No matter your business model, converting sales leads to actual sales is important to your success. But what is the best path to converting customers? There are endless ways you can approach and incentivize your customer base. From in-person marketing to running online ad campaigns on social media, the choices available to you can be overwhelming. You’ve reached a fork in the road as to which marketing path to take. Now, consider this comparison of in-person and online conversion strategies to help you win customers. 

Driving Leads In-Person

First, let’s explore the benefits, drawbacks, and strategies that come with driving leads in person. These face-to-face marketing methods have certainly taken a hit in the pandemic era. As the digital economy grew, in-person marketing took a back seat. However, by interacting with your customers directly, you can promote your brand in all kinds of creative ways. These won’t be the best options for all businesses, though. Here’s what you should know about driving leads in person.

Benefits

There are a lot of positives to “taking to the streets,” as they say, with your marketing approach. Having a direct line to your potential customers means reaping certain rewards only a face-to-face line can produce. These benefits include but certainly are not limited to

• Enhanced ability to build customer relationships with your brand by giving it a human face.
• Instant feedback cultivation through reading facial expressions, hearing direct verbal feedback, and seeing for yourself how products and services are received. 
• Immediacy of response with the means to answer questions and concerns directly and build interest.

Drawbacks

However, an in-person approach won’t work for every marketer. While we’re still coming out of a pandemic, safety is a real concern for physical gatherings. This makes stop-and-greets even riskier than they always have been. Pandemic concerns aside, you run the risk of other disadvantages when conducting marketing in person. These disadvantages include

• Annoying customers with marketing efforts they may not be open to. 
• Investing money in events, fliers, and advertising with uncertain attendance. 
• Lack of managerial oversight in how all messaging is relayed to an audience. 

Strategies

These drawbacks may not be drawbacks at all with the proper preparation and research. Similarly, these benefits won’t be beneficial without the same. Any in-person strategy should begin with an exploration of your target audience. Find yours through data collection, a data-driven plan, and thorough market research. A/B testing is one step you should always take as you compare the reception of different strategies. From here, gauge the receptiveness of your audience to offline marketing tools like the following:

• Develop and pass out unique and memorable business cards.
• Give out promotional materials and SWAG.
• Engage in local events and support local communities.

With these considerations in mind, explore the potential of an in-person approach to marketing. You can generate more leads and convert more customers if they feel an attachment to your business. In-person marketing can often achieve this better than anything else, but you’ll want to explore online lead driving methods as well. 

Driving Leads Online

The Internet is the place to be for most businesses these days. The pandemic boosted social media use to 3.81 billion people, a market penetration rate of 49% of the global population. This is huge and representative of a powerful resource for marketers. That said, these online marketplaces are saturated with marketing content, meaning you might have a hard time standing out. Consider the benefits, drawbacks, and strategies of online lead conversion before planning your approach. 

Benefits

An effective approach to online lead conversions will help you build a strong following. With the accessibility and convenience of the Internet, a broader audience of loyal customers awaits. Achieving this, however, requires comprehensive SEO strategies and thorough research of your market to become visible in the crowded digital landscape. If done successfully, online lead driving can lead to benefits like the following:

• Long-term scalability in a global marketplace.
• Sustained customer attention through customer outreach, engagement, and relevant content. 
• Visibility on growing platforms for customer engagement, with half the world as a potential audience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Drawbacks

Just as there are benefits to online lead driving, there are also negatives. Your efforts may not go nearly as far as you want. Competition abounds, and garnering customer attention through marketing campaigns on the web may be more costly than you might think. Consider these drawbacks as you evaluate a lead conversion strategy that works for you: 

• High competition on the global marketplace that is the Internet means your marketing content has to offer a truly unique value proposition. 
• Online marketing campaigns tend to have low rates of recall, making it difficult to get customers to remember your brand. 
• Cost per click for digital advertising averages between $1-$3, making this a potentially expensive route for driving leads. 

Strategies

Again, the benefits and drawbacks of online marketing for lead conversion depend on the strategies you employ. Tools and software can help you make the most of online strategies, however. For example, quality SEO tools allow you to plan, edit, and analyze keywords and content for maximized visibility. When assisting in strategies like the following, such tools can transform your marketing:

• Use social media to research and connect with your leads.
• Enhance your SEO through the creation of highly relevant, quality content that your audience will find valuable. 
• Create a comprehensive analytics process with customer and industry data to elevate your online marketing strategies with facts. 

As you navigate the potential of online lead conversion tactics, explore these factors in the equation. Online marketing isn’t always right for your budget or business model, but a healthy dose of it sprinkled into your marketing strategies can be highly beneficial. 

Finding the Best Path for Your Conversion Rates

There is no singular right answer for taking a more in-person or online approach to converting your leads. The best path to converting your customers could fall more in line with one or it could be a thorough blend of both. The important thing is to understand your audience. Your customers will determine what conversion strategies work best for them, so reach out. Talk to them. Do your research, and come away with the means to elevate your marketing for the modern economy.