5 Ways to Get More Leads (and 5 Ways Not to) | SMB Forum by Web.com
It's the endless quest for every small business owner: How do you attract more leads without breaking the bank or working 24/7? Here are five ways to get more leads (and five ways not to).
How not to get leads: Hire a marketing copywriter and a graphic designer to help you create a direct mail postcard. Fire the first graphic designer and find another one. Go through four copy revisions and 12 design revisions before you finalize your piece. Spend more money and time addressing and batching your postcards to get them out in time for the sale you're promoting. The day after your postcards finally go out, look at one proudly . . . and realize your business phone number is wrong. Oops.
How to get leads: Rely on Lead Stream for expert support with customized marketing that gets you quality leads. Instead of printing up postcards, Lead Stream identifies your businesses' most valuable keywords, then uses pay-per-click (PPC) ads to attract traffic to your website.
How not to get leads: Do you provide services to homeowners, like landscaping, house painting, remodeling or roofing? Ask homeowners if they'll let you put a yard sign advertising your business in their front yard. Hope that some of them say yes. Then hope that people driving by can read your business name, phone number and website URL while driving 40 mph. Finally, hope that some of them need what you sell.
How to get leads: Who drives all over town looking for yard signs when they're trying to find a contractor, pool installer or landscaper? Customers don't look in front yards for local businesses — they look online. Use Lead Stream to get your business listed in Google Maps and capture leads looking for your type of business in your area.
How not to get leads: Rent a giant inflatable "Tube Man" to put in front of your car dealership and attract attention. Try to ignore the sound of the generator keeping him inflated that never… ever… stops. Watch people driving by stare at Tube Man—not at your dealership. Wonder how you'll know if Tube Man ever actually gets a shopper on to your showroom floor.
How to get leads: Let Lead Stream optimize your dealership's website for search. The team at Lead Stream stays on top of the latest SEO trends so your site always ranks high in organic search results—and you don't have to worry about it. When prospects search for the make of car you sell, the best financing deals or the most tempting auto leases, they'll find your website.
How not to get leads: Put a display ad in the Yellow Pages and hope it stands out among the 25 other display ads in your business category. Wonder if anyone even looks at the Yellow Pages anymore or if they just use it to light campfires and roast s'mores. If a lead calls your business, hope your employees remember to ask them where they heard about you so you can see how well your ad is doing.
How to get leads: Use Lead Stream and you'll always know how your online marketing and PPC ads are doing. Lead Stream gives you an easy-to-use dashboard where you can monitor your account’s performance. The Lead Stream team will review performance with you every month and make adjustments to ensure your ads are delivering the ROI you expect.
