Conversion from a lead into a customer does NOT require magic or manipulation. There are many misconceptions about what a conversion is and how to measure it. Before we get into the how, let's define conversion. 

The traditional definition of conversion is the process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another.

A marketing definition of conversion is getting a potential customer/client to respond to your call-to-action. When marketers talk about conversion, it often relates to views, clicks, likes, and paid transactions.

One example of a marketing / sales conversion is getting someone to open an email, while another may be someone making a purchase.

Get Conversions From Conversations

Conversations, unlike a social media "like" or an email "click through", offer a deeper understanding of your brand, as seen through the eyes of a customer.  No, a conversation does not exclusively happen in person or...

Keeping a good friend is a lot easier than making a new one, right?  The same goes for customers / clients. Maintaining your existing customer relationships is less expensive and has a better return on your investment. While it's important to put energy into your "top of funnel" efforts to find new people, I would argue that it's MORE important to work on customer retention strategies.

Creating a Customer Retention Strategy

The biggest challenge for many companies looking at their customer retention is where to begin.  Here are 5 practical customer retention strategies you can use to keep your existing customers happy over the long-term and increase your profits.

1. Customize Your Content Strategy

Speak / Write to your existing customers like you know them - because you do! No one wants to feel like another number, so create customized messaging for your customers based on their history with you.

If you know about their purchase history, then send an email...

Honesty. It's a word that so many of us claim to live by and be a reflection of our lives. And yet, business owners sometimes forget about the importance of honesty when promoting their brands. Marketing is often tied to the idea of stretching the truth, padding the truth or "making it sparkle" to sell something.  Business owners aren't trying to be dishonest people by marketing their brands. Rather, we have been taught by the Man Men era of advertising that we must "trick" people into buying things from us. 

Business Owners and Marketers: You have the power to end this ridiculous way of thinking starting here and now.  No one wants to be tricked into buying anything, because they end up feeling deceived and angry later. 

Our goal as business owners is to offer a valuable product or service to the people who want and need it. That's it. Authentic marketers understand this idea and we run with it by offering value using content marketing and content...

What's Your Lead Generation Plan?

While I love content marketing, storytelling and expressing business concepts through the written word and images, it’s all useless if you haven’t laid out a lead generation plan for your company. The phrase lead generation can seem overwhelming to non-marketers. I assure you that there is nothing to fear. Here is a quick-start guide to your lead generation plan and understanding a common "marketing funnel" in action.

Quick Start to Lead Generation

Creating Awareness About Your Company / Product / Service

This is the step you are most likely doing right now. When you publish a blog, publish a post on social media, attend a conference, or speak at an event, you are creating awareness of your company / brand. Make the best use of these tactics. When it comes to website content and social media, allow readers to subscribe to get updates. This can be done with an email newsletter or using an RSS Feed.

...

GUEST POST by Jamie Williams

Would you create a relationship with someone if you felt they were not trustworthy? Are you wasting valuable time working with someone who does not have you or your business’ best interests at heart?

Trust is the foundation of all relationships, both personal and professional. In order to grow that trust, we need to establish the foundation first. Building strong relationships can set you up for success. Below are a few ways to establish trust and create lasting relationships.

As a virtual assistant, I am always creating and maintaining relationships with clients (one being the amazing Candice!). Building trust is key to ensuring the success and growth of our clients. To me, trust is a feeling of security, a way to show someone that I am knowledgeable, reliable, honest, and always have their back.

There are Many Different Ways to Establish Trust in Business Relationships:

• Be Personable
• Communicate
• Be Honest
• Be Respectful
• Exceed...

Planning, process, systems, segmentation, and automation...these seemingly mundane concepts are the true key to balancing your customer relationships with your day-to-day business operations.

Customer Relationship Management (abbreviated "CRM”) is a term used to describe your customer communications strategy. It also refers to the software most businesses use for implementing that strategy. Before you get excited about another tech tool (or run for the hills), a smart CRM Strategy begins with people and your customer communications. 

How do you keep in touch with customers, prospects, vendors, and partners? Is it just as ideas pop up in your head? Do you have a specific system for maintaining those relationships?

For many of us, the answer to that last question is sort of or not really. However, maintaining regular communications with your vital business contacts is essential to the sustainability of your business in the long run.

Holiday Card Anxiety

If...

Would you like to…

Attract more ideal customers?

Increase your conversion rates?

Create marketing campaigns that generate engagement?

Provide useful resources for your loyal customers?

Build a feedback loop for improving your business?

If if your answer is yes, then continue reading, because this article reveals the powerful tool that so many small business owners neglect. It is highly effective, easy to use, and can completely shift the way you run your business.

What are Customer Personas?

Have you ever heard any of these phrases used before? Target Market, Target Audience, Buyer Persona, Marketing Persona, Customer Avatar

These are the phrases used to describe the semi-fictional character(s) who represent your ideal customer and ideal prospect. Businesses create these characters based on internal data on existing customers as well as external information gathered from market research.  The Success of your business’ marketing, sales, product...

DEFINE CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Customer relationship management (CRM) refers to the business strategies, processes, and technology that businesses use to organize and improve relationships with customers and other key contacts such as vendors and partners.  We collect data about customers, analyze the information, and use it to improve business relationships, boost customer loyalty, grow sales, and even make product improvements.

The most important letter in the CRM acronym is the R (Relationship). Whether you track relationships in a spreadsheet, a CRM software, or a notebook is not the largest concern.  It is the focus on relationship building and developing empathy for your customers that is the highest priority. The collection and organization of data about those relationships shows up in your CRM system.

What’s a CRM System?

A CRM system is a term that’s often used interchangeably with the term CRM software....

DEFINE CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

Customer relationship management (CRM) refers to the business strategies, processes, and technology that businesses use to organize and improve relationships with customers and other key contacts such as vendors and partners.  We collect data about customers, analyze the information, and use it to improve business relationships, boost customer loyalty, grow sales, and even make product improvements.

The most important letter in the CRM acronym is the R (Relationship). Whether you track relationships in a spreadsheet, a CRM software, or a notebook is not the largest concern.  It is the focus on relationship building and developing empathy for your customers that is the highest priority. The collection and organization of data about those relationships shows up in your CRM system.

What’s a CRM System?

A CRM system is a term that’s often used interchangeably with the term CRM...