By blending established marketing practices with new channels and reviewing your current assets for some easily overlooked solutions, you have a much better chance of standing out from the competition and attracting engaged prospects.

By Paul Faust

In the competitive world of waste and recycling, what is the best way to get more potential clients? More importantly, how do you get more qualified prospects on your radar? These are questions that every company wrestles with, especially as new marketing channels pop up every month and customer behavior changes more quickly than ever before.

Even against this backdrop, there are some tried-and-trusted ways to connect with new customers. Combine these with the latest digital channels and you will build a powerful source of new leads for your business.

#1: Get Closer to Customers

Do not just assume people will keep coming to you because they have used your services in the past. You have more competition out there every day, so it is vital to learn what different customers love about your business.

Create customer segment profiles based on feedback and develop marketing campaigns that speak to their distinct needs and desires. Try to find out more about these segments as you go along so that you can improve and optimize these campaigns.

#2: Make It Easy to Get in Touch

Do potential customers know how to contact your business? It sounds so simple, but many business owners fail to customize their phone number to something more memorable, or use an e-mail and/or Web site name that is too complex to recall.

Do not make people work too hard to contact you! Consider a branded vanity phone number or a local number that has an easy to remember sequence of digits. Make sure your site reflects your business name or brand and that the domain is the shortest it can be while still making sense.

Finally, check the e-mail addresses and contact forms on your site to confirm that they are easy to remember and simple to use. Where possible, remove barriers to submitting contact forms and add a number that will make it easy for customers to call when they prefer that option.

#3: Get Social

One of the easiest ways to make connections online is to create and maintain an active presence on social media Web sites. Social media provides a way for you to introduce yourself and to engage directly with prospective clients. In addition to posting news about yourself and issues affecting your clients, social media sites offer advertising opportunities that enable you to engage with those businesses most likely to become clients.

When it comes to business, not all social media platforms are created equal. You will want to make sure that you have a presence on the social media Web sites that are used most actively by your prospective clients. LinkedIn is the platform used most frequently by business professionals for professional networking, and simple searches enable you to find the names of leads and potential contacts. LinkedIn also hosts professional groups and you can easily find numerous groups that are dedicated to conversations about issues in waste management and recycling. Joining a group and engaging in conversations is one way to showcase your expertise to prospective clients.

If you do make the decision to enter the world of social media, it is important to be active. Like any conversation you will only realize the benefits of social media if you participate. It is important to stay current and post interesting news and comments about relevant developments in the field. You will not attract much attention if you only talk about yourself. For that reason try to avoid only producing news that is exclusively about your business, like press releases.

#4: Consider a Mobile-First Focus

Do you know what percentage of your online visitors are using a mobile device? If it is more than 50 percent, you will want to make sure that your site is a pleasure to visit for mobile users. Google’s mobile-first algorithm shift will roll out some time in late 2017. Web sites in almost every industry will need to be optimized for mobile or risk being left behind. Mobile site speed is important, but the deeper experience of users browsing and buying from you will play the biggest role in determining whether search engines put your site in the top positions. Reach the top spot for key mobile search terms and watch the organic traffic roll in.

#5: Capture Data and Convert Visitors

How many visitors leave your Web site without giving you a way to connect with them again? Most waste management and recycling firms have room for improvement when it comes to capturing user data and converting visitors to prospects.

Test every corner of your site for conversion enhancements. Start with high-value pages and work your way down, experimenting with different layouts, wording, colors and calls to action. If you run out of ideas, bring in other team members to look over the site and find areas for improvement. If you do not experiment with your site, you will not have the numbers you need to make data-driven decisions.

#6: Shake Some Hands

Sometimes the best way to promote your business is through offline channels. Trade shows and industry events remain one of the most effective ways to spread the word to potential customers who might not “get it” when they see your online ad. In-person connections obviously take more effort to develop, but you are delivering a highly qualified warm lead for your business with that time investment.

#7: Show Up In (the Right Kind of) Searches

Going back online, often the most productive source of engaged customers is paid search. However, the search terms to target are those that deliver buyers, not browsers. When you can align search terms that indicate high purchase intent with compelling ads and landing pages that convert browsers to buyers, search advertising is a channel that pays for itself many times over. Research also shows that paid impressions improve click-through rates on organic search results for companies that already rank on the first page, giving you more bang for your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) buck.

By blending established marketing practices with new channels and reviewing your current assets for some easily overlooked solutions, you have a much better chance of standing out from the competition and attracting engaged prospects. Start today and see how quickly you can bring in new business.

Paul Faust is Vice President of Business Development at RingBoost (Pleasantville, NY), a nationally recognized marketing company focusing on providing vanity phone numbers to businesses. Paul can be reached at [email protected].

 

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