There’s little worth more to a business, regardless of size or industry, which can have the tremendous profitable effect a database of leads can have. Whether you call it your opt-in list, leads, or good old fashioned rolodex, the names on your list are worth money.
The strategies for online and offline businesses differ slightly however the value of the database for both is equally important.
To create a database of leads, as a business owner of an online business, one simple strategy is to place a form on your website. Research indicates that the right upper corner is the best place for this form; though test to validate this for your particular business.
On the form, experts recommend keeping them simple, ask for a name and an email address so prospects can be notified of news, new products and updates or you can exchange their email address or contact information for something. It’s important to ask for a name in addition to the email address so you can personalize your marketing messages.
Another strategy is to offer something in exchange for an email address – ideally something that must be delivered via email – a digital product. Options include reports, video or audio tutorials, e-books, memberships and so on. The offer largely depends on your business model and products or services.
You know what your prospects value most- give it to them in exchange for their permission to contact them.
For offline, brick and mortar businesses, building a lead database is as simple as frequent customer card, a sweepstakes entry, contest, or special promotion. Retailers are often excellent at this and many point of sale software systems are designed to integrate data collection into ringing up the sale.
Bath and Beyond gave away coupons for free lip gloss in exchange for customer email addresses. JosABank asks for your information directly when you make a purchase and DicksSportingGoods uses the discount card/points strategy to obtain customer information.
Email address can be collected as part of a promotion or in exchange for a coupon or drawing. Let your imagination help you create a promotion that will stimulate interest and build an extensive database of leads.
Generating leads is of course the first step.
The second step, the one that makes your database of leads profitable and worth the effort, is to communicate with them. Again, how you communicate with your leads is based largely on your industry and business model but also on your target audience. For example, a business catering to a young high school or college aged audience may have better results reaching their audience by text message while other audiences may prefer email or even snail mail communication.
The key is to stay in touch with prospects in a manner which captures and maintains their attention.
Like most things in business, lead generation is a process – a strategy. Take the time to plan it, test it, and perfect it and then follow through and make the most of your efforts by marketing to your database.
Every contact I make goes in a database of some sort. If I get inquiries on my digital products they go in that folder, newsletter – another folder. If I meet you personally and we exchange cards that goes into master list and so on. Then when I want to email a specific message, I know where that database of names came from and from here I can determine if the message is proper for them.
My only wish, more hours in a day to complete all the initiatives I have to promote myself. If I have a warm lead I check in periodically to see if they are ready to move forward at this time. You’ d be surprised how many I shake loose from the tree doing this.
My theory in marketing myself is to be a moving target. I constantly keep things moving, looking for that opportunity to present my services where they can be best applied.
Blogging has been very good for this.
I totally agree that offering the visitor something for free in exchange for their email address works. We did this in an email campaign and we received a good response rate. If there is enough value in what you are offering then people we responded. Now we already had their email address but we identified the interested parties and followed up with them. Great advice
Michael, thanks for the comment. I too don’t understand why every company doesn’t try to capture the emails of their visitors and allows them to come and go invisibly without even “trying” to make contact.