Step Three Of The Inbound Marketing Methodology: Close

Now that you’ve attracted visitors to your site, and converted those visitors into leads-- it’s now time to learn how turn those leads into a sale using the third step of the inbound marketing methodology; close.

Moving forward, you need to keep in mind that the entire purpose of the inbound methodology is to provide value to your customers. That being said, not every lead will make a purchase immediately. And that’s ok--continue to nurture those relationships and keep track of connections so that you can determine which of them are qualified leads, and which you will need to continue reaching out to.

So how can you do this?

1. CRM

Using pipeline management software, or a customer relationship management tool (CRM), you have the ability to track potential sales data to better determine which are qualified leads. The software houses all of the information on your leads and helps you organize customers by how likely they are to make a purchase. For example, you can look at the context in which they’ve used your site. If a lead sent you a message directly through your contact form, it is more likely that they are ready to make a purchase-- so connecting them directly to a salesperson may be a good next move. However, if their only activity was downloading a free e-book that you’ve offered, maybe they aren’t quite ready to make a purchase, so your best bet will be to continue providing value to them by keeping them informed on your offers and industry insights.

2. EMAILS

Email marketing is an inexpensive, yet powerful way to reach your ideal audience. A study done by Forrester, found that 85% of marketers consider email to be one of the most effective customer acquisition tactics.  

But in the close stage, your goal shouldn’t be to continue to blast out newsletters. You need to develop a strategy using your CRM to determine where each lead is at in the customer life cycle so you know how to optimize your messaging.

Develop an automated email workflow based on specific actions that your leads have taken--these flows are typically built off of an “IF-THEN” strategy. For example, IF a customer downloads your ebook, THEN they will receive messaging on how they can use your product alongside that ebook to increase their ROI. Or IF a customer opts in to your blog notifications, THEN they will get a thank you email. Doing this will increase your own conversion rates, and provide a better and more personalized experience for your users.

For those leads that aren’t quite ready to make a purchase, continuing to send emails is a proven method to garner trust and increase interest. And when they are ready to talk about a solution (your product or service), your brand will be top of mind.

We understand that there are a lot of things to keep in mind, and not every business has the time or energy to develop and manage emails (wink, wink) --so reach out and let us help you create a strategy that will increase conversions and blow your competition out of the water!