As the prospect of a recession looms, SMEs need to find customers without breaking the bank. It’s just not tenable to waste money on unproven strategies. The answer could lie in using rigorous lead management and tracking to understand where your most profitable customers come from to focus on your most successful marketing channels and campaigns.
Even during these challenging times, too many businesses are failing to track every lead, meaning that there is no way of knowing how potential customers found you. And if you don’t know how they found you, how can you know where to look for customers in the future?
So, what would an effective lead tracking strategy look like?
Track everything
The key to an effective lead tracking strategy is to track everything you can; submitted web forms, phone calls, emails, sales, and live chat; however you are contacted you need to know where these leads first made contact with your company. Only then can you understand what is working for you.
When someone calls you, for example, it’s useful to know whether they are calling after finding your website after a Google search or are calling after seeing a pay-per-click advert or have come from social media. Of course, you could just ask them, but this is notoriously unreliable. Using lead tracking software takes away the guesswork and provides you with robust data that is based on fact.
Track accurately via lead management
Comprehensive lead tracking involves managing all your leads in one place and understanding where your leads originate, even when they don’t come directly to you.
What does that mean? Well, if someone clicks on a Google Ad, but then leaves your website and comes back later by typing in your URL, lead tracking can reflect the fact that they started their lead journey with the ad. You then need a solution that allows you to join up every customer, every call, every visit, every form or email, to every campaign.
This is particularly useful for B2B and high value leads, that may not get in touch immediately, as buying decisions are more complex.
Track the whole journey
The most effective lead management of all closes the loop between initial contact and a sale by feeding sales information back into the lead tracking system you are using. This can take a little more effort but is definitely worth it, as you can compare the final value and worth of every lead.
Saving you money
Firstly, as a business owner, generating your own leads is always beneficial, as you will no longer be wasting money on third-party lead generation companies, who often provide you with leads that are also sold your competitors. You can then start to spend your money on generating your own leads.
It may seem that investing in additional lead tracking software and processes will cost you money rather than save you money. However, once you start to track leads, you generate a wealth of data that can be used to refine your lead generation strategy and reduce costs in areas that don’t work, ensuring that you aren’t wasting budget on unsuccessful lead generation.
You also save money by improving how you generate leads. Perversely, once your company starts using lead tracking properly to improve your lead generation strategy, you may find initially that the number of leads you get drops slightly. But the flip side is the quality of the leads improves significantly. If you and your team aren’t wasting time trying to convert low-quality leads, then it is clearly going to save you resources.
How to get started
Unless you are very familiar with all the lead tracking options available, it will be almost impossible to ensure that you purchase the most appropriate lead tracking system, or set it up optimally, and therefore an initial consultation with a professional is vital. You should also look for a company that will set up systems for you and talk you through how they operate.
Many companies don’t make the most of their lead tracking because they don’t get their customer journeys right, understand all the touch points and the data that their systems produce, or what to do with it. That is why it is crucial that you get some help before you start. Even better is working with a company who will provide you with regular, professional reviews of your lead tracking strategy in order for you to make ongoing improvements.
You need access to reliable lead tracking software that will track as many of your leads as possible. Start by consulting a lead management company that can fully assess the needs of your business. Look for a company that takes the time to talk to you about what your company is trying to achieve, pointing out the pitfalls and any changes needed to deliver full lead management and tracking.
When times are tough it can be difficult to know if and where to invest in your companies marketing. However, spending some money on lead tracking and lead management will help your business understand where your leads come from, where you’re wasting money, and how to generate more profitable leads.
