Google Ads is one of the most effective strategies for generating new leads and customers. But the search ad space is highly competitive, so these leads don’t come cheap!
Data source: WordStream by LocaliQ
In this post, we’re going to cover five ways to maximize the chances of your leads becoming customers so you can get the highest returns on your advertising investment.
Converting your Google Ads leads should not be too difficult, since you’re capturing a highly qualified audience who is searching for exactly what you have to offer. But homeowners typically vet many providers at once, so here are some ways to ensure they choose you.
When we say don’t delay on this first step, we mean it. The shocking fact is that seconds matter when it comes to that first contact with new leads.
There is a 900% decrease in lead conversions between minutes 5 and 10. If you can respond to leads immediately, you exponentially increase your chances of converting them.
If you’re wondering how on earth you’re supposed to respond to every single lead in five minutes or less, the key is automation. Use an automation tool to contact your lead as soon as they take a conversion action on your site.
That initial outreach is just about getting on someone’s radar screen. Not every lead will respond to your first outreach, but if and when they do, you can hand the communication off to a live service representative to handle the interaction.
What should that outreach look like? We recommend using multiple channels to increase your chances of getting a response.
It should start with a text though. A phone call was the gold standard in the home services space for many years. But things have changed dramatically, and today’s consumers prefer to be contacted by text.
Texting is also beneficial for your business. People open nearly every text they receive, and the average response time to a text is less than two minutes! Plus, response rates to texts are significantly higher than other forms of communication.
This is why it’s important that your communication platform includes texting, and that your texting platform includes automation. For help choosing the right tool for you, consider these key features to look for in a texting platform.
But that doesn’t mean text should be your only channel! You can (and should) still include phone and email outreach in your game plan.
This is a big one. So many businesses hesitate to reach out to the same lead multiple times –they feel like anything more than one or two messages is overkill.
In reality, it usually takes eight attempts to reach a lead! If you give up before that point, you’re probably leaving money on the table.
The key here is to develop a cadence for your ongoing outreach. You want to vary the outreach type and give some space between touchpoints so your lead doesn’t feel overwhelmed.
A sample lead outreach cadence might look like this:
There are no rules for the best cadence for lead outreach. It’s about experimenting within your business and finding the best flow for you!
The other place where some businesses get tripped up is in how they craft their outreach missives.
Remember, this is just an opening salvo to connect—you don’t have to tell your new lead every piece of information about your business. In fact, if you try to do that, you might scare them off.
Short messages that focus on your lead’s needs, not your own, are best. Not sure what to say? A lead outreach text might say something like this:
Hi [First Name], it’s [Your Name] with [Company Name]. Thanks for submitting your form! I wanted to get you scheduled for an estimate or answer any questions you have. How can I help?
Remember to keep it short and end with an invitation to continue the conversation. That’s the key to effective outreach!
As you can imagine, all this outreach will be a lot of work if you do it manually. That’s why you must automate the process wherever possible.
Fortunately, there are numerous opportunities to rely on technology throughout the lead nurture process.
This starts with using a CRM. Ensuring every lead gets logged in one place makes it easier to manage follow-up (both short- and long-term) and keep contacts from falling through the cracks.
An automated communication platform is also crucial. By setting a cadence for your outreach and automating texts, calls, and emails all in one platform, you can adopt a “set it and forget it” approach.
Then, once a lead responds, your team can continue the conversation in detail.
You’ve worked hard and paid money to drum up new leads with Google Ads; don’t let them slip away! Once you’ve gotten leads to take that critical first action, use the tips in this post to take them across the finish line and become a customer. To recap, they are:
Use these six strategies to get leads and customers to respond to your outreach, so you can improve your conversion rates and ROI.
Learn how to convert more of the leads you're paying for into appointments and sales—for higher ROI and revenue.
Book more appointments and sales with these 10 ways to improve your speed to lead—plus lead response time stats.