So, how can you automate something that, on the surface, seems to require a fair amount of human touch — without losing the quality of your generation efforts?

The answer lies in automating repetitive tasks with software platforms. Automated lead generation fills your pipeline with high-quality leads without manual effort, so your sales and marketing team can focus on what they do best — closing deals.

What is automated lead generation?

When you think about automation, do images of giant factories churning out cars made by robots come to mind? Well, car factories and automated lead generation have more in common than you think. 

Both let technology do the heavy lifting on repetitive, everyday tasks, leaving you free to concentrate on those irreplaceably human jobs, like directly interacting with customers. 

With lead generation automation tools, you can instantly collect email addresses from prospective customers and enter them into your sales funnel and beyond, all without lifting a finger.

These tools don’t just stop at collecting info, they help convert your prospects into qualified leads, too. All of this means you’ll reduce your marketing efforts and zero in on those potential leads that are more worthy of your time.

The 7 best lead automation tools for your business

Automation and AI are big buzzwords right now, so finding marketing automation platforms that aren’t just the original software with a generative AI bolted on can be difficult.

Luckily, we’ve done the research for you and found the 7 best and most functional automation tools to help your business. Let’s check them out.

1. Method

Method CRM is the #1 CRM and lead management tool for QuickBooks and Xero users. Capture and nurture leads with ease, and when they convert to sales, your accounting software updates automatically — no extra steps needed.  It helps businesses nurture and capture leads all the way from first contact to final payment. 

Pros

• Unbeatable integration with QuickBooks and Xero.
• Easy digital smart forms.
• Online 24/7 self-service customer portals with integrated payment processing.
• Sales and marketing automation tools like invoicing and follow-ups.
• Robust third-party integrations with Zapier, Outlook, Google Workspace, and more.
• Customizable to your workflows, with one hour of free customization consultation included.

Cons

• Most suitable for businesses that use QuickBooks or Xero.
• Only available in English.

Pricing

Method offers three pricing plans, billed annually or monthly:

• Contact Management: $25 per user/month.
• CRM Pro: $44 per user/month.
• CRM Enterprise: $74 per user/month.

There is also a 14-day free trial available with no credit card required.

2. OptinMonster

Image credit: OptInMonster

OptinMonster is a specialized platform that helps convert website visitors into high-quality leads with engaging pop-up messages and smart forms that capture contact details and boost conversions.

Pros

• Very user-friendly design for creating opt-in forms.
• Easy form creation with a drag-and-drop builder.
• White label branding for your business.
• Advanced targeting and triggers.
• A/B testing and analytics to optimize campaigns.

Cons

• Manual URL segmentation can be a hassle.
• Limited customization of pop-ups and forms.
• Pricing might stretch small business budgets.
• Support response times can be slow.

Pricing

OptinMonster offers four pricing plans, billed monthly:

• Basic: $21 per month for one site and up to 2,500 pageviews.
• Plus: $57 per month for up to two sites and 10,000 pageviews.
• Pro: $87 per month for up to three sites and 25,000 pageviews.
• Growth: $147 per month for up to five sites and 100,000 pageviews.

There is no free trial available, but OptinMonster offers a 14-day money-back guarantee.

3. Leadfeeder

Image credit: Leadfeeder

The next top lead automation tool is Leadfeeder. It helps marketing teams keep better track of website visitors and uncovers B2B prospects who are showing interest in your business. 

Pros

• Real-time insights into interested companies.
• Smart lead prioritization with automatic scoring.
• Tailored feeds to spotlight top prospects.
• Comprehensive, high-volume tracking across channels.

Cons

• High cost for smaller businesses.
• Integration capability needs improvement with more popular tools.
• Functionality is based on tracking cookies and IP addresses, limiting the ability to retarget.
• Reports of unexpected subscription auto-renewals and unreliable support.

Pricing

Leadfeeder offers two pricing plans:

• Free: Includes last 7 days of data only and up to 100 identified companies.
• Paid: Starts at $165 per month and increases based on your amount of identified companies.

They also offer a 14-day free trial and a 40% discount on annual subscriptions.

4. Sprout Social

Image credit: Sprout Social

As one of the best social media marketing automation and enrichment tools available, Sprout Social simplifies content management across multiple platforms for marketing teams of various sizes.

Pros

• Stronger insights into what’s popular with top-notch social listening tools.
• Detailed reporting and analytics.
• Easy team collaboration with user-friendly workflows.
• Powerful scheduling features for optimal post timing.
• Solid customer support.

Cons

• Limited to 5 social media accounts on the standard plan.
• Expensive add-ons required for advanced features.
• Steep learning curve for new users.
• Limited functionality for LinkedIn tagging and Instagram Reels scheduling.
• Smaller businesses might be priced out of even simple plans.

Pricing

Sprout Social has four pricing plans available:

• Standard: $249 per seat per month.
• Professional: $399 per seat per month.
• Advanced: $499 per seat per month.
• Enterprise: Pricing available on request.

They also offer a 30-day free trial and a discount on annual subscriptions of up to 25%.

5. Mailchimp

Image credit: Page Flows

Owned by Intuit, Mailchimp is best for sending automated marketing campaigns to email addresses. It can also provide detailed analysis and provide insights on how campaigns are progressing.

Pros

• Very easy to use, set up, and integrate.
• Automated data cleaning to keep your lead lists tidy.
• Robust analytics for data-driven insights.
• Solid integrations with other tools.
• Wide range of customizable templates.

Cons

• Lack of customization for emails, as it’s template-based.
• Emails from Mailchimp servers can be classified as spam.
• Pricing gets steep for larger lists.
• Deliverability rates are sometimes inconsistent.
• Customer support varies by plan and can be slow.

Pricing

Mailchimp’s pricing is based on the amount of contacts you need. It offers four base plans, which increase in cost as you add more contacts:

• Free: Includes up to 500 contacts, with 1,000 sends per month.
• Essentials: Starts at $13 per month for 500 contacts, with 5,000 sends per month.
• Standard: Starts at $20 per month for 500 contacts, with 6,000 sends per month.
• Premium: Starts at $350 per month for 10,000 contacrs, with 150,000 sends per month.

Mailchimp’s Essentials and Standard plans also offer a free month-long trial before you commit. 

6. Brevo (Formerly SendInBlue)

Image credit: Brevo

Brevo, formerly known as Sendinblue, is a versatile tool for B2B and B2C marketing through automated email and SMS campaigns. It’s a powerful tool for converting prospective business customers into high-quality leads.

Pros

• Integrates well with Shopify.
• Easy to track campaign success anytime.
• User-friendly interface that makes navigation easy.
• Robust automation features to enhance marketing efforts.
• Extensive multi-channel campaign options.

Cons

• No design services available.
• Reports can be lacking in detail, especially for less expensive plans.
• Customer support can be slow and lacks live chat functionality.
• Certain features can incur additional costs, such as SMS and WhatsApp campaigns.

Pricing

Brevo offers four pricing plans:

• Free: Send 300 emails a day.
• Starter: Starts at $9 per month, with 5,000 emails a month.
• Business: Starts at $18 per month, with 5,000 emails a month and additional features.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing available on request.

They also offer a 10% discount on annual subscriptions.

7. Marketo

Image credit: Adobe

Marketo Engage, now owned by Adobe, is a powerful marketing automation tool aimed at larger companies and enterprises. It excels in automated data analysis and lead scoring.

Pros

• Easy setup despite its rich feature set.
• Strong integrations with with SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, and NetSuite.
• Lead scoring functionality to enhance targeting.
• Comprehensive analytics for data-driven decisions.
• Powerful marketing automation tools.

Cons

• No built-in CRM limits direct customer management.
• The landing page builder lacks advanced features.
• High cost can be prohibitive for smaller businesses.
• Customer support varies by plan and can be slow.

Pricing

Marketo Engage offers four pricing tiers based on required features and business volume. Specific custom pricing for each of these plans is available on request.

• Growth: Up to 10 users.
• Select: Up to 25 users.
• Prime: Up to 25 users.
• Ultimate: Up to 25 users.

While user limits stay mostly consistent as you upgrade your plan, you get access to more features and tools.

Examples of lead automation

Automation isn’t just a one-size-fits-all approach to lead generation — it’s got options. It all depends on exactly what efforts you’re willing to assign to the software, and what tasks will remain human.

Let’s take a look at some of those options.

Automated cold outreach

While some salespeople do legitimately love it, most people find cold calling to be soul-crushing. With automated email marketing campaigns, you can send hyper-personalized messages at scale, all while still making it feel like a human-on-human chat. 

Automation makes it all possible by using generation automation tools that tailor your outreach based on the ideal customer profile you have given it. 

AI chatbots

Are you tired of answering the same old questions over and over? Enter AI chatbot pop-ups.

These bots engage with the users on your site, automatically capturing their contact details. You can set them up to learn from and address those common questions and concerns that come in on a regular basis. 

Best of all, they can take on the role of salesperson and start turning curious visitors into prospective customers or even qualified leads.

Lead magnets with smart digital forms

Lead magnets are irresistible little freebies that offer up some valuable content hiding behind a smart digital form. Some examples include:

• Ebooks.
• Checklists.
• Templates.
• Webinars.
• Quizzes.
• Podcasts.

Lead magnets are powerful tools because once a prospective customer bites, you can automatically add them to a drip campaign that nurtures them into high-quality leads.

Personalized website experiences

Nothing in the world says “we understand you” like a website that’s completely personalized. A good example of automated lead generation is through dynamic landing pages that are customized to each potential customer’s needs or industry. 

Using automation to personalize experiences means your website itself is boosting engagement and moving them further down the sales funnel without you ever having to be there.

Automated ad campaigns

Ever had site visitors that just slipped through the cracks after a lengthy look around your site? Automated ad campaigns bring visitors back into your funnel with retargeted campaigns that follow them around. 

The result? Without any human involvement from the sales team, automation is giving them a second chance to say yes.

Lead tracking with a CRM

Forget about tracking every single lead manually. Let automated CRMs like Method handle it for you. 

CRMs organize your leads for more efficient generation efforts and keep your sales funnel clean by separating potential sales from paying customers. 

So, you can keep your customers’ financial data safe and accurate in QuickBooks, for example, while also using that information in your CRM data to nurture leads better and inform future sales.

Automatic lead scoring and segmentation

Marketing and sales teams know that not all leads are created equal. And if you’re tired of manually scoring and segmenting hot and cold leads, you’ll be glad to know automation has got this covered too.

These features automatically rank your leads based on their likelihood to convert, helping your team prioritize the high-quality leads first.

Lead prospecting on social media

You shouldn’t only limit your generation efforts to emails and paid ads. According to our research, 62.5% of the world now uses social media. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube, and Instagram are filled to the brim with prospective customers.

With so many platforms to cover, manually marketing every single one would be nearly impossible for smaller marketing teams. But with automation and the right generation tools, the leads from social media will keep rolling in. 

Benefits of automated lead generation

Most sales teams have felt the burn of frustration when one too many human errors let potential clients slip through the cracks and straight into the arms of competitors. 

Let’s take a look at the rest of the benefits.

Send every lead to the correct sales rep

Ever sent an individual customer to the dedicated B2B rep? Or a top-priority lead to the brand-new hire? Mistakes like these are not only signs of disorganization, but you can easily lose a prospective customer because of them.

With automated lead tracking and enrichment tools, leads won’t end up getting sent to the wrong sales rep ever again. This is because advanced algorithms and segmentation can route potential clients straight to the right team member, boosting the team’s productivity.

Personalize your lead experience

Your business isn’t generic, so why should your customers settle for boilerplate messages? With automation, you can segment your leads by important verticals like industry, demographic, or specific interests.

In a nutshell, automation dives deep into your ideal customer profile and sends personalized messages to the right prospective customers at exactly the right time.

Get a complete view of your leads

Want to know what makes your leads tick? Automated lead generation tools give you the complete lowdown on lead behaviour, including what is driving their decisions and what trends they’re following. 

This lets you spot trends far faster than the human eye and fine-tune your approach to push leads further down the sales funnel much easier.

Break down data silos

A marketing and sales team that works together is necessary in getting leads to close, so why aren’t your teams talking to each other? 

Automation connects your departments and makes sure your sales and marketing teams are always on the same page. More collaboration, far less chaos.

Improve your speed to lead

When it comes to potential customers, there’s a need for speed. Automated lead generation helps you handle those prospective customers faster, so you can respond while they’re still interested — and not when they’ve already forgotten your name.

Ensure consistent lead quality

Tired of wasting time sifting through junk leads? Automated lead generation keeps high-quality leads flowing steadily into your pipeline. 

Low-value leads are given less priority, cutting out the guesswork and saving your sales team a lot of time.

Grow and scale without a hitch

Scared of growing your business because of all the extra work and evolving needs? Scaling your business shouldn’t mean more work for your team. 

The processes that may have once worked when you were a smaller business are now not working anymore — but that’s a good sign, so don’t panic. Automation means you can grow your business without adding extra workload. 

Save time for your entire team by eliminating their repetitive, manual processes like creating invoices and sending emails. They’ll be able to contribute more to your business growth that way. 

Generate data-driven insights

With automation, your team grows smarter with every new lead — regardless of whether they convert. Tracking every single interaction with potential customers means ensuring more insights to draw from for future opportunities.

With so much information at your fingertips, your sales team can make data-driven decisions to improve success rates, and your marketing team can constantly improve and tweak their efforts.

Integrate with existing sales and marketing tools

Automated lead generation tools are powerful, but they can’t (and shouldn’t) operate in a vacuum. The best software developers design these automation tools to integrate and connect with your existing CRM and financial systems to make sure everything is running in sync.

Wrap-up: Choosing the right lead automation tool for your unique needs

Out of these seven automated lead generation tools, you’re bound to find the one that will make your generation efforts faster and far more effective. 

But if you’re a QuickBooks or Xero user looking for something that really handles it all — lead capture and management, communications, estimating and invoicing, and integrated payment processing  — Method CRM is your go-to.

It integrates perfectly with your existing QuickBooks or Xero financial systems, making it a dream solution for your sales, marketing, and financial teams.

Ready to delegate the repetitive work to technology? Method has you covered.

Try it free for 14 days.

Automated lead generation FAQs

What is AI lead generation?

AI lead generation uses artificial intelligence (AI) to find, qualify, and nurture all prospective customers for you. 

From intelligent chatbots that are barely indistinguishable from humans to AI-driven analysis of your hottest leads, it’s a hands-off way to keep your sales funnel full to the brim with high-quality leads.

What is the lead lifecycle?

The lead lifecycle is a journey that takes a curious stranger all the way to a loyal customer. 

The first stages of the cycle are when someone first shows interest in your business and its products and services, then moves through stages like lead nurturing, qualification, and finally, conversion.

What is automated lead capture vs. automated lead generation?

Automated lead capture grabs contact details from visitors to your website or social media platforms. There are a few ways that automated capture can accomplish this, including smart forms, chatbots, and sign-ups. 

Automated lead generation then takes those leads and moves them through the sales funnel with nurturing strategies like email campaigns and follow-ups. It scores each lead according to how likely they are to convert and then sends them to the appropriate sales rep for the human touch. 

Lead capture is often the very beginning of the lead generation process.

The post The 7 best tools for automated lead generation appeared first on Method.

So, what is the metric you should use to track this, and how do you calculate it? Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about your lead-to-customer conversion rate.

What is lead-to-customer conversion rate?

A lead-to-customer conversion rate indicates the percentage of leads that turn into paying customers. In simple terms, it measures the number of people expressing interest in your product who — through visiting your website or signing up for a trial, for instance — end up making a purchase.

How to calculate lead-to-customer conversion rate

To calculate your lead-to-customer conversion rate, you will need two key figures: 

• The number of leads generated.
• The number of those leads who converted to a paying customer.

These can represent your entire business, or you can break them down by things like marketing channel, product segment, or customer demographics to get more detailed information. 

Lead conversion rate formula

The formula looks like this:

Lead-to-customer conversion rate = (Number of customers / Number of leads) * 100%

Take the number of leads that converted to a paid customer, divide that by the total number of leads generated, and then multiply this answer by 100 in order to get your answer as a percentage.

Example case

For example, if your business generated 500 leads and 50 became customers, the conversion rate would be:

(50 / 500) * 100% = 10%

Why should you track your lead conversion rate?

Some marketing and sales teams forget that the ultimate goal of their efforts is to secure revenue, and instead focus on generating as many leads as possible. If those leads aren’t progressing through the sales funnel, they quickly become useless to you. 

Tracking your lead conversion rate is important for several reasons:

See how your marketing and sales efforts perform

If Marketing generates leads but Sales can’t close them, there’s an obvious mismatch. Your conversion rate is a key indicator of how effectively different teams collaborate, and whether there needs to be an adjustment. 

Maximize your return on investment (ROI)

Monitoring your conversion rate helps identify the most effective marketing channels, allowing you to allocate your budget wisely and enhance ROI.

Decrease your customer acquisition cost (CAC)

Getting customers is great — but they can’t be too costly. A high conversion rate means more customers per dollar spent on lead acquisition. It’s essential to reduce your cost of acquiring customers while maintaining a strong conversion rate for efficient business growth.

Identify gaps in your sales pipeline

You can use your conversion rate to help identify where you need to improve your sales funnel. This helps you pinpoint where leads are falling through the cracks and informs your strategy.

Inform your goals

When developing new marketing and sales strategies, your lead-to-customer conversion rate is often a “North Star metric” — one that aligns all efforts cross-departmentally. 

Other helpful lead conversion metrics

While your lead-to-customer conversion rate provides critical information, there are other insightful metrics that you should be aware of:

Lead-to-opportunity conversion rate

Your lead-to-opportunity conversions track how many leads become sales opportunities. This conversion rate here helps you understand how well your team is qualifying leads, and can often be thought of as the leads that Marketing gives to Sales.

Lead-to-sale conversion rate

This metric gives you a strategic view of your overall sales performance by measuring how many actual sales you generated. One lead could result in multiple sales, making it a different metric than lead-to-customer. 

Lead-to-customer ratio

This ratio is similar to the lead-to-sale conversion rate and often used to identify the balance between lead generation and customer acquisition. Unlike lead-to-sale conversions, one lead can only result in one customer.

Cost per conversion

This is the end-to-end total cost of acquiring one customer, which helps you understand the financial impact of acquiring each lead. 

Conversion ROI

If your costs are too high, a conversion may not even be worth the resources you’ve spent to acquire it. Conversion ROI lets you see how valuable the lead-to-customer process is. 

Lead value

Your lead value determines the monetary value of each lead based on your average customer value and conversion rate.

Time to conversion

This metric tracks the time it takes for a lead to convert into a paying customer.

Sales cycle length

Similarly, sales cycle length measures the total time it takes from initial contact to closing a sale. This is more of an average or approximation than a specific and exact time-to-conversion metric.

Abandonment rate

This helps e-commerce businesses track when shoppers leave their carts before buying, offering key insights for retargeting campaigns.

Average conversion rates by industry

Knowing the average conversion rates for your field helps you set realistic goals. For instance, the finance and education sectors often see 5-10%, while e-commerce and retail can be significantly lower. 

Source: Alore

Stages of lead conversion

A sales pipeline consists of several stages guiding a lead from initial contact to final sale. Here’s a general framework common to most businesses:

1. Lead generation

Start by pinpointing potential customers and gathering their interests and demographics. Effective lead generation methods include SEO, content marketing, and paid ads to drive relevant traffic to your site.

2. Lead qualification

Determine if your product or service suits your potential customer’s needs, and whether they can afford (and have the authority) to purchase. Use lead scoring to prioritize high-quality leads likely to convert.

3. Lead nurturing

Personalize your communication to keep leads engaged. Build trust by addressing pain points and overcoming objections, setting the stage for conversion. 

4. Close the sale

When the lead is ready to buy, finalize the process by presenting quotes, negotiating terms, and completing the transaction. You should also handle any objections that come from each prospect.

5. Follow-up and retention

After closing the sale, make sure you follow up to deliver customer satisfaction. Happy customers are more likely to become repeat buyers or refer your business through word of mouth to others.

6 strategies to improve your lead-to-customer conversion rate

Improving your conversion rate requires intentional efforts across various parts of your sales process. Here are six proven strategies:

1. Build and optimize your website

Produce diverse, high-quality content such as text, videos, and infographics. Optimize your site for SEO with keyword research and include features like live chat or smart forms to capture leads efficiently. See an example of a lead capture form below.

2. Employ an advertising strategy

Test different advertising platforms and formats like pay-per-click (PPC) and social media ads. Use clear, compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) to encourage conversions.

3. Invest in email marketing

Automate campaigns with personalization and segment your email list to target specific audiences for greater impact. Use tracking codes to evaluate campaign success.

4. Talk to your existing customers

Don’t make decisions solely on numbers. Ask your customers: 

• What they like about the product.
• New ways they’ve used it.
• Any issues they have. 

Leverage this feedback to refine your marketing strategies, targeting new customers with a more specific experience. 

5. Build a community

Boost conversion rates by engaging with your audience both online and offline. Social media and online channels target audiences effectively, while real-world events offer personal connections. You can even host your own events that fit within your industry or target audience.

6. Leverage technology

Research and try out different dedicated tools to make running your business easier. Customer relationship management (CRM) tools like Method can significantly improve your sales cycle. For example, you can increase lead conversion by: 

• Tracking interactions.
• Automating follow-ups.
• Managing relationships. 

If you’re a QuickBooks or Xero user, Method is a no-brainer to drive growth and profitability without spending too much extra time or money to achieve results. Check out some of the things Method can do for your business in the video below.

Wrap-up: Improve your lead-to-customer conversion rate

Tracking your lead-to-customer conversion rate will show you exactly where things are going right and where things are going wrong. To calculate it for your business, you need your number of leads and number of paying customers in a given time period. From there, just divide your leads by your customers and multiply by 100%.

Ready to build up your lead-to-customer conversions? With Method, you can:

• Centralize your lead management.
• Automate follow-ups.
• Keep your sales pipeline flowing smoothly.

The result? No more missed opportunities to turn leads into customers.

Try Method for free today.

Lead-to-customer conversion rate FAQs

What’s the difference between an inquiry and a lead?

An inquiry is specific expressed interest, like when a potential customer asks for more information about your product or service. A lead, however, is someone who meets specific criteria that indicates they could purchase your product. For example, maybe they’ve given you their contact details by signing up for your email newsletter.

What is a good lead conversion rate?

A good lead conversion rate typically ranges between 2% and 10%, but varies significantly across industries. 

How do I find a balance between lead quantity and lead quality?

Striking a balance between lead quantity and quality involves focusing on generating high-quality leads with a higher conversion potential, rather than solely increasing lead volume. It’s a good idea to implement lead scoring to prioritize leads based on their likelihood to purchase.

What are SQLs and MQLs?

Sales-qualified leads (SQLs) are vetted by your sales team and ready for direct sales engagement. Marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) have shown interest in your offering through actions like content downloads or webinar attendance but require further nurturing.

The post 6 strategies to improve your lead-to-customer conversion rate and how to calculate it appeared first on Method.

In this blog, you’ll explore seven HVAC marketing strategies that contractors need to try to expand their customer base and grow their businesses.

Let’s get started!

Why is it important to plan HVAC marketing strategies?

In the HVAC industry, effective marketing can greatly differentiate a business from its competitors. A structured marketing plan enhances visibility and fosters customer loyalty. These are vital for sustainable growth and success, as:

• Increased visibility helps attract new clients.
• Customer loyalty ensures repeat business and positive customer reviews.

What are the best HVAC contractor marketing strategies?

This section serves as a comprehensive guide to the most effective marketing strategies specifically tailored for HVAC contractors. 

1. Understanding your target audience

Identifying and understanding the specific needs and preferences of your target demographic is crucial. This understanding forms the foundation of any successful marketing strategy.

Your very first steps are to:

1. Conduct market research to gather data about demographics.
2. Segment the market based on geographic and demographic data.
3. Analyze consumer behavior to refine marketing approaches, like purchasing patterns and preferences through surveys and customer feedback.

2. Creating an HVAC marketing plan and budget

Developing a strategic marketing plan tailored to HVAC services involves several key steps:

1. Define clear marketing objectives and goals.
2. Identify the marketing strategies and channels that will be used.
3. Allocate a budget for various marketing activities based on projected ROI.
4. Action your plan and actively measure ROI from various advertising platforms and other marketing campaigns.

3. Branding and positioning your HVAC business

Creating a strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience is essential. This identity sets the tone for all your marketing efforts and helps differentiate your business in the market.

When cementing your brand, ensure you:

• Develop a unique selling proposition (USP).
• Ensure all marketing materials are brand-aligned and persuasive.
• Set measurable goals that revolve around your positioning.

4. Applying online marketing strategies for HVAC

Online marketing is crucial for reaching a broader audience in today’s digital world, especially when it comes to HVAC advertising. There are several avenues you can explore in this regard:

Mobile-friendly website optimization

A mobile-optimized website is vital in today’s mobile-first world. It ensures that your online presence is accessible and engaging for users on mobile devices. 

When designing your website, remember that:

• Responsive design adapts to different screen sizes.
• Fast loading times improve user experience and SEO.
• 30% of consumers prefer to book home services on their phone.

Local HVAC business profile

A well-optimized local business profile on designated platforms can significantly enhance your visibility in local search results. For example, a Google Business Profile is a powerful, cost-effective way to boost your HVAC marketing strategy.

All you have to do is:

1. Identify the platform where you want to create your profile (such as Google My Business).
2. Create a detailed profile for your HVAC company with accurate business information.
3. Regularly update the profile with new services, promotions, and photos.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO increases the visibility of your HVAC website in search engines, making it easier for potential customers to find your business. As you build out your website, you can continue to optimize the website for higher search engine rankings over time.

As a part of your SEO strategy, you should:

• Perform keyword research to understand what potential customers are searching for.
• Create content-rich, SEO-optimized blog posts and articles.
• Continuously report on, analyze, and evolve your content marketing strategy.

Google advertisements

Google Ads can target specific demographics with personalized campaigns, like specific geographic areas. This makes it a powerful tool for local advertising. Best practices are to:

• Use targeted keywords related to HVAC services.
• Advertise new HVAC installations through PPC ads.
• Manage your PPC (pay-per-click) budget effectively to maximize ROI.

Facebook business page advertising

Facebook ads can effectively target local customers and drive engagement through social media advertising. They’re also great platform to engage with customers via interactive online content.

1. Design engaging ads with compelling visuals and copy.
2. Segment your audience for more personalized advertising.
3. Promote seasonal HVAC services on social media.

Email marketing strategies

Email marketing is a great way to keep in touch with customers and nurture leads. You can:

• Customize email marketing messages for different customer segments.
• Personalize emails to address the recipient’s needs and interests.
• Distribute newsletters that offer exclusive discounts and tips or company news.

Customer referral programs

Referral programs leverage your existing customer base to generate new leads through word-of-mouth marketing. Here are some tips for a strong customer referral program:

• Offer incentives for referrals that result in new business.
• Create a simple and transparent process for customers to refer others.
• Implement a customer loyalty program to encourage repeat business and referrals.
• Leverage user-generated content to build trust and credibility.

5. Implementing offline marketing strategies

Despite the rise of digital marketing, offline methods remain incredibly effective, especially in local community settings. Benefits of offline HVAC marketing strategies include:

• Direct mail can target specific neighborhoods.
• Community involvement builds brand recognition and trust.
• Brand champions who offer brand loyalty and free advertising.

6. Tracking leads and preparing reports

It’s important to track the effectiveness of your marketing activities to understand what works and what doesn’t. For the best reporting process:

• Use CRM (customer relationship management) tools to track the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns in real-time.
• Analyze key metrics and KPIs to gauge your campaigns’ effectiveness.
• Visualize your data and tell a story with it to set goals and inspire growth.

7. Planning further to get HVAC customers

Continuously adapting your marketing strategy based on market trends and performance data is key to staying competitive. Even with a solid strategy, you must consistently:

• Regularly review and refine targeting strategies based on customer feedback and analytics.
• Plan for seasonal promotions and service ads to target specific customer needs.
• Cast as wide a net as possible across all your established avenues.

Key takeaways

Equipped with these HVAC marketing strategies, you’ll ensure a more customer-centirc, adaptable, and profitable business.

In a nutshell, remember that:

• Understanding your target audience is key to build a successful HVAC business.
• A robust online presenc,e including a mobile-friendly website and active social media platforms, is crucial.
• Continuous tracking and refinement of marketing strategies ensure sustained growth.

HVAC marketing strategies FAQs

Can video marketing help HVAC companies attract more clients?

Video marketing can significantly enhance your online presence and engagement, making it a valuable tool for HVAC marketing. For best results,

• Create videos that showcase your HVAC services and customer testimonials.
• Distribute video content across various platforms like YouTube and social media.

Should HVAC contractors personalize their marketing messages?

Personalized marketing messages can dramatically improve customer response rates and foster loyalty for HVAC contractors. You should also segment email lists to offer more targeted promotions and use data-driven insights to customize advertising messages.

Are customer reviews critical for HVAC marketing success?

Customer reviews are essential for building trust and credibility with potential clients. To garner agreeable customer reviews, you should:

• Go above and beyond to deliver strong customer service.
• Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews.
• Respond to reviews to show that you value customer feedback and are responsive to their needs.

See how Method:Field Services is the perfect sidekick for HVAC contractors.

Image credit: Life Of Pix via Pexels

The post 7 best HVAC contractor marketing strategies you must try appeared first on Method.

Were you aware, though, that your CRM software can also help you market more effectively? When you think of a CRM as a data collection tool and not just a means of simplifying routine tasks, it makes sense. A good nonprofit CRM provides a reliable means of tracking donor contribution patterns over time. It also helps organizations establish meaningful insights into how much and how often individual donors contribute.

Having this data on hand gives you some valuable feedback about what and when your existing donors like hearing from your organization. This, in turn, allows you to engage strategically with potential donors across various channels.

For all of these reasons, it’s time to stop thinking of your CRM as just a donor database — it’s also a great tool to help you develop your marketing strategy.

The first step: choosing CRM software that works for your nonprofit

Of course, you need to implement a CRM before you can take advantage of its wealth of data. When selecting the right CRM for your nonprofit, consider what pain points you want to address:

• Are your team members being tasked with too much manual data entry?
• Are you trying to manage too many disconnected systems at once?
• Have donation follow-ups fallen through the cracks?

Nonprofit managers should aim to implement a CRM that resolves as many of these pain points as possible.

Of course, no single software tool is going to solve every problem or allow you to track every type of data. But by selecting a CRM that works with some of your existing tools, you’ll come that much closer to creating an integrated technology ecosystem.

For instance, a CRM that syncs with QuickBooks streamlines the process of logging donations and generating thank you letters and tax receipts. It also lets you see at a glance exactly how much money your individual donors are giving — without needing to access your accounting software.

Another valuable feature to look for in a nonprofit CRM is the ability to segment donor data. Many systems make it easy to filter or group donors into categories based on their giving patterns, geographic locations, or other criteria. This allows you to create specific lists of donors, like those who responded to individual campaigns or donated less year-over-year. You can then create and send mass emails to each segment, thus reducing the time spent sending individualized follow-ups to each donor on your list.

Use your CRM to establish a data-driven donor retention strategy

Once you have a nonprofit CRM in place, every member of your team should learn how to interpret the donation data in the software. Although there can be many reasons why individual donors stop giving — an economic downturn, a personal crisis, and so on — looking at the overall donation patterns in your CRM allows you to see which marketing campaigns are most effective with your existing donors.

This point can’t be overstated: it’s important to be strategic about your marketing campaigns. There can be a tendency among charitable organizations to downplay the need for organized marketing; instead, they assume that their loyal donors will keep coming back because they believe in the organization’s mission.

The reality is that nonprofits require a focused marketing strategy to continually engage and delight donors — and that strategy should be data-driven.

Your CRM can offer valuable insights into how you should market to your existing donors. For instance, maybe the data shows that people tend to give less year-over-year. Could you create an email campaign to show your supporters the positive impact of their donations?

On the other hand, maybe the data shows that donors have failed to respond to your last few email campaigns, but their end-of-year giving patterns are stable. In this case, perhaps you should turn your attention from email marketing to putting on a big end-of-year fundraising event.

Looking beyond existing donors: your CRM can also help with inbound marketing

Nonprofits are sometimes also reluctant to develop strong inbound marketing campaigns. With so many competing priorities, you may see maintaining your website and running your social media accounts as a waste of time and resources.

However, the truth is that nonprofits always need to be recruiting new supporters who believe in their mission. This means it’s important to spend time creating and sharing online content that spreads your message and attracts new donors. There are some proven techniques for boosting donor acquisition, like developing strong branding and using images that resonate with donors. But how can you tell when you’re getting these things right?

This is another area where a nonprofit CRM can assist. Of course, you can’t expect your CRM to replace your web analytics software. But if your CRM is linked to an online donation page on your site, you can certainly gain some insights based on giving patterns. Say you updated the front page of your site last week, and since then you’ve received an influx of new donations. Chances are you’ve hit the nail on the head with your new messaging.

Cross-referencing your CRM data with your web analytics data can also be useful. For instance, you might look at your CRM data to see how many new donors you attracted with a recent campaign. Then, you might use a web analytics tool to see which of your social media channels drove the most traffic to your website during that campaign.

Taken together, you can assume that some of your new donors came from those social media channels. This tells you where to concentrate your future inbound marketing efforts.

Conclusion

A CRM for nonprofits is more than just a database for tracking donor names and donation history. It can also provide crucial data to help you develop effective marketing campaigns and fine-tune your inbound marketing approach. And when used with your other software tools, your CRM becomes even more valuable, allowing you to develop powerful strategies for retaining existing donors and expanding your constituent base.

The post How Nonprofits Can Use CRM Software to Develop an Effective Marketing Strategy appeared first on Method.

What’s changed, however, is how brands leverage its power.

Today, it’s all about influencers. These social media geniuses use their natural charm and relatability to build connections with thousands or even millions of followers.

Initially centered around fashion and fitness, influencer marketing now involves every niche imaginable. They’re taking over in accounting, health care, and even construction.

While influencers can dramatically improve brand awareness, they’re not an automatic ticket to social media success. In fact, haphazard influencer marketing could harm your brand’s image while wasting resources that might be better directed elsewhere.

And this is where using a CRM for influencer marketing can be helpful.

Read on to learn more about the value of using a CRM for influencer marketing and its impact on your digital marketing ROI.

What are influencers — and why are they so powerful?

Typically accessible via social media, an influencer is any person or organization with the power to impact a sizeable number of consumers’ purchasing decisions. This individual typically holds a large and loyal following on:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Snapchat
• TikTok
• YouTube
• Twitter

Influencers maintain their following by regularly posting content that interests or directly benefits their followers. Depending on the influencer’s preferred platform, shared content could include images, videos, webinars, quizzes, or blog posts.

Through mutually beneficial relationships with targeted brands, influencers can earn anything from free products to a sustainable income. They increasingly regard their efforts as full-time work.

In fact, Viral Nation co-founder Joe Gagliese claims that top influencers can command as much as $100,000 per post.

In return for their services, influencers deliver considerable brand awareness, and often, immediate conversions. A notable Tomoson poll of marketing professionals suggests that businesses earn an astounding $6.50 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing.

Why the impressive ROI?

Blame Millennials and Gen Z.

Young consumers desire a stronger and more authentic connection with the accounts they follow. While many content creators leverage this position of trust to market products or services, the most successful influencers prioritize quality content and genuine relationships with followers above all else.

Those who merely regard social media as a means to a personal end are not likely to sustain their following on a long-term basis.

CRM for influencer marketing best practices

If you’re interested in getting on board with influencer marketing, you’re in good company. A LaunchMetrics survey reveals that nearly 80 percent of professionals integrated influencers into their marketing efforts in 2017.

With social media constituting an ever-increasing portion of total company spend, however, many business leaders worry about the ROI of influencer marketing — or potential lack thereof.

Luckily, you don’t need to invest in a suite of new marketing tools to get into the influencer marketing game. Instead, consider leveraging your existing CRM software to optimize your influencer campaigns.

Although you may think that a CRM is strictly for customer management, the truth is that most CRM systems can help you track data on any type of business contact.

This is especially true with a customizable CRM, like Method, that can be adapted for your specific needs.

Below are a few of the most important capabilities your CRM for influencer marketing needs to have.

Keeping track of your influencer research

A successful influencer campaign begins with securing key players from your niche to advocate for your brand.

Influencer selection is not to be taken lightly; your end goal should go beyond scoring the person with the largest following on Instagram. Audience matters, of course, but so do the influencer’s values and content style.

By creating custom fields in your CRM for influencer marketing, you can easily track your findings as you research and compare potential influencers for your campaign.

Managing social media handles

How do you learn more about or keep in touch with your contacts?

While many people still rely on traditional methods such as phone and email, younger clients and customers increasingly prefer social media. Others move between traditional and modern channels — and expect you to keep up.

Unfortunately, providing a seamless experience can be difficult if you’re not sure who is present on which platforms.

That’s where your influencer marketing CRM comes into play.

Using an organized contact management system allows you to more effectively track influencer and customer handles on a variety of social media platforms.

This is good not only for faster communication but also for research purposes. As if you know which platforms your consumers prefer, you can better target your influencer campaigns based on their online activity.

Improving marketing team collaboration

All marketing team members should be up to speed with your influencer campaigns.

A good influencer marketing CRM encourages collaboration by keeping team members connected via:

• Shared tasks
• Centralized notes
• Easily accessible influencer contact details

Using a CRM for influencer marketing will promote a steady flow of ideas while preventing your team from getting bogged down in inefficiencies.

A shared schedule in your influencer marketing CRM, through let’s say Google Calendar, also ensures that all team members are aware of upcoming meetings and important deadlines.

If you’re using a customizable CRM, like Method, automated workflows can keep influencer campaigns on track by ensuring that responsibilities are delegated quickly and properly.

Optimizing lead management

Imagine that you’ve developed and executed a killer campaign, and you’re raking in quality leads but can’t track them.

By using lead management software, such as an influencer marketing CRM, you stop leads from slipping through the cracks and can quantify the ROI of your influencer efforts easily.

After all, your ultimate goal is not merely to drive brand awareness — you want to acquire new leads and convert them into long-term customers.

Conclusion

A successful influencer campaign could transform how your brand is perceived on social media. And with the right influencer marketing CRM on hand, you can optimize your strategy to ensure you achieve the best possible ROI.

To learn how Method CRM can help you streamline your marketing efforts and convert more leads, sign up for your free trial!

The post How to get the most out of a CRM for influencer marketing appeared first on Method.

As a content marketer at Method, this was particularly relevant to my role. My job, in a nutshell, is to create narratives that educate, excite, and inspire Method prospects, customers, and partners. But even if your job title has nothing to do with content or marketing, there’s tremendous value in being able to explain what you do — and in doing it well.

Here are my top three takeaways on brand storytelling that every business can use.

1. Everyone can — and should – be a storyteller

Your target customers are bombarded by a lot of information. The average consumer takes in over 100,000 words per day through the internet, TV, radio, social media, and more. They also have an attention span of about 7 seconds (compared to a goldfish’s 8 seconds). All in all, the odds of them truly hearing your message are…not great.

This is where storytelling comes in. A story isn’t just a boring list of product features or services offered. A story has an arc: a challenge, a solution, an outcome. When people hear the beginning of a good story, they become invested enough to stick around for the ending. And when the story is over, people remember it and they share it with others.

Now, at this point you may be thinking: “But my business is too boring/complex for storytelling.”  And in response, I’ll remind you that I work for a company that makes QuickBooks-integrated customer relationship management software built on a customizable no-code platform. But in all seriousness, every business has stories to tell. No matter what you’re selling, there’s something about you, your product, or your customers that’s unique. And by sharing those unique details, you can make the complex simple and the boring interesting.

2. Stories come in many forms

When it comes to telling stories about your brand, a few standard formats come to mind. Maybe you’ve written a blog post about what makes your business different or an ebook that explains how your product solves certain problems. Customer case studies are another classic storytelling example, typically following a predictable arc:

• The customer has some kind of pain point
• The customer finds your business
• Your product or service resolves the customer’s pain point
• The customer sings your praises

These types of stories are all powerful marketing and sales tools. When potential customers can see themselves and their pain points in your content, it gives them confidence that your business can help them succeed.

However, not all of your stories need to be sales pitches. In fact, you’ll probably be better off if they aren’t. People make decisions based on emotions — so if you can tell a story that really makes people feel something about your business, you’ll be well-positioned to convert them to a customer.

Here are a few examples of “behind the scenes” stories you can tell:

• Tell your origin story: How and why did you start your business? What was your vision or mission? Who helped you? What was your lucky break?
• Talk about your team: Who are your employees? What do they do to serve your customers? What are they passionate about? What led them to your company?
• Describe your challenges: Has your business experienced hard times? What did you do to overcome those challenges? What did you learn from those experiences?

3. Telling engaging stories takes practice

There’s a difference between sharing facts and telling good stories. While you’re likely able to describe what you do in a literal sense, turning this description into an engaging narrative can take some trial and error. It’s important to keep in mind that your customers don’t actually care about what you do or how your product works — they care about what you or your product can do for them.

Early in the workshop, Evans challenged attendees to come up with 4-word stories to describe what their businesses do. He offered a few examples as inspiration:

• Pinterest: Organize your favorite things
• Square: Run your business anywhere
• Tinder: It’s how people meet

As it turns out, coming up with a 4-word story is surprisingly difficult. You want your tagline to be clear enough to avoid confusion, but intriguing enough to spark interest. Admittedly, I didn’t land on a perfect story for Method — though I had a few contenders, including the very literal Customizable CRM for QuickBooks and the action-oriented Work how you want.

But that’s okay. Storytelling is a dynamic process and your stories will evolve as your business and your customers evolve. And by all means, feel free to use a few more words — you may find it easier to describe your business in a 10-word, 25-word, or 100-word story.

Adopting a storytelling mindset may be a big change from your normal marketing strategy. But no matter what you do, there’s a huge opportunity to grow your brand through captivating stories. And there’s no time like the present to begin — so start brainstorming and start sharing.

The post 3 Brand Storytelling Lessons for Every Business appeared first on Method.

So what does that mean for your marketing efforts and your lead generation strategies? In this article, we give you some best practices that are not only going to help your construction company generate leads today, but also tomorrow, next week, next year, and well into the 2020s.

Focus on local search results

The first strategy for boosting your lead generation is to ensure that your construction company is listed in as many online search directories as possible. And definitely go local. You want to make it as easy as possible for people who live and work in your region to find your company in local search results.

The good news is that you don’t have to scour the internet to find every outlet, portal, social media page, and review site where your company gets an online mention. There are applications out there that will scan the furthest reaches of cyberspace and tell you everywhere your company appears online. This makes it easy to ensure that your contact info is correct in all your online listings.

Boost your content marketing

A business card and a sales pitch simply won’t cut it in today’s digital world. Construction companies, like any enterprise or customer-facing business today, need to focus on inbound marketing strategies — like content marketing — to maximize lead generation. While there are many tried-and-true content marketing best practices out there, you only need to know some basics in order to begin.

First, keep a company blog and post on it regularly, as in once or twice a week. If you can publish posts under the company owner’s byline, thereby putting a face to the operation, all the better. Also focus on creating useful, compelling content. To do this, you need to know your audience. Lucky for you, that isn’t so difficult in the construction business: your audience is anyone in the home service/building industry. So focus on publishing how-to blog posts and tutorials on subjects related to the industry. Examples might include “home-building mistakes to avoid,” “how to install drywall for beginners,” or anything else in your wheelhouse.

Also consider producing engaging video content, like tutorial videos in the home-improvement space. Audiences love videos, and if you can link to interesting video content in your email marketing, you’ll generate greater engagement. More on this below.

Elevate your email marketing game

No modern lead generation strategy is complete without good old-fashioned email marketing. Regarding best practices, there are some strategies that construction companies can implement in order to get more sign-ups and grow your list.

For starters, incentivize the audience you’re trying to attract. Tie your email strategy into your content marketing and offer visitors some useful/educational tidbit for free in exchange for their contact info. Normally in the B2B world, many companies offer things like white papers and ebooks in exchange for a sign-up. As a construction company, you’ll want to offer something that aligns with your target audience. Homeowners’ guides are a good idea — you can offer your potential subscribers how-to guides on everything from waterproofing a shed to building a backyard deck to installing thermostats to properly caring for hardwood floors. And as mentioned above, include links to your video content when possible.

There are some other email marketing best practices to adhere to that are equally crucial. First, if your content has driven your audience to your email list sign-up page, only ask for their email address and first name. Asking for more info than that can feel intrusive and might scare them away. Once they are subscribers, send emails at regular intervals (once a week), and continue to offer them more valuable content. Moreover, be sure to include the recipient’s first name in the subject line of the email. Even that little bit of personalization can really boost open rates.

Display your contact info boldly

Modern lead generation strategies aren’t only comprised of digital means. There is still a place for the savvy lead-harvesting tactics of years past. Take your contact info, for example. Certainly, you’ll want this information to be easily accessible to your audience. And if you’re using the inbound marketing strategies mentioned above, you’ll likely be directing a lot of traffic to your homepage and social media sites, where you’ll want that contact info boldly displayed.

But just as crucial is where people see your contact info out in the real world. If, as a construction company owner, you have various contractors doing work in different neighborhoods, then you’ll want your contact info displayed on each and every work vehicle. Just having people in the neighborhood see your company name on your trucks goes a long way toward boosting brand recognition and generating interest.

Optimize for voice search

With the rise of Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, as well as Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortana, we can read the writing on the wall: virtual assistants are the wave of the future. And although this technology is still in its relative infancy, AI engines allow it to evolve at staggering rates. Various statistics portend how dominant it will be in the future. For example, according to comScore, 50% of all searches done in 2020 will be voice searches. Moreover, 30% of all searches will occur without even looking at a screen.

What this means for construction businesses is that today’s customers have eschewed the phone book and are moving away from typed online searches in favor of home smart speakers. There are realities, however, to this brave new world that businesses must take into account. For example, when a person performs a voice search, the results are ranked by proximity and online user reviews. So construction companies need to know that optimizing for voice search means simultaneously boosting customer service along with nipping bad reviews in the bud or resolving them as soon as possible.

Get recommendations from related industries

To be successful, you’ll obviously want to amass a long list of good reviews from satisfied customers. But to generate more leads, you’ll also want non-competitive businesses in related fields to recommend your company to potential clients. The way it works is simple. Whenever you recommend a business to a customer, be it HVAC, roofing, electrical, or plumbing, let those businesses know. Then, make it known that you would greatly appreciate it if they recommended your construction company to their customers, should the topic ever come up.

The home-service field is a small world, particularly when you’re limited to one part of a city or region. You’ll want to be part of a circle of businesses all recommending each other to ensure that a rising tide does indeed lift all boats.

Conclusion

Implementing the six practices mentioned above may seem like a daunting task if your construction company has yet to get in on the inbound marketing game. That’s why, to bring all your efforts together and ensure everything runs efficiently, we also recommend investing in a solid CRM for construction companies. It’s the best way to organize your operations, manage your customers, and grow your business all at the same time.

The post 6 Lead Generation Best Practices for Construction Companies appeared first on Method.

Even just a decade ago, companies could rely on TV commercials, radio ads, and roadside billboards to reach their target consumers. But consumer behavior has changed.

As entrepreneur Bram Warshafsky pointed out at QuickBooks Connect, many people now watch Netflix instead of TV, listen to Spotify instead of the radio, and walk around looking down at their phones instead of up at the world. The key takeaway for companies: “Good luck advertising to me,” says Warshafsky. Instead, it’s time for modern businesses to focus on reaching consumers in a new way.

That’s where content marketing comes in. Warshafsky explained that the best way to stand out from your competitors is to build a strong brand — and content marketing is the key to brand-building. By creating valuable and relevant content (that isn’t just a sales pitch), you can establish yourself as a trusted resource while building relationships with your target consumers. Not a bad deal.

To help the audience get started on their own content marketing journeys, Warshafsky outlined five key steps.

1. Start By Listening

The first step in creating engaging content is to determine what your audience finds engaging. What are they searching for online? What problems are they trying to solve?

To start off, Warshafsky suggests Googling your main keyword (i.e. the product or service that you sell) along with the word “community.” This will help you identify where your target customers spend time online and what they’re talking about. Browsing online communities like Quora, Reddit, and Yahoo! Answers is another great way to scope out your customers’ pain points.

Finally, don’t forget to listen to what people are telling you about your existing content. If you use Google Analytics for your website, take a look at your exit pages. An exit page is the last page a visitor views before leaving your site entirely. If you notice a trend among all of your website visits, that may be a sign that a particular page isn’t telling people what they want to know.

2. Answer Questions for Your Community

Now that you know what questions your community has, it’s time to start answering them. Again, Warshafsky recommends turning to Google. By searching for your keyword plus “write for us,” you’ll uncover websites that are looking for content on your area of expertise. By publishing guest posts on these sites, you can start to build your brand reputation as well as link back to your own site.

Quora is another great platform for sharing your wisdom. Browse existing questions related to your industry and answer as many of them as you can. Or, if there aren’t any questions that speak to you — “just anonymously ask your own question and then answer it!” suggests Warshafsky. Look at Quora’s analytics to see which of your answers were well-received by the community; this will tell you what to focus on when creating more involved content.

3. Invest in Evergreen Content

You’ll need to invest some time and effort (though not necessarily a ton of money) into creating valuable evergreen content. This is the content that is continually relevant to consumers, rather than being tied to a specific occasion or season.

One of Warshafsky’s favorite types of evergreen content is a short animated explainer video: “You’ll start to find that when you meet with potential customers, they already know about your business.” However, the possibilities for what you can create are endless — videos, blog posts, case studies, ebooks, and more. Put the content on your website and make visitors fill out a form to access it so you can engage with them.

Not sure how to create content around what you do? Warshafsky has the solution. “If your business is kind of boring, consider doing a whiteboard animation. I don’t know why, but everything in this medium is so interesting.”

4. Use Your Blog to Win Long-Tail Keywords

When you create content, it’s important to include keywords that are important to your business. This is what tells search engines to display your content when users search for those keywords. But the more generic and popular a keyword is, the harder it will be for your content to rank in the top search results.

Enter the long-tail keywords. These longer queries are searched for less often, but provide opportunities to create very focused content. As an example, consider the difference between the keywords  “CRM” and “CRM that integrates with QuickBooks Desktop.”

Long-tail keywords are great starting points for blog posts. And while “writing a blog is more of a marathon than a sprint,” says Warshafsky, it can turn into a great long-term sales strategy. Of course, not everyone who visits your blog will have a need for what you sell. But the more visitors you attract, the more of them you can eventually convert.

5. Focus on Content Distribution

The final piece of the puzzle is content distribution — making sure your content reaches the people who want it. There are plenty of tools that can help you give your content the best chance of being found. For instance, you can ensure that Google has the most up-to-date view of your site using Search Console, while HubSpot’s Website Grader can help you identify weaknesses in your site.

Next, focus on getting as many eyes on your content as possible. Warshafsky suggests syndicating your posts on Medium and LinkedIn and linking back to your site to build its authority. Your email signature is also a great place to include a link to your latest piece of content.

Finally, you can use social media to distribute your content — but don’t forget about the “social” aspect. Says Warshafsky, “People complain that social media doesn’t drive sales, but that’s not really the purpose of it. The purpose is to be human.” Rather than shouting your business’s merits from the rooftops, focus on truly engaging with your audience. As you build relationships and reputation, the payoff will naturally follow.

Want more #QBConnect content? Check out our full coverage of QuickBooks Connect Toronto 2018!

The post Growing Your Business Through Content Marketing: Bram Warshafsky at QuickBooks Connect appeared first on Method.

The social media landscape has also changed significantly in a short period of time. Back when Wasek started her firm, VM Wasek CPA, LLC, in 2010, no one used Facebook for business marketing — the platform was strictly for personal connections with your “real” family and friends. Today, it’s just one of several social platforms that are heavily used by businesses of all sizes.

While social media marketing might seem intimidating, Wasek believes it is a powerful tool for all modern accountants and bookkeepers: “I have grown my business entirely through online sources.” Her goal for the session was to take the guesswork out of social media by covering her seven tried-and-true strategies for engaging new clients online.

1. Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience is absolutely essential to engaging them through your social media endeavors. You have to know exactly who your ideal customer is because the goal isn’t necessarily to reach a lot of people – it’s to reach the right people.

“Be intentional about the types of clients you choose to work with,” advised Wasek. The clients you’re aiming for are the ones who will value you and pay a premium for the work that you do. Build a profile of your ideal client — Wasek likened it to the exercise of listing your ideal qualities in a mate. Where are they located? What industry are they in? How large is their business? These clues will help you craft the messages you’ll post on social media.

Once you know who your ideal client is, you need to figure out what their biggest needs are. These needs may be related to emotion, time, or money. Identify how your product or service can solve the client’s problem and resolve their frustration. Then, think about how you can build a connection with them by answering these questions:

• What are they searching for online?
• How can you provide value?
• How can you meet their specific needs?

2. Stand Out and Get Noticed

Chances are, you’re not the only one targeting a certain group of clients. This means you need to look at where you fit in the market — and determine what makes your firm stand out from the others. “If you don’t stand out from the competition, all you can compete on is price,” said Wasek.

However, your ideal client is looking for more than just a discount. They want to make a personal connection with you; they want to work with a real person. Social media gives you an outlet to showcase who you are as a person and a company, thereby allowing you to make an authentic emotional connection.

Avoid solely sharing sales information or promoting your services on your social media channels. Instead, take the opportunity to tell your story and your employees’ stories in a fun and unique way. Wasek encouraged the audience to think about the aspects of their “normal” lives that they could bring into their businesses: Who are you? What are you passionate about? What are your interests?

Wasek offered some other tips for letting your company’s personality shine through on social media:

• Use headshots instead of logo images. Your logo is an important part of your branding, but no one wants to work with a logo. Let potential clients see the real person behind the company.
• Share behind-the-scenes photos of your team. These are super effective because people love to see the personalities of the professionals they’ll be working with. Hire a photographer and devote a few hours to capturing what life really looks like in your office.

• Share videos. Videos are another highly effective way to connect with your audience because they help clients determine if they would enjoy working with you. You can produce scripted videos for a more polished performance, or share more casual peeks into your everyday office life or big events.

3. Establish Yourself as an Expert

In order to cut through the noise on social media, you need a reason for people to pay attention to you. Take stock of your “superpowers.” Do you have extensive knowledge in certain areas? Do you specialize in a particular niche that no one else covers?

Also consider any special credentials you have, including awards, honors, and accolades. This is where you need to stop being humble and make sure that you publicize your strengths. “If there’s ever an opportunity for an award — I nominate myself,” explained Wasek. You can increase your “trust” factor by highlighting your expertise on your social media profiles.

Producing content is another great way to demonstrate your authority in the industry. This might include blogging, writing guest posts for industry blogs, creating video content for YouTube, producing ebooks — whatever plays to your strengths. You should also make sure that your LinkedIn profile and Find-a-ProAdvisor listing are up-to-date and that they highlight your credentials. Remember, your ideal clients will pay premium prices to work with a trusted expert.

4. Make Connections

What if one social media post led you to find some of your biggest clients? “It can happen — it happened to me,” said Wasek. She went on to tell the audience how her LinkedIn activity led to two referrals that ultimately netted $200,000.

But before you can get the valuable referrals, you need to establish connections. Your goal is to use social media to build relationships with as many people as possible. Look for industry and niche influencers, other trusted advisors (including accountants, bookkeepers, consultants, and attorneys), and prospects who fit your ideal client profile. All the while, you’re aiming to increase your “know”, “like” and “trust” factors.

One of Wasek’s pro tips for making connections on LinkedIn is to ensure that your headline clearly spells out what you do. “This is essentially free advertising if you use the headline effectively,” she noted. She recommends using a simple magic formula: “I help [ideal client] to [achieve a desired outcome in terms of time/money/emotion].”

5. Share Valuable Content

Content really is king. Wasek explained that by sharing valuable, informative content with your ideal clients, you help them move beyond the searching stage and into the engaging, connecting, and trusting stages.

“A lot of times when I talk to prospective clients, they say ‘I feel like I know you’ — and that is powerful because when your prospective client feels like they know you, they’re ready to work with you.”

Of course, it’s not just about putting out any old content — you need a strategy. You already know your audience and what their biggest needs are, so your next step is to come up with content topics that address those needs. These topics will often be based on the questions that clients ask you — for instance, how to do something in QuickBooks. Wasek also recommends looking at what types of things people are searching for on Google or what offerings Intuit is currently promoting.

There are many different platforms where content can be shared, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Publishing, or your personal blog or podcast. But you don’t have to do it all! Instead, focus on your strengths and put effort into creating unique content that resonates with your audience.

6. Build Community

If social media has taught us anything, it’s that people want to be part of a community. “I didn’t realize that until I started a Facebook group,” said Wasek.

Wasek strongly recommends Facebook groups as the best way to connect with like-minded people online. You can join groups for accountants and bookkeepers or for specific industries or apps. You can also establish your own groups to mark yourself as an expert in your field and generate referrals.

Regardless of which groups you’re in, aim to start conversations, build relationships, give value, and learn from others. The more communities you’re involved in, the more you can build your network and grow your social media audience.

7. Craft a Powerful Call-to-Action

At the end of the day, you want your social media strategies to help you turn prospects into clients. This means you need to master the art of the CTA, or call-to-action.

Your CTA is the action you want a prospect to take when they visit your pages; this prompt should be included wherever you share your content. For example, you might ask prospects to learn more about your services, join your mailing list, or book a discovery call. The idea behind a CTA is to keep the conversation going and guide your audience through the next stage of your sales funnel.

Wasek ended her session by encouraging the audience to join her own Facebook group — a real-life call-to-action that reinforced just how powerful these seven social media strategies can be.

Want more #QBConnect content? Check out our full coverage of QuickBooks Connect San Jose 2018!

The post Mastering the Art of Social Media: Veronica Wasek at QuickBooks Connect appeared first on Method.

Luckily, there are plenty of Black Friday marketing ideas you can use to make this happen. 

Keep reading for a step-by-step breakdown of how to build a Black Friday marketing strategy that will boost your sales. 

6 ways to perfect your Black Friday marketing strategy

Start your preparations early

For a lot of people, the time between Halloween and the holidays goes by in the blink of an eye. This often means you don’t have a lot of time to prepare for a Black Friday sale. 

One way around this is to plan your Black Friday marketing strategy sooner rather than later. 

To start, look at what has worked and what hasn’t this year. This will give you an idea of what your customers’ needs are and will let you be strategic in planning the Black Friday deals you offer. 

Next, review what marketing channels have been successful. Then use this information to shape your Black Friday marketing strategy.

Pro-tip: When building your Black Friday marketing strategy, start early and incorporate learnings from past successes and failures into your plan. 

Remember that bigger isn’t necessarily better

A lot of small business owners get intimidated by the discounted deals big chains offer. 

There is, however, no need for this as a little small business charm goes a long way! 

Instead of focusing on hefty discount codes, be smarter and more personal in the deals you include in your Black Friday marketing strategy. To find out what deals you should offer, dig into your historical data to find out:

• What your biggest sellers were last holiday season
• What products kept your customers coming back throughout the year
• What the biggest barriers to purchase are for your new and repeat customers
• What the top reasons are for sales opportunities not closing

Once you answer these questions, you can offer your leads and customers the most enticing offer possible.

Pro-tip: If answering this information is tedious for you, it’s time to invest in customer management software. This way, you can find these answers in just a few clicks. 

Back up your Black Friday marketing strategy with data

Customer data is important for every business. Yet it’s something that many small businesses don’t leverage — so it’s good to include it in your Black Friday marketing strategy.

To begin, rely on what you already know about your customer base such as their demographics, preferences, and transaction history. Next, determine:

• What marketing initiatives worked and didn’t in previous years
• Which types of customers are most receptive to your holiday promotions
• Which of your messages and promotions get the most engagement

Then, use these insights to inform every aspect of your Black Friday marketing strategy — from email campaigns to social media posts and personalized reach-outs.

Pro-tip: Instead of relying on your intuition to shape your Black Friday marketing strategy, let data be the driving force. 

Get on board with Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday is a fairly new addition to the holiday shopping season that should be part of your Black Friday marketing strategy.

For context, the day was put into motion by American Express in 2010 and has been gaining ground ever since. It encourages buyers to “shop small” by spotlighting some of the top small businesses in the U.S.A.

To participate, make sure your Black Friday marketing campaign continues through Nov. 28, if not the whole weekend (don’t forget about Cyber Monday)!

You can use these advertising freebies (signs, posters, email templates, web badges, etc.) to jumpstart your promotion. Make sure to use the hashtag #ShopSmall to get the word out about your business to as many small business shoppers as possible!

Pro-tip: Get creative with your Small Business Saturday ideas and celebrate all of the customers who have supported you over the years!

Step up your email marketing game

If you aren’t already using email marketing to connect with your customer base, there’s no better time to start. 

In the weeks leading up to Small Business Saturday, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, customers are glued to their inboxes — truly paying attention to alerts about upcoming deals.

Take advantage of your audience’s willingness to buy during this period by creating email campaigns that are personalized and automated. 

This is a crucial part of any Black Friday marketing strategy because:

• 91% of consumers are more likely to buy when they receive personalized offers. 
• Scheduling email campaigns in advance lets you focus purely on selling during the post-Thanksgiving shopping chaos.

Pro-tip: Segment your email audience into groups based on your buyer personas and offer each segment personalized offers as well as messaging. 

Make sure the early bird gets the worm

As part of your Black Friday marketing strategy, it’s smart to create hidden, gated landing pages that showcase your Black Friday promotions. This way your website is ready to go before Black Friday and you can instantly collect the lead details of interested buyers with a lead gen form. 

And when you consider that 54% of buyers start holiday shopping before Black Friday, it’s clear that this tactic is a great opportunity to:

• Get more eyes on your Black Friday promotions 
• Add leads to your contact database
• Close deals with early-bird shoppers before your competitors do
• Ship orders out the door before your peak season 

“54% of buyers start holiday shopping before Black Friday.” 

— Cision, 2017. 

In light of this trend, you can also offer a few pre-Thanksgiving deals for these early birds. Better yet, you can send special VIP offers to your most loyal customers.

Pro-tip: Let the cash flow in early with a pre-Black Friday marketing strategy that offers exclusive deals to top customers. 

Recap: Black Friday marketing strategy

Here’s a list of simple tips to make this Black Friday your best one yet. 

1. Don’t delay! Get started on planning your Black Friday marketing strategy early in the fall. 
2. Create promotions that are valuable to your target market instead of trying to offer the biggest discounts possible. 
3. Let data be the driving force behind your Black Friday marketing strategy.
4. Incorporate Small Business Saturday into your Black Friday plans. 
5. Leverage personalization and automation in your email campaigns. 
6. Take advantage of early-bird shoppers with pre-Black Friday offers. 

Looking for more ways to increase your sales? Then check out this free ebook! 

Image credit: Ashkan Forouzani via Unsplash

The post How to make your Black Friday marketing strategy successful appeared first on Method.