​How to Eliminate Barriers to Entry in Your Marketing

Although most brands would say they want to grow, most are unprepared at best. That's because they haven't examined the funnel to see where leads might be getting held up in the process. Here's how to eliminate barriers to entry in your marketing:

1. Examine the funnel from the top-down. If you have multiple, write them all out on a whiteboard side-by-side. Don't leave any steps out. For instance, a lead starts on Facebook where it sees a native post, then clicks on the post to visit the blog, then fills out a contact form, then gets nurtured with an email campaign, then solicits a quote and becomes a customer.

2. Analyze the circulation points. For example, a lead might opt to return to Facebook from an email nurturing campaign, where it can visit a page and scroll through a feed. What does the cycle back look like (i.e., how does that lead get prompted to move further down the funnel if it spins out)? How do you control leads entering and exiting the funnel to your various platforms? Cycling leads is a great thing, as long as there is always a guide back to request a quote (or proposal, or more information directly with a human).

3. Assign a numerical rating value to each funnel portion. With a maximum score of 10, how great is your Facebook page at capturing leads? What about Twitter, YouTube, your website, your email marketing campaign, and your live networking? Identify the weakest points and take operational or marketing steps to better the weak performers in the chain.

4. Make sure the people at the bottom are effective. We've seen some great marketing lead to lackluster sales people, resulting in a catastrophic failure rate on a conversion-to-leads ratio. Once qualified leads get to the bottom of the funnel - a human at your company - make sure that human is the absolute best 'closer' and best representative of your brand. Hire qualified talent here - this isn't the place for interns or bright-eyed, fresh-out-of-college talent that doesn't understand how to close your industry-specific lead!

Most brands have gaps in the lead process. Don't worry - it's not you, it's your funnel. Examine your funnel to ensure you're not missing out on a large opportunity to convert those leads into great customers!

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