You've worked hard on lead generation with your marketing automation tools. You've followed the guru Ryan Deiss at Digital Marketer and the like. Your optin forms that send out your pdf e-book with a follow-up sequence is educating your prospective customer. Top-of-the-funnel hats off to you my friend! Oh wait, you mean that first name and email address isn't cutting it? You need to know more?
As you progress your prospect through your funnel, from TOFU to MOFU (middle-of-the-funnel), you need that progression to be more than your newly acquired lead hitting the opt-out button! Opens and clicks only tell you they are engaged with your content, without a doubt that is valuable. But wait – you spent weeks and a few benjamins on building your perfect prospective customer's persona. As your prospect progresses from TOFU to MOFU you need to be qualifying them, not just quantifying them.
Afterall, the only way to grow your business is to optimize and maximize customer value. Let's make sure we are clear with this point first, then we will circle back to “going beyond first name with Infusionsoft“.
Many CRM initiatives have delivered disappointing returns because there is no framework or process in place to fully exploit available information. The information is there, but it’s not being used. Customer value cannot be optimized.
Why Customer Value Optimization Trumps Conversion Optimization
Customer Value Optimization (CVO) is the process we use for every business we start, acquire or consult. The goal is to create a sales funnel that allows you to outspend your competition to acquire and keep customers. The CVO
Strategic Planning. This service digs deep into your processes, your systems and your strategy. We make sure you have defined, rigidly and systematically, your perfect prospective customer. This definition must include the obvious demographics but more importantly the psycho-graphics. Then we test your willpower to prove that your approach, your tactics, your messages and your core offerings match what that perfect prospective customer is looking for. We require that you understand and can articulate your plan, your vision, your position statement effectively and with fire in your gut. With our strategic planning session your target customer will be redefined, your marketing tactics will no longer be in question, you will have a strong and decisive position statement, you’ll know your strengths, admit to your weaknesses, relish in your accomplishments and learn from your mistakes.
process is what we use to grow revenue. Marketers and small business owners should understand it because it is how you create an unstoppable business. Those that employ this process are impossible to compete with. With customer value optimization approaches in place, existing information resources will now generate the insights that drive more effective customer interactions, more targeted campaigns and more proactive retention activities — and ultimately, the profitability gains that have been so elusive. Customer value optimization requires the ability to access, integrate and analyze information from across the enterprise — creating a holistic view of customer behavior across products, channels, pricing plans, networks, billing and call centers. You have to bring all this data together — accounting for all factors associated with a customer — to assess and optimize customer value.
Gather Information Your Prospect is Not Willing to Give.
In this day of suspect internet security, many prospects are understandably unwilling to share private information. However, you need this information to fill out your Infusionsoft forms and keep in contact with them. How can you let your anonymous prospect remain anonymous, yet gather information that enable you to systematically advance the conversation, so that the anonymous prospect feels like you get their problems, have a solution the is actionable?
Ask questions.
Conduct surveys.
Make sure clicks correlate to a known interest.
Easy enough, right? Understand all of the above, has to weigh the value you gain versus the comfort of someone actually giving it to you. Huh? How do we do that?
First you have to have a well defined avatar, persona and perfect prospective customer. Secondly, we are assuming here that you know their pains, problems, wants and needs.
Now, develop questions that seek information such as:
What's your role?
Those that ask questions to gauge a set of beliefs, with available answer you want and do not want. Think lead scoring.
Probe degree to make a decision.
Ones that seek an age range.
Determine the industry or economic sector they work in.
Region, state, zone or province they live or work in.
Level of higher education or certifications achieved.
Feeling finding questions. When you say X, they feel Y or Z.
When you incorporate these into your forms, make sure you are giving a higher degree of value, from the perspective of your viewer. Remember, how you ask the question is critical to gathering it. Your MOFU prospect has to feel like they are not showing their hand. They have to feel like you cannot know who they are. All of this information will allow you to target your prospect better. Always be asking yourself and your advisors how compelling your offer is? Infusionsoft can’t help you there — only you can make sure that you're offering your prospects a valuable trip-wire product or user experience in return for their information.
You've probed beyond first name and email address. Now what do you do with it?
Here is where your magic and potentially a huge white-board come into play. You need to map out your response. Meaning, when a certain question is answered, your response is sent accordingly. Think Infusionsoft decision
Why should I choose Viral Solutions for these services? While there are other providers for many of the services that we provide, at Viral Solutions we are completely focused on your needs as a business owner rather than our own success. Here are some of the greatest benefits that come with working with Viral Solutions:
diamonds.
Example, we developed a questionnaire for a ministry.Click here to see it in play. Three questions for someone seeking a personal prayer.
The first question asks how they feel, with appropriate dropdown answers.
The second question asks what their problem is, in a respectable manner.
The third question asks, what they seek as a resolution.
104 possible combinations. Delivers 104 video responses. The recipient feels like the Rabbi is there with them.
Today’s sales and marketing automation software is amazing. Buying it is not the part that makes you and I amazing. Treating the tool like the chief in your business is how you really make them hum. We have used many CRM – SaaS – Marketing Automation software systems over the years. Yes – I even recall cold calling with a physical milk crate full of manilla folders in the passenger seat. That was my first CRM. Today’s systems are incredibly powerful, they remember things we cannot keep track of. They can send out information on a schedule and even to a person you have segmented to receive it. These systems are life changing. They have greatly improved our business internally. Where would we be without this tool?
Answer, you can do all this without the tool. We have all done it in person for decades. However, the guru you follow cannot implement a plan for you and neither can the software you pay thousands for.
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100’s of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner and an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant.
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
At Viral Solutions we are committed to seeing YOU succeed. It is our goal to grow your business with proven digital marketing strategies that will help your business for the long haul.
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