For example, let’s say you know you offer great value, and your existing customers love you, but you can’t seem to shake the “discount seeker” inquiries. Phone calls that take time away from other responsibilities and don’t bear fruit.
Or perhaps you just want to focus on moving your higher-end products or services, but you can’t seem to attract the right customer base.
The good news is that there’s a way to revise your marketing strategy to attract quality-conscious customers who appreciate what you have to offer.
To Improve Conversion Rates, You Must Attract the Right Customers
Imagine a world where your marketing attracts customers who:
- Are excited about your unique value proposition.
- Connect with your brand story on an emotional level.
- Appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of your products or services.
- Become loyal customers who rave about you to their friends and family.
This is the power of developing a strategy to build credibility in the eyes of the right audience. You improve conversion rates as a byproduct of your brand. So, let’s talk about what that looks like.
Stop Focusing on Improving Conversion Rates
It sounds counterproductive but trust us on this one; it’ll make sense shortly. To improve conversion rates there’s a statistical likelihood you need to climb up the sales funnel.
For years businesses have focused their lead generation efforts on the bottom of the sales funnel. It’s really nobody’s fault. As search engines became an efficient conduit to consumers who had an immediate need, it became an unavoidably attractive place to spend budget.
The Low Funnel Marketing Problem
The problem: as the space became increasingly crowded, and consumers became increasingly focused on making their own buying decisions (free from salesmanship) paid search got expensive. Average cost-per-clicks skyrocketed, and discerning consumers converted less and less.
As a result, businesses focused their attention on techniques that would improve conversion rates
Made sense at the time. If consumers were failing to convert, the best way to solve that problem was to focus on revising audience targets and keywords to reach the people who do convert. It’s not a bad strategy. In fact, SaaSQL created a powerful version through our Cross Channel Marketing solutions.
Of course, everyone should take advantage of the most current technology and expertise to get an edge, but there is only so much one can do to gain a competitive technical advantage. Ultimately, this consistent focus on improving marketing techniques at the bottom of the funnel often fails to address the core problem that forces many businesses to compete on price.
Climbing up The Sales Funnel to Increase Conversions
Basic marketing concepts tell us that consumers make decisions in a consistent way, regardless of which product or service we’re talking about. In other words, consumers have completely taken control of the decision making process. It’s a steady 4 step process:
- Awareness: First, the consumer becomes aware of a need or desire.
- Research: Next, the consumer research their options. Who can satisfy that need or desire?
- Consideration: Then, the consumer considers their options. Who seems to be the best fit?
- Decision: Finally, the consumer contacts those who seem to be the best fit.
Advertisers are drawn to PPC because it focuses on consumers who have a demonstrable need. Paid search clicks are often one of the last steps in the decision-making process, which places those consumers very close to a decision. The problem with focusing exclusively on a low-funnel strategy to improve conversion rates, is that the consumer still must make a DECISION about who to buy from. They still must make a DECISION regarding which business seems to be the best fit for them.
To Improve Conversion Rates, Recognize that You Reflect Your Customers
So, if the people who call your business are constantly focused on getting a deal, that means your business is seen as the right fit for that type of consumer. Meanwhile, consumers who are looking for value and quality have decided that different businesses are the right fit for them. And this, is where we find the credibility problem.
Why Credibility Matters as a Marketing Strategy
In the early days of digital marketing, we used to tell businesses that building a great website without an SEO plan was like building a beautiful home where nobody can find it. In other words, no matter how great your site is, it’s not doing much for your business if nobody ever gets to it. An apt analogy that still holds true.
Developing credibility as a marketer and company is similar. Of course, it’s important to have a great paid search strategy with a competitive budget. And yes, it’s wonderful to provide valued products / services and an excellent customer experience. But if your target customer doesn’t know who you are, isn’t aware of your unique value, doesn’t know anything about you…it’s like having a mansion in the desert.
You’ve got this shiny house and all the necessary roads to bring the consumers to you, but without having that level of built-in credibility, you’ll find you are most likely to attract deal seekers. Why? Because the consumers who are most focused on quality, value, experience, etc. tend to pursue relationships with companies they are familiar with. One study found that an amazing 82% of searchers choose a brand they are already familiar with.
It’s a matter of credibility. To improve conversion rates, it’s critical that you attract your ideal customers. If you’re not sure who they are, we wrote a guide about how to define your ideal customer profile.
Building Credibility to Improve Conversion Rates
Building credibility with your local community is about more than just ad copy. It’s a matter of meeting your target customers where they are, well before they have a need for your product or service. In other words, it’s about climbing up the funnel, placing a dedicated focus on creating relationships before the “Awareness” phase.
Here are 3 key steps that will help you do it, while increasing your conversion rates at the same time.
Three Steps to Building Brand Credibility and Improving Conversion Rates
Become a Neighborhood Insider:
- Ditch the jargon: Focus on clear, friendly language that resonates with your community.
- Get involved in the community: Sponsor local events, volunteer, or participate in discussions on community forums. This builds goodwill and positions you as a valuable local figure.
- Partner with local influencers: Collaborate with bloggers, micro-influencers, or community leaders to tap into their engaged audience and gain their endorsement.
Show, Don’t Just Tell:
- Reallocate Your Marketing Budget: Direct a portion of your budget to target your ideal customer with messaging that informs & educates. Be a problem solver, not a vendor.
- Showcase positive reviews and testimonials: Let satisfied customers do the talking! Feature snippets in your ads and landing pages.
- Feature case studies or success stories: Show how you’ve helped others within the community. This builds trust and demonstrates your expertise.
- Use technology to personalize your messaging. In time, you’ll become an advisor that they can trust.
Engage, Don’t Sell:
- Go beyond keywords: Analyze local search trends and tailor your campaigns to address specific community needs. Offer helpful advice, not just promotional offers.
- Respond to questions and reviews promptly: This shows you care about your customers and value their feedback. Engage in positive interactions, even with critics.
- Be of value before you need to be: This one is simple. Give, give, and give more. It may feel like a one-sided relationship in the short-term…but the benefits will be felt indefinitely.
Wrapping Up
Remember, building local credibility and improving conversion rates takes time and effort. Like SEO, it’s not a matter of accomplishing a goal. It’s a steady process for which the value will unfold measurably in time.
But by putting yourself in your neighbors’ shoes, showcasing your value, and actively engaging with the community, you put yourself in the position to transform your paid search strategy, and maximize the value of every marketing campaign you launch. You’ll be able to compete on your own terms, based on the unique value you bring to the market. The happy side effect? You’ll stop paying to reach people who don’t want to buy from you anyway. A secret weapon to decreasing customer acquisition costs.
Ultimately, when approached this way, to improve conversion rates becomes a byproduct of a much more meaningful effort: you’ve made your business worth something.
