Apply this simple solution to get a little incremental boost to paid first-visit conversion rates.
There can be a lot of talk and effort that goes into customer journey mapping exercises. Here’s a practical approach called: “Where’s the next step?” where we have to identify goals and starting points before repeatedly answering that question.
For this example, lets use the common goal of quality leads or “lead generation”. When interested folks are engaging, we’d love to be able to initiate communication at some point down the road.
Goal: Lead generation
Starting point: Paid media
When qualified prospects are engaged via paid media, where’s the next step for lead generation? This depends on the format and results of interacting with the ad. The next step could be right there, or it should be on the landing page. If that next step is not clearly within either the ad itself, or viewable on the landing page, a problem has been identified.
This is a basic example. Let’s take it a step further!
Goal: Purchase
Starting point: Paid media
Of course, another pretty common goal would be to get our engaged customer to make a purchase.
Calls-to-action (CTA) and landing pages aim to keep customers on track, but at the same time there is this a dual goal of ensuring we can communicate with the customer in the future (lead generation goal) if a purchase is not made (purchase goal).
We make sure the lead generation goal supports the purchase goal, and that the opposite is true. This might mean prioritizing contact fields during the checkout process, or directing a customer towards a specific product after signing up for a newsletter.
Wrapped:
It was a quick example with a couple of goals and a single starting point. Multiple paths through the customer journey map are carved from this exercise, however, with potential dead ends being identified:
1. Lead ads need a strong next step CTA following the signup. “Thanks” does not cut it!
2. Landing pages can entertain leads and purchases without conflict
3. Lead generation confirmation pages also need a strong next step CTA
A majority of confirmation pages for lead generation do not include a logical next step. Engage customers at this point with a suggestion such as a popular product or high-value content. Otherwise, where is the next step?
