So, you’re conversion rate is falling short of projected levels – is it the lead quality? Nah, it must be the economy – so it’s time to drop your price!
Perhaps there’s another answer?
I recently walked into a local retailer where the sales force is compensated on a commission basis. Now, I have to admit that I am in the early information gathering stage of my process - and that usually means I won’t walk into a retail store and identify myself to the sales staff but I wanted to see the product up close.
I was greeted by a young sales person and because I didn’t want to waste his time I told him that I was not going to buy today – I was here to get some information. He was kind enough to answer my questions but I could tell he wanted to go chase down the other shoppers browsing his aisles so eventually I told him that if I had other questions I would ask him.
Off he went…and with him went his chance to sell the product to me in a few weeks.
Lost opportunities. He never got my name or email address. He never asked me what my time frame was for making a decision, or what it might take to sell me today. He did his job, answered my questions and then moved on to close a sale today so he could earn his wages.
Now, compare that with our local Saturn dealership. My daughter bought a used car from them just over a year ago. Since then, every other week or so, she gets an email from the sales person. The emails are personalized but automated. The content ranges from inquiries about the performance of the car and my daughter’s satisfaction with her purchase, to invitations to special events surrounding new product launches and offers to have the car serviced by the dealer.
In the Saturn example, the focus is on a customer – a loyalty/retention effort without points and a membership card.
Nurturing programs are low cost, high return. But let’s steal the concept and, instead, apply the process to my experience at the local retail store. Imagine if the sales person at the retail store had captured my name and contact information – with a promise to send me information on upcoming sales for the product or event announcements for the new model that is due to be released in a two to three months!
That’s a nurturing program – and since most inquiries are NOT going to buy today, these programs are critical to your organization’s success because it positions you for sales with qualified buyers. The cost is minimum – the Saturn program can’t cost more than $1 per contact so over the course of a year, they will invest $12 to $24 to drive additional sales and future purchases per person. (Compare that with the hundreds spent to drive a new inquiry – it’s a bargain!)
So let me ask – how does your organization manage a conversation with qualified buyers that won’t buy today, but will buy next week or next month? How do you know that you are delivering the right message at the right time via the right communication channel? What testing do you perform in order to improve performance?
