What do fishing and lead generation have in common? If you have spent time developing a lead generation strategy, you know that it more closely resembles fly fishing than casting a big net out to sea.
Maybe your experiences with fishing haven’t been very successful. From a mess of tangled lines to the frustration of pulling up weeds or trash on your hook, you may have given up a long time ago on the dream of roasting fresh fish over your campfire.
And it’s possible that these experiences aren’t too different from your results with lead generation. You’ve put out some social media posts and tried a couple of email campaigns, but all you reaped was a few spammy form fills. What’s going wrong?
The answers to problems with both fishing and lead generation turn out to be pretty similar. Let’s take a look:
The Wrong Fishing Hole: When your company is active on social media, but you’re not getting any engagement out of it, there’s a possibility that you’re simply in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Maybe you’re posting on Facebook, but your audience spends more time on LinkedIn. Or maybe you’ve got the right platform, but the time of day is all wrong. You’re posting in the evening, but your audience tends to check in mid-morning.
You’ve got to get to where the fish are biting at the right time of day. Dawn and dusk are the sweet spots for timing a good catch, but for lead generation, you’re going to need to watch to see the ideal time.
You Don’t Know What You’re Hungry For: If you’ve ever been invited on a fishing trip, you may arrive without knowing what to expect. You may stay up too late, drink too many beers and then wake up Saturday morning, saying, “Oh, trout! I didn’t realize what we were fishing for.”
But you find that you’re not prepared for trout fishing. You brought your fly reel and some lures, but since you hadn’t really planned for lake trout, you realize you’re probably ill-equipped to actually get any.
It’s the same with marketing. Some people throw out a wide net, or they try throwing a few things at the wall to see what sticks. Marketing requires more of a laser focus, deciding exactly who you’re after and targeting them.
You need to develop a buyer persona. Just like you’d want to think through trout behaviors, preferences for bait and active locations, your buyer persona should include some similar information. What do they like, where do they hang out and why are they likely to be interested in what you have to offer?
You should also think about what your business is positioned to handle. You may have a taste for shark fin, but if you’re in a small raft, you’re going to sink trying to get one. And you could have the same experience with landing a huge account. If you normally target small businesses, landing a shark could take a serious toll if you’re not ready.
The Wrong Bait: Imagine you book a deep-sea fishing trip with a professional fisherman ready to show you all the intricacies of snagging a swordfish or tuna. You’re all suited up for the day, slathered in sunscreen and sporting your new bucket hat. You are feeling the part.
Then, just as you’re about to get started, your hired fishing specialist says he’s going to get you primed for a catch. He reaches for a pole and picks up a bucket of worms, then sets to work baiting a regular hook on a regular pole.
Clearly, you won’t be feasting on swordfish tonight. And if you approach your marketing in the same way, your lead generation efforts won’t be delivering up great results, either.
Too many companies try to attract audiences with the wrong bait. It might be content where they tirelessly talk about how great their products are. Or maybe it’s a discount for signing up for your email newsletter, but it’s not generous enough to get them to bite.
You Look Like a Grocery Store Fisherman: Some of us simply shouldn’t be trusted with a sharp hook on a swinging stick. And there are plenty of us that could be proficient at fishing, but simply prefer to spend time in other ways.
If you have developed a great cast that nabs that Van de Kamp’s every time, or if you love to line up fish sticks on a greased pan and congratulate yourself on a great catch, you’re in good company.
And if lead generation sounds about as fun as digging a worm out of a can of grime, that’s okay we have you covered. Outsourcing your marketing frees you up to do the things you love with your business.
At SJC Marketing, we know the aggravation of floundering at lead generation, when your hook comes up empty day after day. With a clear understanding of what you can offer your audiences, the right enticements to get them to bite and a strategy for converting them to customers, we can help you put together a strategy for a great catch!