Now, let’s talk about how to reach qualified leads to maximize your ROI.
As simple as it sounds, the key is to narrow your prospects as much as possible. Move from shotgun, to rifle, to laser-guided missile. Now, if you’re selling something that every decent human being likes (say, chocolate banana malts), this might not apply to you. If that’s the case, please contact us directly so we can sample your product.
If you’re not so fortunate, get picky with your lead generation money. Of course by now you know your target audience, their buying triggers, and the key messages that resonate with them. If not, read here.
Depending on where you live, and how much time you spend on the computer, you’re inundated with marketing all day long. According to the big brains over at SJInsights consumers are exposed to over 5,000 messages per day, about 350 of those are ad-only exposures. Only 86 have got any consumer awareness, and only 12 make an impression, engaging the target audience.
Seems pretty bleak, right?
Traditional media was built on the foundation of getting the lowest cost per thousand (CPM) impressions. For most marketers, those days are over; there’s simply too much clutter. For your marketing to be effective, the message has to be relevant, well-timed and have a clear, compelling call to action.
Marketing can make people aware of your product or service, but it can’t make them want or (more importantly) buy it.
Hit ‘em where they live
It should be no surprise that different age groups prefer different channels of communication (Try sending a text to my grandmother if you don’t believe me. Just kidding, she’s dead.).
The nerds at Marketing Sherpa shed some specific (but not earthshattering) statistics.
- 18-35-year-olds are best reached through email, social media, online videos, mobile apps, text, and surprisingly were more open to a phone call than any other demographic.
- For the 35-44-year-olds, email is the clear winner. Direct mail is next, followed by TV, print media, and text.
- 45-54-year-olds are best reached by email, direct mail, TV, and print.
- 55-64-year-olds are most readily communicated to via email, direct mail, TV, and print.
- 65+ prefer communication via email, closely followed by direct mail, then print and TV.
See, no surprises. OK, maybe one surprise. Email was the clear winner in each category.
Now, that doesn’t mean that you can’t send direct mail to an 18-35-year-old, it just means that it better be something special, with high impact.
So, if email is the favorite channel of communication for each segment, why isn’t it always effective? Is your content compelling? Is it highly personalized? Is it welcome? If prospects don’t opt-in to your email campaign, it’s going right into the SPAM file (oh, and it’s illegal).
Give to get
Successful email campaigns (any campaign, actually) aren’t all about you. They’re about the prospect. You have to give them something of value; ideally, something that positions you as an expert or trusted advisor. Link them to download a whitepaper, an educational video, etc.
The same holds true for the other media channels as well. Sure, prospects need to be aware of your product or service, but as they move through the buyer’s journey popularized by HubSpot from awareness, to consideration, to decision you have to be prepared to communicate with them based on where they are in their buying cycle.
The days of a one-size-fits-all marketing campaign are over; it’s time to pull out the haute couture. No matter how you are reaching your qualified leads, make sure that you are tracking your costs and the value of new customers. You need to ensure that those dollars are not being thrown down the drain and they are creating a return on your investment.
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