The process by which a new website visitor becomes a lead – the path that leads follow – is called the conversion path. It forms the start of lead generation. This is how leads are created – they are the driving force behind inbound marketing. Because only when website visitors become leads can you analyze their potential, align your marketing to their preferences and thus win new customers. Ideally, these leads convert from opportunities to customers, and ideally to promoters. Read this article to find out what you should know about the four elements of the conversion path.
Definition of conversion path
A conversion path is a multi-step process in which website visitors become leads, leads become customers, and customers become fans. This path that prospects follow consists of repeated attraction, greeting, capture and transfer to the next phase.
The prerequisite: recognizing customer problems
Lead generation is one of the daily tasks of marketing. Those who have committed themselves to inbound marketing even put this goal in the foreground. But how do you bring real leads to your own company? This requires customer knowledge and analysis options. This is the only way to guess their behavior and plan their way to your company.
Four elements form the guard rails of this path:
- a useful piece of content
- a call to action
- a landing page as well
- a thank you page
All four accompany the digital contact as soon as leads have reached your website via helpful content. At the end of the conversion path, the website visitor receives access to the advertised content in exchange for their data and has thus become a lead.
A map to the solution
Real leads search the web for solutions to existing problems. Who can help? Who to trust? On the way of research, this search always approaches the Google results of real experts.
The conversion path forms the last section of this path. He builds on solid content. This makes it an integral part of the inbound strategy.
Element 1: The content as a guide
To drive leads to the business, you need valuable content – of value to your buyer personas . It is therefore also the focus of inbound marketing :
The analysis of desired customers leads to tailor-made offers for advice, information and help. No company can implement this method without a well thought-out content marketing strategy.
Only if you provide relevant content for your buyer personas will they visit your website. A content offer is therefore always the first element of a conversion path. This means all the content that you publish on your website and blog.
A new website visitor usually gets to your site and thus a specific content offer via search engine results, social media or recommendations. This can be, for example, a specific blog article that is currently addressing your target group in their situation.
In addition to the content that you already offer the visitor in the article, you should consider what additional content you can offer them. A checklist or a more extensive white paper on the subject, for example, work well.
Element 2: The call to action as a spark
Once you can provide your website visitors with a valuable content offer, you need to create a call to action (CTA). It’s the trigger for the lead’s next action; it is the sign that opens the first step of the conversion path.
In practical terms, a CTA is a button (or link) that visitors click to download the offer. At best, this CTA is designed and then embedded in the blog post that deals with a topic that fits your offer. The actual conversion of website visitors to leads then begins with the CTA.
Element 3: The landing page as a welcoming committee
Finally, clicking the CTA takes your visitor to a landing page. Here, the contact details of your website visitors are recorded with the help of a form, whereupon the coveted content is released for download in return.
The landing page and form should also be designed. Finally, the page mirrors a direct welcome message to your currently converting new leads.
Legal issues can also have a certain importance for the design.
By submitting the contact form, the actual conversion is complete, and you have turned a website visitor into a lead through the conversion path. Your sales team can now use the data entered by your lead to contact the lead.
Element 4: The Thank You Page as a conventional conclusion
Even if you have already won a new lead in the previous step, a thank you page is the right end of a conversion path. Your visitor will be directed to this separate website as soon as he has submitted the contact details form.
Here you say thank you for the interest of the lead. You would do that automatically with every exchange in analogue life – at trade fairs, when visiting customers, in a shop.
It is therefore important to express this convention of thanks online as well. In addition, your personal online style and of course other CTAs can be placed on the Thank You Pages, with which your buyer persona can move on to the next phase of their customer journey – the journey to the customer .
Conclusion
The conversion path describes the steps of the journey from prospect to customer. This process consists of attracting, welcoming, capturing and transferring each lead. With a good content strategy as a foundation, the four elements of a conversion path are easy to create and have an even greater impact. They form the start and foundation of an optimized customer journey. They are a tactic of the inbound marketing strategy. With them, the indispensable leads are gained.