By: Joanna Ellis-Escobar–
Attracting and retaining clients for your franchise enterprise is critical to your long-term success in this competitive business field. Lead capture for franchisees must go well beyond simple online forms and business card giveaways; instead, it should be a core activity for your sales and marketing staff. Understanding the keys to successful lead generation and capture can help you achieve greater saturation among your target demographics and audiences in the consumer marketplace. Here are four elements to keep in mind that will ultimately help you improve your lead capture process in the franchise industry.
KEY ELEMENT #1: Time Is of the Essence
The fast pace of modern commerce has made a significant impact on the speed necessary to pursue leads in the online marketplace. Consumers who visit your website are typically in the market to buy products immediately. A delay of mere hours in responding to an initial contact can result in a missed opportunity and a lost sale. Rapid response times for all leads should be a company-wide priority within your franchise organization to ensure ongoing profitability and growth in the competitive marketplace. Chat 24/7 Live, for example, offers one of the fastest turnaround times for leads and information derived from visitors to your website. This can allow your sales team to be in direct contact with potential buyers before they can explore other options online and before you lose a customer to one of your competitors.
KEY ELEMENT #2: The Right Impression Matters
While we’re all well aware of the importance of professionalism in face-to-face meetings with current and potential clients, keep in mind that it’s equally important to make a positive first impression in the online environment. Creating professional and welcoming websites and landing pages can not only attract new customers, but can also improve retention rates for your existing clientele. Taking a little extra time and effort to create the most appealing and persuasive online presence can pay off in increased traffic and higher sales for your franchise.
KEY ELEMENT #3: Create that Personal Touch
Live chat services can help your company connect with potential customers while creating a friendly atmosphere that can carry over into discussions with your franchise sales and marketing staff. Companies like Chat 24/7 Live can provide highly trained and experienced operators to ensure that your customers are treated with courtesy and respect throughout their online experience with your company. The interactive nature of online chat conversations can ensure that your sales staff members receive the most complete and accurate information with which to follow up on these leads.
KEY ELEMENT #4: Measure and Evaluate
Tracking the success rate of your lead generation efforts can provide you with added insights into the most effective methods for increasing conversion rates and boosting your sales. By taking note of successes and eliminating strategies that don’t work for your company, you can make the best possible use of your available marketing budget while increasing your profitability and corporate longevity in the franchise industry.
By enlisting the help of experienced, well-regarded professionals to generate leads and make positive contacts with visitors to your landing pages and website, you can ensure you’re putting your marketing dollars to work for you in the best way possible while enhancing lead generation and conversion efforts for your franchise.
