I want to help eliminate barriers to success in as many ways as possible so that includes any tech, creativity or resource barriers. All of those can be major roadblocks to your goal to create a pipeline of potential customers and clients.
First I need to let you in on the secret that your social media followers are not your only leads. Because you actually know very little about the individuals behind those likes, shares, and comments. They might be the right people but if Facebook or Instagram disappeared tomorrow, would you have a way to find those people again?
Second, we need to talk about leads and what info you need before diving into the ways to go about getting it. If social media doesn’t make for a database you can own, what does?
You have to build up your Rolodex or address book or list of contacts. Create your own file of names, emails and even phone numbers of the people you know have an interest in what you do so you can find and reach them whenever you want.
I highly recommend going digital with a spreadsheet or go fully automated with an email service provider or CRM system. CRM stands for customer relationship management and is a specific set of software purchased to automate a variety of services in a business.
CRM systems are an excellent investment and offer some serious functionality. If you have one, you probably do not have a use for this episode because they most definitely are not low-tech.
Im choosing to focus in on ways to collect and store leads that are more grassroots and entry-level with three low-tech ways to start collecting leads today.
Enter to win
Holding an enter to win or sweepstakes is a very simple way to collect information. It can be as elaborate or as basic as you can manage. A low tech way to execute an enter to win involves a few key steps.
The first thing is of course creating the prize or offer. You want it to be something that will pique their interest and worthy of them sharing a little bit of their personal information with you. Ideas could include a gift basket of items from your business, a specialty service you offer, a unique experience or a prize you purchase for the specific intent of giving it away.
If you have a brick and mortar store or are able to utilize an in-person event to collect leads, you can create a simple display to promote the prize. Go low budget with simple pen and paper or create an official enter to win form with lines of text that ask for name, email, and phone number.
When a potential lead completes the form you place it into a basket or box to serve as their opportunity to win. When you are ready to execute the prize drawing, don’t throw those papers away! Enter their information into a simple spreadsheet with excel or google sheets and you now have a list of leads for future use.
Even if every person you get to provide their information to you doesn’t choose you this time, you now have their information and can reach out with other services you offer outside of their wedding needs.
Special offer- discount, pre-sale
There are a lot of low-tech and very user-friendly ways to collect leads online. One very simple way is with a free email service provider like MailChimp or MailerLite. With these services, you will create an online exchange via email and then store the emails you collect within the system for future use.
A great way to start collecting information from buyers or interested customers, is to create a special offer that can only be obtained if they provide their contact information.
Certainly, you have seen this often when shopping online. It’s that box that pops up offering 10 or 20% off but the only way to take advantage of the offer is to provide your personal contact information.
The offer is then delivered directly to your email for you to use within minutes. Its super friendly to the customer but also highly effective for you as the business to use as a point of entry to build an email list.
You might be wondering if offering a discount is a good idea. And thats a great question because often times I will say no. Except for in the case of building an email list.
According to Shopify, 97% of retailers use discounting as their top sales tactic. And Juniper Research states that by 2022, digital coupon redemptions will top $91 billion.
If a discount is not something you are interested in, other options include a free gift with purchase or even exclusive access to a special product or service. Like a pre-sale or waiting list.
Conduct a survey
Another way to collect leads can be done regardless of the product or service you provide and that is a survey. A very simple online survey allows you to gather opinions and feedback in addition to basic contact information.
You don’t need a website to execute this one and you can push out surveys through any number of channels including social media.
Free survey tools like survey monkey or google forms are great for online data collection or a quick one-pager that someone can complete with pen and paper.
What does your survey need to be about? Honestly, it can be anything but it is definitely best for it to be something that is logically tied to your brand or business.
There is power in data and the more you know about your customers, the better you will be able to serve them. Ask a few questions about problems they might be facing, preferences for certain products, or buying habits. And don’t forget the important demographic information including name, email, and phone.
Those are my proven methods to start the lead collection process. Next comes understanding what you can do with the info you have.
Data and more data
If you don’t currently have an email system, I highly recommend getting started with a service that offers a free option. Two that I have personally used are Mail Chimp and MailerLite. They offer all the templates and tutorials you will need to get your list set up. And really, the only thing you need to get started is an email address.
Don’t have an email for your business? Get one.
Gmail is very user-friendly and low tech so you can create a simple yourbusinessname@gmail.com in minutes. Is it perfect? Maybe not but its a great way to get started.
Email marketing is a marketing strategy that involves sending emails to your target audience. It’s one of the best ways to turn prospects into buyers and one-off customers into engaged and loyal customers. In my experience, investing in a full integrated email automation system paid for itself within the first month.
Your email marketing strategy can include sending weekly newsletters, promotional emails, and special deals for customers. It allows you to create a relationship with your audience and build loyalty to your brand.
Again, it can be as elaborate or as basic as you want it to be but the most important thing to do is start. Start collecting leads.
It can be a piece of paper on a clipboard or an excel file on your computer but start building a database of people who you can turn into customers. Not just followers on your Instagram page but true leads you can reach out to in a more personal way with information they will want.
So try one or try all three, but just give it a try. I would love to hear about what you choose and your results.
For more on this topic, tune in to this episode of the Motherhood Merged Podcast.
