How Do Brands Buying Leads Increase Conversion Rates?

The next part of the series where Databowl CEO Simon Delaney and Head of Marketing Daniel Hopewell connect to discuss the latest developments and practices in the world of B2C Lead Generation.

This instalment looks at what brands buying leads can do in order to increase conversion rates and make more sales. Below is an abridged round-up of that conversation and some of the key ideas touched upon. To hear the podcast version of this article - and for similar discussions on B2C Lead Generation - check out the full podcast here:

If you’re a brand buying leads what can you do to increase your conversion rates on those leads?

There are a few basic things which you would hope everyone is looking at: proper validation and contacting those leads the second they come in. You can also go really granular in terms of running reports and measuring the performance of sources you’re buying from, and then actively only working with the very highest sources of leads moving forwards. Ultimately, this will ensure you’re working with the highest quality of data and maximising the chance of conversion at the very start.

Beyond that, it is important to not see leads as a one hit wonder and instead develop proper nurturing funnels to maximise conversion rates over a longer time frame. There are a few ways of ensuring these nurturing funnels are on point:

1 - Offer education and value in all your marketing materials

2 - Stop talking about yourself. No one cares. Only talk about how you can help the prospects.

3 - Tap into Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs when appealing to a prospect’s emotional response to ads.

4 - Develop personal relationships and build trust with prospects

FOR EXAMPLE:

Let’s say you’re a Broadband Provider running ads to generate leads.

This is the kind of advert or nurturing message that a lot of brands might run, talking all about the great features of their services as a way of setting themselves apart from their competitor. Certainly, there are elements of this which are strong selling points and which can be used throughout their marketing. 100%.

The problem is, it talks entirely about the brand and entirely neglects the prospect. In the world of lead generation this can be a massive mistake as it fails to tap into the emotional connection you can possibly hold with the prospect.

What is smarter is to try and tap into that emotion and make your messaging directly concerned with the prospect!

Now, this is far from perfect, but it highlights a key idea. Namely, it focuses entirely on the problems a prospect might face that can be solved by your service. It evokes an emotional response to your message, and once you have that you can offer your solution and begin building a relationship on a deeper level.

When creating materials for your nurturing funnels be sure to try and remember this idea.

RETHINK YOUR MODEL AND DE-SILO YOUR DEPARTMENTS

One other thing to look at is getting your various departments - such as marketing and sales - working together better. There are myriad ways in which this can be done, but let’s focus upon in relation to buying leads in.

Often, large brands work to a model where they buy leads in from varying sources, then put these leads into a sales function such as a call centre. They then work to a target of hitting ROI, sometimes at a point as low as just 10% even. That would require just a 1 in 10 conversion rate for the model to be deemed a successful enterprise. But, simply flipping that and addressing the 90% loss should be a priority for large brands (and indeed all brands).

For this to work - in addition to the aforementioned practices of validation, contact times, granular reporting of sources etc - brands should look to de-silo their departments and have them working together to aim for nurturing and building relationships with the 90%, for in that loss which is hitherto accepted represents a huge opportunity to increase conversion rates.

You can listen to the entire podcast on Apple, Spotify or watch the video on YouTube.