What is a GOOD conversion rate?

There is no single answer to this, as an acceptable conversion rate varies depending on your business.

Generally speaking, a reasonable conversion rate is above 10% (which would put your business in the top 10% worldwide.) Word-of-mouth referrals generally convert around 80% as they have already come from a trusted source and the trust has been established for you. Website or cooler conversions will convert around 10 – 30%. These are very generic numbers but what I see a lot of.

However, the conversion rate you should be aiming for is one that generates more money than the cost of marketing. When your conversion rate does that, your marketing pays for itself while also bringing in more business.

Case study: How a landscaper doubled their conversion rate

A landscaper I worked with came to me wanting to reduce their marketing spend, despite his marketing activities generating hundreds of leads a month.The reason?

He was making less money from sales than he was spending on marketing.

I explained to him that if he halved his marketing, his sales would halve as well, so he would be no better off.

The problem with his marketing wasn’t lead generation: it was conversion.

We got to work devising a conversion strategy, and within a few months, he had doubled his conversion rate and was making more money from sales than he was spending in marketing.

With a conversion strategy, he knew how much he would make in sales for every dollar spent on marketing. Instead of halving his marketing spend, he doubled it, and sales doubled with it.

Creating a conversion strategy was the missing piece of the puzzle to building a business with unlimited growth potential.

Here is how we did it:

Five tips to increase your conversion rate:

1. Start with intention

Coming back to your ‘why’ may seem like a basic tip, but because it is so simple, businesses don’t think they need to pay too much attention to it.

To maximise your sales conversion rate, you must be clear on why and how you are helping people, and communicating this effectively to your leads.

After all, your leads only know as much as you are willing to share about your business. The more information you give them, the more knowledge they have to back up a decision to do business with you.

Gain clarity on the value you bring to your customers and use that to inform the messages you send to your leads, whether through phone conversations, email newsletters or social media posts.

2. A more compelling introductory offer

Every business should have some introductory offer to give leads a taste of their services.

This could come in the form of a free consultation or quote.

However, most offers don’t go much further than this simple offering.

The issue with such generic offers is that your competitors probably offer something similar.

Have a think about your introductory offer and consider if it is compelling enough. How does your offer differentiate you from your competitors?

If your introductory offer is generic, look to your intent (from the previous tip) and take inspiration from your unique selling proposition to craft a similarly unique offer.

Maybe you are a local area expert or specialise in a particular aspect of your industry. Use that to your advantage when crafting your offer. And if you think that you might lose customers by being too specific, nothing stops you from crafting multiple introductory offers!

3. Focus on user experience

User experience (or UX) has become a modern marketing buzzword.

And for a good reason: Your website should bring customers seamlessly through the sales funnel.

A retail store with helpful staff and a straightforward layout will have a better conversion rate than one with a chaotic layout and inattentive staff. Why? Because they make it easier for customers to find what they want to buy.

User experience brings that same concept online.

Ensure your website is aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate, and place calls to action tactfully throughout. And don’t fall for the trap of there being too many calls to action as users might see them as spam.

4. Remarketing

When leads visit your website and don’t take action, there is a chance you have missed the opportunity to make the sale.

How can you stay top of mind for those leads who may still be considering their options?

The answer is remarketing. Remarketing utilises user data to show ads for websites they previously visited.

Remarketing ads increase your exposure, reminding your leads that you are here and ready to help them. You can also use remarketing to take leads down the sales funnel by promoting an offer they may not have seen while on your site.

5. Follow-up calls

While most of these tips are about online marketing, you can’t ignore that direct sales still have a prominent role to play, especially for SMEs.

With 92% of customer interactions happening over the phone, a phone conversation is often more engaging for customers than being on a website they could navigate away from at any time.

When you see new leads come through, give them a call and start building a personal relationship.

These follow-up calls should not be about making a sale straight away but rather understanding the issues your leads are facing before you hit them with your offer.

Want advice on how to apply these tips to your business?

Not sure where to start when formulating your conversion strategy, book a free call below.