No matter the size of your business or your nonprofit, creating a lead-generation funnel is the easiest way to scale your impact.
It’s the marketing playbook you’ve been looking for. It will work for your business or nonprofit regardless of what you sell, what your mission is or who your target audience is.
So, what is lead generation? It’s the process of attracting prospects to your organization in order to build a relationship and convert them into a donor, volunteer or customer. One of the most important things to remember is that the lead-generation funnel does not end when someone converts the first time.
In fact, that’s just the beginning. There’s so much more you can do with a funnel that will nurture your relationship with each individual and turn them into an advocate with your brand.
Let’s take a look at the five reasons why a lead-generation funnel will enhance your marketing and fundraising efforts.
1. A lead-generation funnel is inexpensive.
When you create a proper funnel, you do not need to go out and spend thousands of dollars on ads that don’t give you a quality return on your investment. Of course, there is a time and place for an ad campaign, but it’s pertinent to have your foundation for what you do when people first come to your website. And this part is really inexpensive. In fact, all you really need is a website and a way to email your prospects!
2. You can create them on your own (DIY).
To create an effective funnel, it can help to hire a marketing agency or a Business Made Simple/StoryBrand consultant. But, the beautiful thing is that you don’t have to. Funnels represent a fantastic way to test and learn from your website, your prospects and what messaging works best with your target audience.
3. No more guessing if you hire a marketing agent; you know what the deliverables should be.
If you do decide to hire a consultant or agency, there’s no guessing on what you should do. You don’t have to hope and pray that they will be successful with your dollars. Instead, you can tell them exactly what you are looking for: A lead-generation funnel that nurtures prospects into customers/donors and then turns those individuals into advocates.
4. A lead-generation funnel will get you an enormous return.
Because lead-generation funnels are so inexpensive and you can produce them on your own, these funnels can bring you an enormous return on your investment. If you take a look at your analytics for your website, you will realize that there are so many individuals that are coming to your website one time and then jumping ship, never to return. This funnel will set you up to capture those individuals and bring them back to your website as second, third and fourth time users. And the more someone is on your site, the more likely they are to convert.
5. They win over clients without being pushy.
When you provide value, which is exactly what a lead-generation funnel is supposed to, your audience will not be annoyed by your brand. Humans get annoyed when they are hit with ads consistently that they don’t enjoy, don’t get value out of or don’t believe they should be seeing. This funnel is built for your captive audience, who is interested in your offerings, sees value in your organization and is ready to take the next step. It’s our job to make sure we call them to action.
So, ask yourself and your team: Do you have a lead-generation funnel that exists to turn lurkers into donors/customers and donors/customers into advocates? If not, start your lead-generation marketing campaign today and see your organization take the next step.