Do You Have a Traffic Problem or a Lead Problem?

Business owners want more traffic, leads, and business.

They're certain that's what it will take to solve their problems, but the simple truth is, they're not even sure what their problems are. 

While all 3 are certainly desirable, trying to solve everything all at once will often times result in the resolution of nothing.

Aware that most all of us have little time to waste, I think it's time that someone sets the record straight. 

Rather than pour time and resources into areas that simply don't need attention, I've outlined the difference between a traffic problem and a lead problem to help you course correct accordingly. 

Diagnosing a Traffic Problem

Perhaps the most revealing sign that you’re struggling with traffic is if you’re coming up short on your numbers, even though sales is performing on point.

It’s not that visitors aren’t converting, it’s not that sales is missing the mark, but rather the only feasible reason for this is a shortage of traffic.

Remedy:

If sales is closing at a high percentage but your business goals are being left unmet, it’s likely that marketing isn’t feeding sales enough volume.

However, throwing more touch points, premium content, or landing pages at the problem isn’t going to solve anything. In order to course correct, marketing needs to focus their efforts on feeding the top of the funnel.

After all, you can’t expect more to come out the bottom unless you’re maintaining input at the top, right?

This bump in the road calls for a strategic awareness strategy with a heavy emphasis on blogging and social media.

Blogging

It’s important to note that the opportunities that you’re seeking are at the beginning of the sales cycle. They are full of curiosity, and it's likely that they're currently employing Google to run searches on a regular basis as they search for answers.

With that being said, it’s critically important that you devise a plan for optimizing and distributing high quality blog content.

First, you must identify your ideal customer’s pain points in order to generate an understanding of what they are plugging into search engines. From here, you can begin to create informative content that aims to provide solutions to their search queries.

If you have existing blog posts, don’t hesitate to go back and optimize the headlines and content to improve their search engine ranking.

Social Media

Armed with compelling, optimized content, marketers must then focus on distributing it through social media channels to facilitate sharing and attract new visitors.

This doesn’t mean blasting out headlines and hoping for a return. This means identifying what platforms your ideal audience is spending the most time on, finding unique ways to spin the content so that it appeals to their needs, and taking the time to talk back.

For more on how to fill the top of your sales funnel, check out these tips.

Diagnosing a Lead Problem

Marketing has seen incremental growth in traffic and leads, and they're feeling good. Yet business still isn't hitting its goals.

If there are a limited number of conversion points on your website, it’s no wonder why you’re struggling to move these leads along.

Remedy:

Although traffic is a necessary part of the equation, it's critical that your business has a variety of conversion opportunities on your website to assist lead generation.

While the previous solution was focused on filling the top of the funnel, a lead problem calls for efforts pinpointed on converting the visitors you’re already bringing in.

This is where multiple calls-to-action, targeted premium content, and optimized landing pages come into play.

Calls-to-action

In order to get the conversion rate you're looking for you need to map out a series of calls-to-action that will appeal to both different personas and different stages of the sales funnel.

While 'Request a Consulation' might catch the eye of a more sales-ready lead, new leads will be looking for something a bit more introductory.

It's important to remember that just because a lead isn't ready to jump on the phone with you, doesn't mean they're a lost cause. This simply means that you need to do a better job positioning the resources they'll need to get to that point. 

Premium content

Speaking of options, you want to be sure that you have a variety of premium content designed to speak to the needs of multiple personas.

If you're having trouble cementing a topic, ask your sales team and client services department to make a list of the question that they are most commonly asked during interactions with prospects and existing customers. Keep in mind that these pain points should be more a bit more high level than something you could cover in a simple "how-to" blog post. 

With content crafted around their problems, they'll have no reason not to convert.

Landing pages

According to HubSpot, companies who increased their total number of landing pages from 1-5 to 6-10 didn’t see an increase in leads, however companies that increased their landing page count from 10 to 15 saw a 55% increase in leads.

While focusing on quantity will surely help your cause, it’s equally as important that you commit to quality. To ensure you’re lifting conversion rates, focus on putting the following 5 elements in place on every landing page:

• A strong headline: The headline is the first point of contact a visitor will have with your landing page. Make a strong first impression.

• Clear value: The offer's benefits should be clearly and concisely defined, often times through the use of bullet points.

• One specific goal: Landing pages that try to cover all the bases won’t see strong results because there is simply too much going on for them to focus on just one element.

• A form: While you'll want your lead capture forms to collect valuable information from your visitors, try to avoid over stuffing them with a ton of extra form fields. Don’t ask for everything all at once.

• A compelling image or video: With no room for lengthy written explanations, allow a compelling visual to carry out the rest of your message.