2. Lead Conversion Optimisation
Is There A Correlation Between The Apparent Decline In Leads And The Introduction / Change of Some Potential Contributor?
Without jumping to conclusions, what do the figures say? The best comparative tracking is email & phone leads. If you aren’t already tracking them, ask us how.
Are Technical Issues Or A High Abandonment Rate Reducing Leads?
a. Is it possible you're not receiving notifications of all form submissions? Can you compare a master count of submissions (at the source) to the notifications you've received?
b. What percentage of each contact/sales form is abandoned (started to be filled out but not submitted)? At what points are abandonments, and how can the forms or processes be improved to work around those points?
Would It Help To Rebuild The Forms (And/Or Website Design)?
Only the answer to the above b. or possibly Conversion Engagement would warrant considering re-creating forms. Only very firm comparative data would convince us to recommend extensive extra development if required. In our experience, UI and especially at low volume (i.e. when we're not talking about processes that are experienced by many thousands of attempts a month), has much less effect than it is generally considered to have and sold as having by those who will charge for a UI evaluation and rebuild... That actually describes us as well, since we offer these services, but we're not motivated by just the opportunity to sell unless we're sure it's needed. We spend your money as if it was ours.
Rubbish websites and awful forms, as long as they function, tend to have only a small negative impact on conversion, compared to what the owner and we would normally expect. The same can be said for general design aesthetics.
Can Lead Tracking Be Introduced On Other Lead Sources?
Phone calls? In-person enquirers? If there are holes in your data, then there may be missed opportunities to increase the marketing budget on the right avenues or reduce spending on the wrong ones. If you can't afford automated tracking solutions, at least start with a rigorous and disciplined survey question on each interaction that attempts to differentiate between:
which search engine (was it really Google or Bing, and they just call it 'I Googled you'?)
which exact keyword in which order
whether it was an ad or an organic listing
...and that's just the search marketing source.
You've Worked Hard, Now Convert the Leads!
Visitors and enquiries are so valuable; you can't skimp on this step of converting them.
Once converting is strong, it's time to look at the next area, new leads: