have requested as quickly as possible

(3) Identify Yourself in the follow up – in most cases, responding to an advertisement is not a particularly important event in a persons life! Therefore the information you are sending (or follow up telephone call) is more likely to receive the consumer’s attention if you make it abundantly clear in your follow up (envelope screamer, email header, outset of a telephone follow up) that it is as a result of ‘Your Request’ for further information that you are writing, emailing or calling them.

(4) Use the most appropriate method of follow up – if the initial consumer lead was sent in response to an advertisement run on the internet (a 3rd party website, email etc) then make sure your initial reply is sent via the web even if you are also sending an off line (eg brochure) following up. (I am constantly surprised by the number of companies receiving an on line consumer lead which only follow up by mailing a brochure!); test to determine the most effective method (or combination of methods) of follow up.

(5) Follow up consumer leads more then once – depending upon the product or service, it is usually worthwhile following up consumer leads more then once; the more considered the purchase, the higher the cost of purchase, the higher number of re contacts (mail, email or even telephone) that will be viable.

(6) Analyse conversion by media/method of lead generation – usually different methods of generating the initial consumer lead will give different levels of conversions. These differences will result from different media types (eg Press v TV v Internet etc) and also by different publications (eg different titles of the National Press).

(7) Analyse conversion by proposition – sometimes focussing the initial advertisement on one aspect of a proposition can produce a higher conversion compared to another.

(8) Topicality – be alert to amend/change your proposition or to increase your recruitment marketing activity to take account of news stories/events. Whilst this strategy might have a short life span, it can produce profitable results.

(9) Analyse lifetime values of new customers by different media/propositions – this can be very significant and is often not fully assessed

(10) Continually Test – the oldest rule in direct marketing! Continually test new propositions, creative, media, follow up techniques against the ‘control’ of your ‘proven’ recruitment strategies.

Making the Most of your Business Leads in Tougher Trading Conditions

‘Of course’ is the normal reaction from direct marketers who understand that new customers are the lifeblood of any growing business. ‘We respond to enquiries in nano seconds, follow up with offers and incentives, and use every channel available to secure the sale’. The reality is often very different.

Tracking studies and market research have demonstrated that a high proportion of requests are never fulfilled at all, brochures and catalogues are sent without any personalisation, sometimes up to a month or even six weeks later. Digging deeper there are often good reasons for these problems. Fulfillment houses that are instructed to only do a run once a week, or catalogues stock levels insufficient for a campaign, or maybe an aggressive de-dupe process is taking out genuine enquiries. Whatever the cause, lost opportunities to respond effectively means lost revenue to the bottom line.

For smaller companies that deal with requests in house, the problems can be caused by simple things like pressure of work, absentee-ism, late deliveries from the printers, postal problems, the list goes on. Yet we know that an efficient, personalised, relevant fulfillment piece will be the most effective way to generate sales.

Consumer Leads Direct Ltd are leaders in consumer lead generation and have produced a simple checklist for effective fulfillment, called ‘Making the most of your leads’. For your complimentary copy simply email gcollier@consumerleads.info. Or alternatively contact Grant Collier or Stuart Keyte