When I ask home improvement companies about Internet leads, I hear a range of opinions. Many are good…and many are bad.
Why the difference?
It may well be their lead sources. But after listening to hundreds of phone calls over the years driven by Internet campaigns, I realize the difference often has to do with how these inquiries are handled by the home improvement dealers receiving them.
Let me illustrate with a couple of examples:
Example #1: A Web lead arrives via e-mail at DEALER A on a Tuesday at noon from a replacement window Web site. DEALER A employs a friendly, trained customer service rep. Just before she goes out to lunch at 12:30 p.m., she calls the homeowner. She reaches the homeowner, and, working from a well-honed script, qualifies the lead and seamlessly sets an in-home appointment for the Thursday night following.
We just love to hear examples like this. Good phone people are a pleasure to listen to and make a big difference in the effectiveness of dealers’ marketing dollars.
Example #2: A Web lead arrives from the same source at the same time for DEALER B. DEALER B hasn’t assigned a particular individual to be responsible for setting appointments, and a salesperson finally calls the homeowner at 7:00 p.m. that evening. The caller is exhausted from a long day, and doesn’t work from a script. Short on patience and knowing the home is located some distance away, the caller quickly determines that the homeowner “isn’t really interested.” Bang, bang—the lead is dead.
Unfortunately, we hear this all the time as well. And it’s sad—not just because the lead cost the dealer real money…but because it might well have turned into a great sale.
Example #3: A Web lead arrives at DEALER C at noon on a Tuesday. But it’s shaping up to be a busy week for the dealer, and before you know it, the lead lands up on someone’s To Do pile under a stack of “more important” work. No one gets around to calling the homeowner back at all, much less in a timely fashion.
Seem impossible? It happens a lot, even in these tough times.
Now consider all three scenarios. Is it the Internet lead that’s ‘bad’? Or is it the dealer’s response to that lead that’s the wild card?
Now, I’m not saying that there’s no such thing as bad Internet leads. It’s all too easy to find sources for them. But the most successful home improvement companies figured out long ago that their response to their leads is just as important as the leads themselves.
Leads and follow-up don’t just work together. They’re joined at the hip.
Homeowner Connections Through Performance Online Advertising
