Assumptions are arguably responsible for a great deal of revenue loss and misplaced energy when it comes to lead generation. Instinctively making decisions based on intuition may have worked 30 years ago, but in a world with millions of variables and world wide connection in milliseconds, it beckons the question of whether one can still simply base a decision on an assumption when it comes to your business marketing strategies? Or is there an alternate way of making well informed progressive decisions that give you certainty and clear strategy going forward.
Through interaction with businesses and marketing companies, Kaomi has identified the following assumptions that are detrimental for business lead generation and need to be actively challenged:
1. If I Build a Website, The Perfect Customers will Magically Appear and Inquire Within the First Month.
If you are in a generic (or competitive) industry with little room to innovate, there is a great need to innovate and use your online marketing strategies to reach your customers and draw them to your site, instead of passively waiting (and hoping), they will find you. If you are in a niche market, offering specialized services or products, don’t make the assumption that clients will find it easy to find you and know about your offerings that exist. Being proactive in your marketing strategies actively pursues your clients, instead of waiting for them to come to you.
2. Historically Marketing Option (x) Used to Work Extremely Well.
More often than not, one can idolize past successes in marketing strategies that, during a time, were effect to reach clients. It is a false sense of certainty to believe that one can apply the same strategy in all contexts over time, as what was once results-based marketing, can easily slip into a strategy that is based on emotions and assumptions. The human aspect of marketing cannot be underestimated, just as human beings, generations and society changes and evolves, so too, should your strategies. Business is psychology, and the ability to produce successful results again and again, being critical to adapt one’s strategy, ensures you are able to replicate and scale-up your marketing strategy to keep your business innovative and relevant to current markets.
3. Cold Calling is a Better Option than Digital Marketing Because I Know We Will Get Results.
The effectiveness of ‘Cold Calling’ (i.e. people sitting in a room making hundreds of phone calls with the hope of selling or advertising products and services) can be used to expand your business and is highly recommend for an aggressive, short-term solution to acquire more customers. If you looking for a more medium to long-term marketing solution, that has greater sustainability and guarantees results, Google Adwords is definitely the right solution and a marketing strategy that should be explored. Content marketing, using your website and advertisements online, to provide information to clients is a long-term strategy, to invest in the presence of your business online. Therefore, there are many more options to effective marketing strategies that go beyond the short-term solutions of ‘cold-calling’. Each strategy has its purpose and together, they can be used holistically to effectively reach your clients and ensure the sustainability of your business marketing.
4. People Don’t Like Clicking on Paid Ads.
This is an assumption that many businesses believe when it comes to ‘pay-per-click’ (PPC) advertising as people think clients purposefully avoid the ‘paid ads’ they see online, instead of actively clicking them. To provide greater context on the reality of paid ads, about 30% of users are using Ad Blocker according to Business Insider, however most standard Ad Blockers allow for ads on Google itself and only block display ads on actual websites. Secondly according to Search Engine Watch 55% of people do not know the difference between paid and organic rankings (which means they are not going to actively avoid your ad, especially if it is ranked clearly at the top of their search list). Many businesses are unaware that paid ads drive a higher conversion rate, as research has shown there is a 1.5x higher conversion rate compared to organic traffic (SEOmoz article). This means paid ads can be used strategically to provide searching clients with the products or services they are specifically looking for. So, why not be number 1 on their search list?
It is true that Paid Ads cost you money, and if people click you ad and there is no conversion, your concern is that it was money not well used… however, a thought to leave you with, when considering your online marketing strategies is that every form of digital marketing comes at a cost. Whether your budget is spent on SEO, with an in-depth content driven sales funnels, or highly tailored Google Adwords strategies, money will be spent. So, a better question to ask is ‘which one is going to drive the best ROI for your business?’
5. Our Best Clients are Our Referrals, so We Don’t Have any Marketing Budget.
There is no doubt that the best clients do come from referrals and they arguably yield the highest ROI, as closing the sale requires little investment as someone else has done the marketing for you. However, we cannot rely on referrals alone, especially in such a competitive global market. Digital marketing can play an effective role, as part of your holistic marketing strategy as it allows your customers to digitally engage with your brand and find the answers they are looking for. Digital marketing is also the perfect place for online referrals, as customers can share and refer your brand as it develops and grows. Essentially, using digital marketing for lead generation should be an extension of your referral marketing.
6. We’ve Paid Money for our Website so it Should Work Well and Communicate Our Message.
Building a website and expecting people to come visit is like building a Mac Donald’s in the middle of a desert and expecting the drive-through to get sales. There is a distinctive difference between Web Development and Digital Marketing. Web development focuses on the experience that the user has while engaging your brand, whereas Digital Marketing focuses on driving relevant, intentionally driven traffic to your brand. Understanding this difference and budgeting will ensure the success of your brand.
These are 6 assumptions we’ve identified when using Digital Marketing to achieve Lead Generation. If you have some assumptions you’ve found in lead generation, comment below and let us know your thoughts.
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