Think about the last big purchase you made. Before making the purchase, did you only look for the website and make the purchase immediately? I am sure you didn’t. The same goes with other buyers too. No one directly purchases from any service provider in the first go. Today, in this blog we will share some marketing tips for service businesses that can work well for your business.
Let’s check both paid and free marketing strategies, through which you can generate leads for your service business.
So, let’s go!
What are lead generation strategies for service companies?
61% of companies’ most significant challenge is lead generation. Lead generation for service business is the one through which you can get your target audience contact information and convince them for sales communication. Through effective lead generation strategies you can:
- Fill up your sales pipeline
- Come up with email distribution list
- Know the most qualified leads
- Customize your sales and marketing efforts.
Free lead generation methods for service businesses
Let us first start with the free lead generation methods. These are instrumental to your business mid to long term success.
1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is an organic way to boost the ranking of your website on search engine pages. This strategy helps companies to increase their credibility and brand awareness. Usually, customers (including me!) trust a website if it is present on the first page of Google. Let this happen with SEO.
SEO can help your company to improve online visibility, and increase website visitors and leads. High engagement and dwell time reduces the website’s bounce rate. Thus, a healthy, well- SEO optimised website can compel customers to fill out the form or ask for a quote from your company.
Pros:
- Easy to win customers’ trust
- Get measurable results
- Increase relevant traffic.
Cons:
- It takes time to improve website ranking
- Google Algorithms keep changing
- It is tough to rank high-competition keywords
2. Client Referral
It is also called referral marketing. It is a human tendency to believe in a brand more if someone else has availed of their services and is satisfied with the brand. Referrals made by existing customers attract new customers. Positive feedback about your brand will increase the brand’s credibility.
The rule of referral marketing is simple: A satisfied client is more likely to refer your services to others. These referrals have greater chances of conversion, and thus making client referral as one of the most effective lead generation strategies for service companies.
Pros:
- Get loyal customers
- Improve retention rate
- Increase conversion rate
Cons:
- Difficulty in quality control
- It is slow
- Audience is limited
3. Pricing Calculator
The primary aim of a pricing calculator is to let the visitors know about the price estimate for availing your services. This strategy is very effective for lead generation. It can be done in two ways:
First, you can provide the price estimate to the visitors, once they enter their contact information. This way you can nurture the visitors in a more personalized manner through phone or email. You can convince them for sales after they get the price estimate.
Secondly, create a price calculator and ask website visitors to know the pricing.
This is especially common for booking any appointment. In this option, visitors can immediately get the price estimate and can make their buying decision.
We have a website design calculator that helps you find the approximate price range for making a website.
Check the above image for reference. We have allowed customers to calculate the price estimate of availing our web design services. This will quickly help them to have an approximate estimate to make a decision.
4. Conversion Focused website
A conversion-focused web design is the one that uses time-tested design principles to compel users to take actions.
- You must mention your services on the home page to let the visitors understand your offerings right after visiting your website.
- If possible add some trust badges at the bottom or top of your home page to impress your customers.
- To communicate with your customers effectively, you must have compelling content on the website that can keep visitors glued to the web page for a longer duration.
5. Rank Organic Content on Search
Organic content is content that is distributed on the internet without a paid promotion. Such content aims to enhance the visibility and conversion rate of the website with non-paid means. Let’s understand the concept with an organic lead generation example.
Suppose I have a health-related website focusing on weight loss. After conducting basic keyword research, I found that many of my customers search for the ‘best exercises to lose belly fat’. As per this information, I will create a blog with the title ‘10 ways to reduce belly fat’. This blog will contain exercises and other eating habits to provide solutions to my audience.
Once the blog is complete, I will insert relevant keywords and start promoting it on social media. If my blog gets maximum attention on social media, it will increase traffic on my website, which will ultimately generate leads for me.
Figures to consider: The #1 organic result in Google search enjoys a click-through rate of around 27.6%, while the same for paid ads is 3.17%
Pros:
- Organic content is cost-effective
- It seems less pushy to customers.
Cons:
- It is a time-taking process
- It is not effective if the audience is unknown
Paid lead generation options for service businesses
Now let us see the paid lead generation options that you can leverage to skyrocket your lead generation.
1. Facebook ads
Through Facebook lead ads, companies can generate leads on Facebook. Running Facebook ads will allow you to gather your target audience information within Facebook. Facebook offers sophisticated targeting based on your customers’ demographics, behavior, and geographic location. Thus it allows you to reach out to the audience with the highest accuracy.
Here’s how this ad strategy works:
When users see Facebook ads in their News feed, they may click on your call-to-action, such as ‘Sign Up’ or ‘get a quote’ (if interested). A form will pop up with all the information already filled up by using Facebook information like name, email address, and phone number.
Once a customer clicks on the submit button, he will become a lead for you.
Through personalized Facebook ads, you can put your business in front of only relevant customers who are looking for your services. To create a personalized ad below steps are required:
- Define your business goal
- Select your audience
- Make your creative stand out with good ad copies and images
- Set the right budget.
With these personalized ads you can find new customers, who may not know about your business but surely are looking for offerings similar to you.
Pros:
- Mobile-friendly
- Get a more targeted audience
- Fetch data fast with less effort
Cons:
- Ads don’t send the users to your website or landing page.
- The possibility of getting poor-quality leads is higher.
2. Google PPC
Google allows brands to advertise their products or services on its search engine. More than 4.9 billion users in the world use Google. Thus using this search engine as a medium to advertise can help companies to cover almost all of their target audience.
Pay per-click (PPC) is all about paying Google to advertise your brand at the top of the search engine page. In this strategy, you pay Google whenever any visitor clicks on the website ad. When done effectively, these ads can drive potential customers on your website to become leads.
Pros:
- Get instant results
- Targeted advertising
- Improved visibility
Cons:
- Requires constant monitoring
- Low-quality traffic
3. Buy Leads
You can buy quality leads from any online or lead generation platform. To purchase leads from a reputed company, you first need to know your requirements and the type of customer you are looking for. Before making the final purchase, you must verify the lead list to ensure quality.
Pros:
- Get instant leads from agencies
- Save your time and start nurturing the leads immediately
Cons:
- Lead may be of bad quality
- Your agency may share the same leads with other companies
Final Takeaway
Lead generation is the backbone of any business. I hope you have now understood various ways with their pros and cons to choose the best option for your business. Ultimately, it would help if you had leads to close sales and get success in your industry. Use the strategies mentioned above to avoid slipping away visitors from your website.
