Even if you can generate leads for your business, that doesn’t mean they’ll automatically become customers. Of course, some prospects will see your advertising and contact you immediately, resulting in a conversion. They’re called hot leads. But what about the leads who aren’t yet ready?
While many businesses label them as ‘bad leads’ and then let them fall through the cracks, the best businesses build trust by enabling prospects to evaluate their business. And when you increase trust you also increase conversions. It’s a simple formula. Let’s explore how to do it.
EVALUATION: DO THEY TRUST YOU?
In some cases, a prospect’s movement from becoming aware of your product or service to making a purchase is almost instantaneous. Like buying chocolate at a milk bar. You see a chocolate bar strategically positioned next to the counter as you’re buying your essential groceries, you experience a strong craving for chocolate, and you pick it up and place it next to your groceries on the counter. Simple, right?
More often though, it’s not so simple. For purchases that are more expensive, risky or complicated than a chocolate bar, most people need to engage in an evaluation process of some kind before they move to commitment. In other words, a typical customer wants to consider your solution carefully, and potentially weigh it against other solutions, to determine its relative value and whether they trust your claims. Take buying a car. Most would-be car buyers engage in extensive research online, with friends, mechanics, in online and offline magazines, and through test-drives, before they make their decision.
Why?
Human nature is such that we don’t typically commit to something unless we have some evidence that the benefits of taking action outweigh the risks. And even where potential customers desire a solution to their problem, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll choose your solution. The reality is that people need to know if they can trust you first before they take action.
HOW DO YOU CREATE TRUST?
As a general rule, people are less trusting of advertising campaigns than ever before. Customers see through self-serving claims in brochures, flyers and TV ads with increasing clarity.
Which is why there’s a paradigm shift going on in marketing today. It’s called ‘content marketing’.
The central idea behind content marketing is simple but powerful: create and distribute highly relevant and useful content to your tribe for free… before you ask them to buy. That way, you give customers an opportunity to genuinely assess your credibility. And if your content is high quality, you’ll build credibility and trust – and significantly increase the chances of winning them over as a new customer.
But the opportunities for building trust through content marketing are endless. Here are some powerful examples:
- Informative blog articles (on your site or for others’ sites)
- Lead magnets (like white papers/ebooks/guides/reports)
- Content-rich videos
- Free demonstrations
- Free consultations
- Webinars
- Group presentations
- Try-before-you-buy offers
Again, be careful here: the content you distribute must be genuinely valuable. Self-serving promotion dressed up as valuable content won’t work. To build real credibility and trust, you’ll need to earn it. Think of it this way: traditional advertising is telling the world you’re a rock star; content marketing is showing the world that you are one. Which do you think is more persuasive?
Good luck implementing this strategy in your business and let us know if you’d like free strategy session to help you devise a content marketing strategy that’s right for your business. (Did you just see that? That was content marketing right there! And here’s some more…)
Or if you’re not ready for a strategy session but you want a deeper insight into the full range of digital marketing strategies available to you, grab our free Ultimate Digital Marketing Roadmap.
PS: Just by way of example, we recently implemented some high-value content and voucher lead magnets for an allied health service business and within one month their conversion rate increased by 53%, cost per conversion decreased by 31% and overall leads to the business more than doubled. Read our case studies and testimonials here.
