Lead generation is your bread and butter, especially if you are a sales-driven company dependent on your qualified leads.
To be a powerhouse when it comes to lead generation, you have to have a strategy and stick to it. To grow your business through the lead generation process, you’ve got to avoid mistakes as they can be costly to your bottom line.
Today we’re going to discuss 5 CTA mistakes that kill your lead generation funnels. We’ll talk about them and then show you some ways to avoid them.
Mistake #1: Ambiguous Language
What is ambiguous language? Its language used in your call to action (CTA) that is open to more than one interpretation, may have a double meaning, or is completely unclear.
We explain ambiguous language because we don’t want you to get caught in the trap of trying to be so clever that your words take on more than one meaning. We don’t want you to lead your website visitors through a gold encrusted curtain only to be left with something plain and boring.
You’ve got to tell your customers straight up what they’ll receive if they follow through with your call to action. Don’t promise diamonds and provide rocks.
This is important on many levels. Ambiguous language that entices but under-delivers leaves your leads dissatisfied. It encourages their distrust in your website and your company.
Language that is open to interpretation is a CTA mistake that will kill your lead generation process into the future as well.
As a last note, always be upfront about next steps. Tell your leads what’s coming next so they aren’t disappointed in the end result.
Mistake #2: Hidden Calls to Action
One of the best ways to kill your lead generation process is to have a cluttered landing page with a vague or misplaced call to action. Your goal is conversion rate optimization, but if your website visitor can’t find your call to action, you’re in trouble.
Here are some tips for an obvious call to action:
- Make it easy to find. Don’t bury it on a busy, cluttered page.
- Use a big, bold, obvious call to action button. According to WordStream, button color matters.
- It should be visually attractive.
- Keep the text at a minimum. The button text needs no more than five words. Use action words.
- Use color to make it stand out. A contrasting color is good as long as it still fits with your overall brand. Test which colors work best for your call to action. See which colors work to enhance your lead generation.
- Make it large, but not so large it’s annoying.
- It should be easy to understand. Again, tell them exactly what they’ll get.
Mistake #3: Lackluster Text
Crafting a clever call to action that is compelling and straightforward all at the same time involves creativity and planning. The language involved in your call to action may be the difference to your website visitor becoming a lead or traveling quickly away from your website.
The language you use in your call to action text is directly responsible for whether or not they become a lead. In your text, tell them exactly what the benefit is to them. Use a minimal amount of words, but get the point across with specific benefits.
Now, let’s consider the language of your submit button. This is the final part of your call to action. It is your last chance to convince your website visitor to take the desired action.
Let’s face it, the word submit is old and stale. It doesn’t necessarily inspire action, and it’s vague and unwelcoming. Be creative and use something other than click here or submit.
We suggest using powerful action verbs. Elicit a response from you website visitor with words like get, catch, have, feel, grab, gain.
Your goal is to use strong, compelling words. Make your offer one they can’t refuse. If you’re feeling really creative, try button text that involves your web visitor by using the words, I, me or my as part of your button text.
You could try: Start my email subscription, Get my results, Submit my review, Download my paper. Be creative – we’re sure you can come up with others, too!
Mistake #4: Broken Sales Funnel
If you use the exact same CTA on every page, you are likely leaving leads on the table. While it is certainly easier to use the same call to action everywhere, it’s not the most prudent way to generate new leads.
As your website visitors move around your site, their desires and their needs often change. If you are presenting your calls to action correctly, you even want their needs to change.
When your call to action doesn’t reflect the landing page’s message, you’ve made a mistake that will kill your lead generation process. Effective CTAs must be appropriate for the point at which your web visitors find themselves.
You’ve got to time the ask right. Ask too early, and they aren’t interested yet. Ask too late, and they may have already left your sales funnel.
As you’re planning your lead generation marketing strategy, make a flow chart so you’re sure to add the appropriate call to action at just the right time.
Mistake #5: Misaligned Verbiage
Your call to action most likely leads to a landing page. Another big mistake marketers make is having CTA copy that doesn’t match landing page copy.
Not only is this confusing to your prospective leads, but it can also be seen as untrustworthy and misleading. Your landing page copy should mimic your CTA copy and then go on to provide more detail.
Use the same words and images on both your CTA and landing page for the best results.
To Conclude
The purpose of your CTA is to get your website visitor to take a desired action. Whether that’s to buy something, read something, engage with your information, sign up for your newsletter, leave a review or register online, your lead generation process is vital to your success.
Your call to action buttons have a purpose. That purpose is to drive potential customers to become leads by filling out a form on your landing page. Consider your call to action as the bridge between your regular website page and a landing page that is worth more to the customer. Their ultimate target, the result of the call to action, is something they want.
The bottom line when it comes to the call to action, is to make it easy, keep it straightforward, build it so it’s compelling, and in the end provide what you promised.
Lastly, we can’t say this enough – test, test and test again. This is a great way to avoid CTA mistakes that kill your lead generation process. Test your CTA, measure it and revise it to hone your lead generation process.
If you’d like more information on how to avoid mistakes that kill your lead generation process, we can help. Conversion rate optimization and lead generation are our specialty. We can help you craft super calls to action that drive more visitors to your landing pages and improve your overall conversion rate.
Contact us today for a FREE site performance analysis so we can help you with your lead generation process.
Image: eSos.de
The post 5 CTA Mistakes that Kill Your Lead Generation Funnels appeared first on Landing Page Optimization Blog.
