Attracting new leads on a daily basis might sound like hard work, but the potential upside is
significant as well, as an increased number potential customers can directly translate to more
sales, thus helping the business grow steadily over time. Targeting local leads is a great way for
especially small and medium companies to achieve results in a relatively short timeframe.
So this article will explore the idea of creating a marketing funnel for small business ventures,
measuring the impact of the efforts, in order to provide an actionable blueprint that will help your
business bring new leads around the clock. Enjoy!
Why a Local Lead Funnel?
Most small and medium businesses struggle with inconsistent leads and orders, where some
days might be busy while others more or less dead. By using an automated local lead funnel,
this can be avoided since the funnel will generate leads day and night.
Furthermore, the local marketing funnel is designed in such a way that it will qualify the potential
leads before they reach the business owner or sales representative, meaning that no time is
wasted dealing with leads that are not solid.
The funnel will also aim at nurturing the leads until they are ready to make a purchase or
otherwise convert into customers, making it possible to scale the business further without extra
work or care for each particular lead individually.
Step 1 – Attracting Local Leads
The first step of the blueprint deals with getting local prospects into the lead generation funnel to
begin with. This is the most important step, as the more optimized and effective the funnel is at
attracting leads, the more leads can then be converted into paying customers down the line.
Businesses should establish a Google My Business listing for starters, and then spend time
optimizing this page for keywords that apply to local customers, as well as the products or
services the business offers.
It is also important to obtain backlinks from other local websites, social media profiles and more,
in order to establish the listing among the top in the area. This will take care of the passive lead
generation. To boost the business further, it is possible to use geo-targeted ads on Facebook,
Instagram and other websites/social platforms, in order to reach people in the local area.
Step 2 – Capturing Leads
Next up we need to turn the visitors into leads, by leading them down the funnel to a landing
page with a clear headline, a sales-oriented pitch and a strong call-to-action. This will convince
the majority of people that are genuinely interested in the products or services.
To further improve upon the landing page, it is possible to use enticing offers that convert
effectively. One such strategy for this involves using a so-called lead magnet, offering up a
special discount, free guide or consultation etc.
Step 3 – Nurture and Convert
While the first two steps might results in converted leads already, it is important to further
nurture the potential customers. This can be done by an automated campaign that sends emails
or text messages for a few days after their visit to your landing page. This keeps them engaged
with your concepts, while also establishing trust and familiarity with your brand.
It is also important to really spend some time improving the sales process itself. Use a modern
booking calendar, a well-made ecommerce store, or a beautiful website that elevates your
content even further to convert even more leads. Make sure that all elements work without
issue, to avoid any friction in the user experience.