Fusion Marketing – Digital and Brand Marketing Strategies
Our weekly “Reinvent Your Message, Marketing and Mindset” webinar series entered its 8th week with a bang. This week’s webinar revolved around fusion marketing, human connection and conversions. Jennifer delved even deeper into ways you can reinvent your business strategy to ensure that you can become dominant and profitable both now as well as deep into the future.
Fusion marketing is something that is extremely important right now. We all know by now that each business is unique, and as a result requires different marketing strategies to grow its client base. Sometimes a company has to invest in a variety of promotional methods to hit its revenue targets. Leveraging different marketing campaigns to attract new customers is what is known as Fusion Marketing. As business owners, we often think we have to do everything ourselves, but the sheer power of synergy is unbeatable. Aligning with other businesses, creating complementing campaigns and forming strategic alliances will enable you to propel your business to heights you never thought possible in the past. And as always, it all starts with Google.
What Do You Do When You Need Something?
The first and most logical answer that comes to mind is that you Google it. Google is what a vast majority of people use on a daily basis to find the information they need at any given time. From groceries and HVAC, to plumbing and yoga pants, every time you go to Google and type something it opens a metaphorical filing cabinet that holds only a limited number of participating pages. Every search yields a different size drawer with a differing number of pages. In order for any business to make any money you need to be in the top ten of the participating pages in searches related to your line of work.
Digital marketing is more of a science as opposed to an art. And numbers don’t lie. Conversions are what every business needs and the first step in the process is to make sure you’re an option.
Taking a Closer Look
Here’s effectively what happens. Every time you go to Google, and you type something in, a giant file drawer opens up and flies across the entire warehouse. Inside this drawer there’s a number of participating pages. Every single different search term you look for opens a different drawer with a different number of participating pages, technically known as competing pages. In order for you to make any money you need to be in the top 10 of that drawer, for each individual thing you want to sell, in each individual city you want to sell it. So the easiest thing to check right from the beginning is whether or not you’re an option on page one of Google.
Are You An Option On Page 1 of Google?
Are you on page one of Google for the product you want to sell and the city in which you want to sell it? For better or worse, this one is clear cut – this is a vital question with a simple Yes or No answer. If you aren’t an option you cannot make money or grow your business. If you answered NO to this question, you need to make changes. A new website is the first action you need to take. Every business that wants to grow needs content, SEO and links, all of which should be placed on your website. With a solid, high converting website as a backbone, there’s nothing standing between you and your goals.
Why You Wont’ Show Up
There are a number of reasons why you may not show up, even with a website. The first reason is that your website may not be secure. A second reason may be your choice to go the DIY route with your website and SEO. You may not have a maintenance program in place. If you don’t regularly clean up and fix errors on your site, it won’t be a trustworthy source of information. Reason number three may be inaccurate or missing information on the various directories. Ensuring that your website is mobile responsive will definitely improve your rate of appearance on Google. Humans make use of a number of gadgets to access the internet, your website needs to work regardless of how they access it. Let’s not forget voice SEO either – now more than ever before folks like to use their Siri and Alexa to get the information they need.
Don’t Fight Evolution
Fighting the evolution of marketing strategies will be your downfall. Consider this for a moment, without the evolution of technology, there may not even be such a thing as highly efficient cooling and heating automation. We would simply still be stuck in the dark ages using a fan on sweltering hot summer days. It is not only technology in your industry that advances but also the way in which human beings require and use information. Technological advancements also affect the way in which the customer seeks out companies for the services they require. It is quite simple, you cannot attract customers using new ways of finding things by using old, outdated methods like radio, yellow pages and flyers.
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What’s working in your business? → Do MORE of it
What’s not working? → Stop allocating time and money
What are your next steps? → Find out what you should be doing instead |
Now is not the time to spend vast amounts of money for quick and urgent business leads. Money is better spent on the infrastructure of your company, things that will keep a steady flow of business and allow for growth over time. Rushing into quick fix “solutions” will lead you to the same financial problems you found yourself in the past. Building a business might require some money and a whole lot of hard work. This is not the time to gamble with what you have in hopes that you come out ahead. Investing in more permanent marketing strategies will have long term effects. Another error that many companies make is to put all their eggs in one basket and spend all their available resources on one particular advertisement. This raises red flags. You open yourself up for disaster.
Continuous Evaluation
You need to start evaluating your own website. Go on Google and type the name of your city along with some of the services you offer. If your company website pops up, go through your web presence in detail and make sure that your branding is appealing to your customer base. Now is not the time to rest on your laurels, Google algorithms change regularly and for this reason your website should also be regularly evaluated and updated. Keeping your content relevant month in and month out is what will separate you from the competition.
Work vs. Progress
There are two types of customers. Proof of work and proof of progress companies. There is a distinct difference between the two. Proof of work companies have a need to be able to see exactly what work you have done, while proof of progress businesses are reliant on results which show in the conversion rates. Progress-based customers allow you the flexibility to reallocate the budget in areas that need improvement. There are distinct goals that the company wants to achieve, and it’s our job as subject matter experts to show you what needs to be done.
Referral Is Number One – Build on It
Referral business is your golden egg and needs to be protected at all costs. Guard your brand and your company reputation. People who have received your details via referrals from friends and colleagues will search you on Google. As a follow up to referrals you need to ensure that you are ranked at the top of search engine results. It is vital to increase the visibility of your company to accommodate the large number of devices and gadgets used to access the internet. Human beings as a species thrive on options. You need to ensure that your content incorporates all the possible keywords that may be used in searches that you want to be found in. If those words are not in your content, Google has no idea where to file it, and you won’t be found on those searches. Whether the search is related to a product or service, how to questions, brands or types of companies – you need to decide if you want to feature those keywords within your content. Choose wisely, and Google will reward you with more visibility and top-tier rankings.
Brand Stories – The Power of Telling
Your brand story needs to be built over time. A great brand story allows you to attract the customers you want, communicate your values, build brand equity that allows you to defend your pricing structure as well as differentiate your company from the throngs of others professing to do the same work.
Building brand equity takes time but it is by far one of the most valuable assets in your entire business. It is important to remember that brands, as with everything else, change over time. This isn’t a time to stand still. Keep changing and growing your brand. Distinguishing your brand from the competition will help you leave your mark and put you at the head of the pack. Standing out from other similar companies will help you become the company of choice. Creating your brand allows you to attract the customers you want. Use wisely your power of choice.
Money Isn’t Everything
Remember that you don’t need huge amounts of money to see your dreams come to fruition. Knowing who you are as a company and understanding your target audience goes a long way in creating a unique and powerful brand. Know your values, know your clients, know your products. If you don’t know who you are or who you serve, you are less likely to relay that information to any customer that clicks on your website. After all, if you don’t know, how will your clients?
Make It Easy
Every customer that comes to you has their own circumstances and situations. You need to remember your clients are all human and there is the possibility that a customer may be seeking discounts. Someone else may desperately need financing options in order to finally make that decision to improve their home comfort. Your customer is not just a number, she has feelings, emotions and needs. Be conscious of this, pay attention, listen and accommodate where you can. Now is the time to reinvent, recreate, re-evaluate and build your brand.
Pros and Cons of HVAC Pay Per Lead Programs: Is It the Right Choice For You?
HVAC pay per lead programs can offer fantastic results in the right digital environment. There are many benefits that can be achieved through an effective pay per lead program implementation, but not all pay per lead programs are created equal.
To reach your desired results and to convert those leads into the sales you are looking for, you have to follow the right channels, otherwise your hard-earned money will go down the drain.
What’s HVAC Pay Per Lead All About?
In essence pay per lead campaigns are carried out by a company whose sole goal is to scan the internet for genuine interest in your services, while also gathering prospective client information for you. In most cases the agreement between you, as the advertiser, and the third-party company will state that you only pay for leads which are generated on the destination site that belongs to the third party. While many may click through and look around, if they don’t sign up, you don’t pay. A legitimate lead usually entails contact information, service type (replacement, repair etc), and demographic information.
Why Pay Per Lead Could Be The Right Option for your HVAC Company
The benefits of such a campaign can have telling effects on your revenue if properly implemented. This kind of program does not come cheap, and you really must weigh up whether what you put in will be eventually justified by the ROI.
Pay per lead programs can offer a higher return on your investment, increase your conversion rates, increase acquisitions, and ensure that your customers are happier than ever before.
Warm Vs. Cold Leads
The wonderful thing about leads generated in this way is that there is already interest on the potential customer’s part. They have shown an interest in your product or service and are looking for validation that they have made the right choice. This is a far cry from cold calling and starting the uphill battle of convincing the person on the other end of the line that they need our product or service. The leads you receive through pay per lead programs are more likely to be converted to sales. The conversion rate is much higher when compared with that of cold-calling techniques.
Who Will Benefit from Pay Per Lead Campaigns?
Pay per lead programs do render results, however, depending on the industry, one lead can run into costs of around $300 at the top end of the scale. Taking this into account it is easy to see why such campaigns would be more suited to larger, more stable companies than smaller, emerging ones. Most micro, small, or emerging companies just don’t have the disposable cash to throw into a campaign of this sort, even if the conversion rate of the generated leads is much higher. It would be wise for a micro, small, or emerging company to get their brand firmly placed in the market by leveraging organic methods before diving into a costly campaign which may leave them without the cash flow to complete the work and generate the income.
It is vital to remember that certain factors will affect the success of a particular pay per lead campaign and these factors need to be considered when you make the final decision:
- The weather
- Program participation
- Demand
Large companies or those that are stalwarts in the industry will have access to a larger amount of disposable cash (marketing dollars), which they can willingly plough into a pay per lead campaign as they know they will make their money back tenfold on the converted sales. This is largely due to reputation within the industry, customer reviews, and an outstanding brand.
Different Strategies That Work in Different Ways
Pay Per Lead is a much speedier method to acquire leads, and is literally worlds apart from the set of strategies we use to generate organic leads on behalf of our clients.
Content and SEO marketing lead generation – organic
This type of campaign is not as cut and dried as you might think. Depending on the market that you want to target, the focus will be placed on different areas. Direct to the dealer leads and campaigns: These leads are referred to a new dealer form where all leads are posted to each dealer’s lead sheet. Focus areas for this type of campaign would lie in the areas of:
- Content and SEO Campaigns,
- Retargeting,
- Direct mail promotion drops to site visitors.
The lowest volume and lead quality mix
A campaign directed to micro-regions would require the leads are distributed to the dealers. Focus areas for this type of campaign would lie in the areas of:
- Regional/brand landing pages,
- Pay-per-click advertising,
- Lead distribution
The Leads
Content and SEO marketing is where most customers click through. These are the intelligent buyers who put thought and planning into their decision to purchase. In most cases these customers are looking for a company to build a relationship with rather than just undertaking a once-off purchase. They are less sensitive to prices. The dealer must rate a 4-5 star to receive the majority of these high-quality leads as they will have the most opportunity to convert these to sales. 90% of organic searchers will click on the top three links on a Google search.
The Process
Organic leads are generated by placing the dealer in the top ten positions on page one of Google. This is achieved through content, blogging, website optimization, link building, schematic markup, web administration, code optimization, and site speed improvements.
Not an Overnight Solution
This kind of campaign is not an overnight solution. It can take anything from 30 days to many years. This is dependent on the competitiveness in your area. You can expect a lower quantity of leads at a higher cost to begin with but as time passes, your lead quantity will increase and the price per lead decrease.
Pay-per-click or pay-per lead – paid strategy
A minority of customers click through on these ads and they are usually in urgent need to purchase the product or service. There is less thought, or planning involved in the purchase and it is more spur of the moment. These customers tend to be concerned with the price factor. A quick response time is imperative. Around 40 – 60% of these leads are converted to sales.
The Process
Multiple landing pages are the order of the day with offers designed to attract localized leads. Specific audiences are targeted, and traffic driven to the predetermined landing pages in our network. The leads are qualified using a series of questions to ensure that they are genuine leads. Once this has been determined we distribute the leads to the various dealers according to the prearranged agreement in place with any specific dealer.
How Long Does It Take to See Results?
In high population markets where the industry is competitive and search volumes are excessive, a high quantity of leads can be generated quickly. In low population areas, the search volume is too low to make this a profitable venture due to excessive costs per lead. In any instance, the turnaround and response time of dealers must be on point to ensure that leads are converted to sales. Urgency is the key factor here and if a customer is not helped quickly enough, they will simply move onto the next dealer.
The Verdict
The pros for implementing a pay-per-lead campaign far outweigh the cons, however, each situation is different and must be evaluated on its own merit. Undertaking such a campaign needs to be strategically planned when your company can stand to benefit from the initial outlay of paying for the leads.
Pay-per-lead can do amazing things for your business and your revenue, however, the way you implement such a strategy is key. Many new companies are hungry to get moving and increase their business flow. However this may not be the best of times to explore this option as your benefits may not be as impactful as they could be if you waited just a few months or say a year longer.
While it may be easier to close warm deals, other factors do affect the final decision made by the customer and as a new business, you may not have those ducks in a row just yet. Bide your time, strike while the iron is hot and reap all the benefits for your dollars spent.
So, is it the right choice?
Yes, pay-per-lead programs are the right choice but under the right circumstances and at the right time. What may work for an established HVAC company may not yield the same results for a startup. Factors like how seasoned are your sales team, timing, and budget all come into play.
Do the necessary homework on all your options and implement the right things, in the right order, at the right time. Don’t jeopardize results by rushing into something before your business is fully ready. Strategy is key in business if you want to grow and excel in your industry. Let us help you evaluate your unique circumstances and make an educated decision based on data, by clicking here.
