Digital marketing is helping many contractors in cleaning, landscaping, restoration, and other industry sectors market their services. In many cases, they are getting several leads with digital marketing. However, the leads they are getting are not necessarily the types of leads they are interested in.
This means they need a process to “weed-out” the leads they don’t want, allowing them to put more time and attention into those they do want. This can be accomplished by using what is called “lead scoring.”
Before we explore further, we need to define a couple of things. Digital marketing means different things to different people. According to Hubspot.com, a longtime leader in this field, digital marketing means:
“Encompassing all marketing efforts that use an electronic device or the internet. Businesses leverage digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and other websites to connect with current and prospective customers.”
Here are some simple examples. Sending out an email newsletter to current and prospective clients. Leveraging content from company blogs and posting them on LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media sites. Many contractors now use blogs for marketing purposes. Spreading them around using digital marketing is just the next step in the process.
The other thing we need to define is called lead scoring. Lead scoring is a way of qualifying leads. For contractors, the process is typically done manually, using a spreadsheet. For large, national companies receiving hundreds of leads every day, there are technologies that screen leads, so that only the most promising are delivered to salespeople.
Because the significant benefit of lead scoring is to help turn a prospect into a client, the first thing a contractor needs to do to develop a lead scoring program is to answer a few questions.
For instance:
- What is your target territory or coverage area?
- Who is your ideal client?
- Are you more interested in working in newer buildings, older facilities, or does it matter?
- Do you prefer multi-tenant office buildings or facilities that house just one company?
- What types of facilities are you most interested in? Schools? Office buildings? Medical facilities?
- Do you get most of your clients from referrals?
- What is your ideal budget range? (This refers to how small a client you will accept and, the reverse, how large a client you can handle).
Next Steps in Lead Scoring
The next steps in the process is to look at your wins, losses, and stalled leads. Try and identify the common threads. Many contractors find when they are referred (recommended) to a client, it’s almost like having one step in the door from the start. While we can’t sit around waiting for a referral, at least it is good to know we typically are successful in winning these types of clients.
Other things to look for are the following:
· Have you been more successful winning contracts in the healthcare industry or tech, for instance, but have not performed well calling on the education sector?
· Do most of your clients pay $5,000 to 10,000 per month, but few pay less or more than this?
· Are most of your clients in one or two geographic areas?
A quick analysis of your current clients can help you pinpoint the common threads in your success. Lead scoring does not imply you should just focus on these types of clients. What it does suggest is that there is a higher likelihood that prospects with these characteristics will become new clients, helping you direct your marketing time and attention to where it can get the most results.
The Segura & Associates blog is where cleaning contractors and other contractors find information that can help them grow their businesses and run them more successfully. Our goal is to help you become a leader in your industry. For more information, contact Ron Segura at seguraassociates@msn.com.
