Understanding what leads are and how to capture and convert them is crucial to your success in the construction industry.
In this blog, we’re diving deep into the world of leads, including how they fit into the marketing funnel, how to generate leads through digital marketing and how to turn leads into clients. Keep reading to learn more.
What is a lead?
If you’re new to digital marketing, you’ve probably heard the term ‘lead’ thrown around. But what exactly is a lead? A lead is a marketing term that refers to any person who has expressed interest in your product or services but hasn’t purchased anything yet. The below examples are all different kinds of leads:
- Opt-in download
- Completed website contact form
- Phone call
- Direct email
- Newsletter sign up
When investing in digital marketing, leads will generally reach out to your business first – as opposed to the other way around (gone are the days of cold calling!). This is generally in response to some kind of marketing activity, for example a Facebook (Meta) ad showcasing your opt-in or an automated email series highlighting your services.
It’s important to recognise that leads are not just random enquiries, but rather potential future customers who are genuinely interested in your services. Each lead you generate has the potential to become a customer, whether they’re interested in building an architecturally designed custom home or undertaking a huge multi-development project.
Where do leads fit into the marketing funnel?
Leads are crucial to the marketing funnel – they are what you are trying to move through from awareness all the way through to the loyalty stage.
All leads will be targeted during the awareness stage at the very top of the funnel. Potential clients who engage with your brand at this stage are generally very early on in their building journey and will need more nurturing before they can be converted into a lead, and eventually a client. This is what we would define as a “cold” lead. At this stage, a lead might be someone who has seen your site signage or signed up to your email newsletter in response to a Facebook (Meta) ad.
In the consideration stage, potential clients are further into their decision making process and have actively started researching what they’re looking for – the marketing term for these kinds of leads is “warm” leads. Warm leads are more likely to come from downloading your opt-in document or responding to an email newsletter.
“Hot” leads are even further along in their decision-making process and may fall under the consideration or conversion stages in the marketing funnel. These leads will come from actions like expressing interest via your website contact form or visiting your display home.
In the loyalty stage of the marketing funnel, your leads have become clients and are highly valuable to your business in the form of referral, testimonials, reviews and client-generated content.
How builders can generate leads
One of the most effective methods of obtaining more leads is running a targeted lead generation campaign on Facebook (Meta). By offering your educational opt-in document as a free download, you can capture the attention of your target audience and encourage them to provide their details, including their name, email, phone number and postcode. This allows you to firstly determine whether the lead is relevant to your business (a quality lead) and if so, engage them directly.
Another effective method of lead generation is utilising Google Ads. By creating and optimising targeted campaigns, you can ensure your services are shown at the top of search results when potential clients are actively seeking construction services. The best Google Ad campaign results come when users are directed to a tailored landing page that provides information and where visitors are encouraged to enquire.
How to turn leads into clients
Generating quality leads is only the first step. For your business to become truly successful, you need to learn how to turn leads into clients. This is then supported through your sales process where you start to nurture the leads into becoming a client.
One of the best ways to nurture leads through the marketing funnel is by crafting an automated email series. These are generally made up of six to eight separate emails that are sent a few weeks apart. Each email focuses on a different topic, allowing readers to gain a comprehensive picture of your entire business over the series. Not only is an email automation a great way to provide information without overloading potential clients, it’s completely hands-free for you.
A more direct approach is to personally reach out to any lead that has engaged with your business. Proactively sending an email or giving a call to someone who has downloaded your opt-in, or asked to walk through your display home will help you play a larger role in the consideration set for when they decide to choose a builder. Engaging a sales coach to assist in strategies to reach out to all the leads that are being generated by your marketing efforts is another excellent way to maximise your return on investment and proactively build your pipeline of quality leads.
At Sea Salt Marketing we constantly receive positive feedback from our clients that proactively reach out to the leads we generate for them:
“I have followed all the leads up and about 40% have been booked in for a site meeting. I will keep you updated with how they go but this is extremely exciting!” Junior Faraimo, Director Arqo Building
Of course, the most effective way to generate and nurture substantial leads is by investing in a varied and long-term marketing campaign. By doing so, you’ll build up brand awareness and generate consistent leads through multiple channels.
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If you’re looking for a marketing agency to help you create a long-term marketing strategy that generates high-quality leads, get in touch with the team at Sea Salt Marketing. We have proven experience generating leads for all kinds of builders across Australia.
