While you may be getting lots of leads, the true measure of success lies in their quality. Many businesses struggle with low contact rates, fake leads, and wasted sales team efforts. These issues not only impact ROI but can also train ad platforms to focus on the wrong audience.
Today, I'm going to share three simple yet effective techniques we've used to boost lead quality by 20% in just 30 days.
1. Optimise Your Thank You Page
Don't let your thank you page be a missed opportunity. Instead of a simple "thanks for submitting," use this space to:
- Clearly outline next steps
- Reinforce your unique selling propositions (USPs)
- Build excitement for the upcoming call
- Provide additional value
For example, with a B2B loan lender client, we created a thank you page that explained the need for six months of bank statements and filed accounts. This prepares any potential clients and sets clear expectations.
By doing this, we saw a 15% increase in leads who were prepared with the necessary documents when the sales team called.
We've also found success in adding video content to thank you pages. It's a great way to provide more information about your company and build trust. In one case, we included a 2-minute video featuring customer testimonials and a brief company overview.
This resulted in a 25% increase in leads who mentioned the video during their sales call, indicating higher engagement and interest.
If you have awards or testimonials, this is the perfect place to showcase them. We've seen that featuring industry awards can increase trust by up to 30%, especially for B2B clients.
Pro tip: Include a calendar booking system for leads who might not be immediately available for a call. This flexibility can significantly improve conversion rates. In our tests, offering this option increased successful contact rates by 22%.
2. Add Validation to Your Forms
I'm consistently surprised by how many businesses overlook this crucial step. Adding validation to your forms can:
- Stop fake phone numbers
- Prevent invalid emails
- Ensure accurate postcode entries
- Reduce data cleaning time for your team
Phone number validation should be your minimum standard. By implementing basic phone number format checking, we've seen invalid number submissions drop by 40% for some clients.
However, if you're dealing with high-value leads or experiencing persistent issues, consider implementing One-Time Password (OTP) validation. This involves a plug in where the user submits their number in the form but cannot progress until they receive a 6 digit code via SMS to prove they’re real.
OTP validation might seem extreme, but it's incredibly powerful. It not only confirms the lead's seriousness but also significantly improves your data quality. If you are using PMAX campaigns on Google at scale and are having lead quality issues, this is an absolute must.
In our experience, while it may reduce overall form submissions by 10-15%, the quality of leads often improves by 40-50%. Remember, it's better to have fewer, high-quality leads than a large number of time-wasters.
3. Improve Follow-up Messaging
Once a lead submits a form, your follow-up should be prompt and multi-channel. We've seen great success with:
- Sending both email and SMS confirmations
- Sharing your caller ID in text messages
- Adding value with guides or additional information in emails
- Repeating office hours for clarity
- Personalising messages based on form responses
Here's a simple yet effective SMS template we use:
"Hi [Name], Thanks for requesting a quote from us. Please look out for a call from [Your Business Phone Number]. We're excited to discuss [Specific Service They Enquired About]."
This small step can significantly increase the likelihood of leads answering your calls. In fact, we've seen answer rates improve by up to 15% when implementing this strategy.
For email follow-ups, don't just repeat the thank you message. Instead, provide value. For instance, if you're a marketing agency, you could send a brief guide on "5 Quick Ways to Improve Your Social Media Presence." This not only keeps your leads engaged but also positions you as an expert in your field.
We've also found success in segmenting follow-up messages based on the information provided in the form. For example, if a lead indicates they're interested in a specific product or service, the follow-up email can contain more detailed information about that particular offering.
The Results Speak for Themselves
By implementing these three techniques, we've consistently seen:
- Better contact rates (improved by 10-20% on average)
- Fewer fake leads
- Higher RO
- Significant time saved for sales teams
Most importantly, these changes help train your ad algorithms to focus on the right audience, compounding your success over time. We've observed that after 60-90 days of implementing these tactics, many clients see their cost per qualified lead decrease by 10-20%.
Remember, improving lead quality isn't about drastic overhauls. Often, it's these simple, targeted changes that make the biggest difference. The key is consistency and continuous optimisation based on the data you gather.
If you have any questions or need more specific advice for your business, don't hesitate to reach out. Let's make your lead generation more efficient and effective together. After all, in today's competitive landscape, the quality of your leads can make or break your sales success.
