Who’s to blame when prospects don’t become customers?

It’s easy to point to external factors when things don’t go your way. We are generally reluctant to admit responsibility for undesirable consequences. Business owners like myself and the dentists I work with can have a lot of pride and opportunity can be the reason why they don’t become customers (or patients in our case). I don’t like to think that there is always Focus only on the source (i.e. lead or opportunity) instead of reflecting your own internal processes.

I know this because I witnessed it and have done it myself in the past. As a marketing agency, my company’s overall purpose is to create opportunities for dental practices that we offer to win new business, and we are largely responsible for the types of opportunities that practices receive. , should we be held accountable if those opportunities do not translate into new patients?

RELATED: Before You Blame Marketing for Your Company’s Failures, Ask These 5 Questions

Collaboration is key

Marketing agencies are often blamed for generating low-quality leads. The same is true for highly specialized agencies like mine that only deal with dental practice. In theory, however, the quality of the leads you create for your practice depends heavily on how specific the parameters of those leads are, and that’s the information you get from the practice itself. Naturally, the more precisely you can define the type of leads they want to attract, the more likely you are to target that demographic within the area. Not meant to be, but many of them are perfect or near perfect.

I’ve said it before, and I won’t keep saying it. Marketing is a collaborative effort between an agency and a client. The more we can work together to create synergies, the better the results. Dr. David Pearce, a highly respected New York dentist who has worked with my agency and is now consulting on exactly this topic, agrees with me. In a recent article he wrote: He knows that to get the leads that practitioners want, he needs to work with marketing agencies to help them understand their needs.

Of course, some businesses may find it difficult to define their ideal customer or prospect. That’s perfectly understandable, especially if you haven’t taken the time to really analyze it. But it’s also where a marketing agency can be a great asset.Marketing professionals are experts at drilling down to get answers. The more actively a business owner participates in the process, the better leads they generate and the less “pruning” required to filter out bad leads.

RELATED: Don’t blame marketing: 5 reasons your company is actually struggling

test the process

What if you have a good number of leads, but those leads don’t become customers? Is the marketing agency responsible then? If these leads do not meet the quality parameters established with the agency, the agency bears some liability. However, if these leads are of consistently high quality, which means they check most, if not all, of the boxes, you may need to look under the hood to understand your amputation. .

Let’s take an example of marketing to a dental clinic from my experience. A dentist has 100 qualified leads from her marketing agency, but he only converts 15 of them (i.e. becomes a patient who continues to treat). . That’s clearly a low number. But is it because they aren’t getting enough leads, or is there some kind of breakdown in the sales process? Again, this is where marketing agencies can be great partners.Dental If physicians are willing to let marketing agencies scrutinize the sales process from start to finish, they can identify weaknesses that may be preventing leads from becoming patients.

Dr. Pierce explained this in the article as well, stating, “Marketing firms cannot make the necessary changes, but the best marketing firms have internal mechanisms to help each client improve this process.” I am adding. So the low conversion rate may not be the marketing agency’s fault, but as long as the dentist is willing to cooperate, the marketing agency can help bring the conversion rate to a more acceptable number. .

However, in my experience, quality leads do not always translate into quality patients immediately. You can reach out to them and have them make an initial appointment, but that’s not the end of the job. As Dr. Pearce puts it, “Quality patients say, ‘Doc, where have you been all this time? From this starting point the team nurtures and grows the value of patient understanding and optimal dental care. The same is true for any type of business. Luckily, business he helps if the owner isn’t used to thinking about leads and customers this way. Marketing agencies can work with them to identify areas of opportunity and convert more leads into long-term, high-quality customers.

RELATED: 5 Things to Look for When Hiring a Marketing Agency

Rely on your partner, but do your part too

If sales and marketing are not natural for you or your team, finding a good agency to partner with can make a big difference. You need to be open to and ready to change the way you approach and process leads. Please give me. In some cases, you may have at least some materials you can use and distribute to your staff, along with some tips on how to handle incoming leads.

My company provides resources on how to properly handle new leads of interest and teaches office staff how to properly handle calls and form submissions from all of our digital marketing efforts. You can also have your marketing company record your calls to give you more insight into how your incoming calls are being handled. This is a great way to give concrete examples of what is working and where the sales process needs improvement. In short, the more you make yourself and your staff available, the more productive your partnership will be.

It is also essential to be honest with your marketing partners. It is not enough to express your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the service. If you really want to take advantage of our partnership, fill in the details. Take notes and tell them exactly what you’re not happy with the marketing agency and why. Provide real-world examples of things not working as expected, especially if the relationship is new. and generate quality leads together.

Once things are going well and you’ve found your “sweet spot,” be careful not to get complacent. It’s easy to fall back into old habits when things are going well. To avoid this, ask your marketing partner to review your status report regularly (if you haven’t done so already). These regular calls help you and your partner keep your marketing strategy in mind. It’s also a good time to discuss what’s working and what’s not. Regular meetings keep your marketing partners informed and keep you and your staff accountable.

So who’s to blame when leads go awry? A business or a marketing agency? In my experience, it’s not entirely anyone’s fault. Blaming a marketing agency for not generating quality leads or a business for dropping the ball in the sales process doesn’t help. Real progress happens when marketing agencies and businesses work together as partners for better results.