Solidarity Sunday: Someone Will Be With You Shortly
I recently forwarded a message from one of our social media campaigns to an organizer at one of the locals we work with, along with a personal note…"This guy wants someone from the hall to get in touch with him about a job with one of our contractors. Looks like a good lead".
Five days later, the organizer sent me a return message. "Thanks, just tried to call him."
Too late.
Way too late.
24 hours, let alone 5 days, is an eternity in 2024. Harvard Business Review shows that web leads convert 22 times more often when you make contact within the first 5-minutes. How and when we respond is just as important as what we say. And it sets an expectation with a prospective member about who we are and what we're about.
We wouldn't walk onto a jobsite, strike up a conversation, and when they turn and talk to us, say "Thanks. Someone will be with you shortly." Would we? So why would we do that when receiving a website or social media lead? Why would we delay our responses when someone sends us their information? They are reaching out to us. They want to talk to us or they wouldn't have filled out a form.
When receiving inquiries through your website or social channels, there are two critical steps:
1. Follow up immediately
Or as close to immediately as you can, and preferably personally, by phone or text. Leads are precious, and expire quickly. The person who reached out to your local didn't suddenly see one of our ads or do a spontaneous search for your local. People don't randomly fill out forms on the internet. They were driven to do so because something that happened in their life.
Some event triggered a problem they feel they need to solve, and they are considering what your local union does as one of their problem-solving options. (Maybe they're getting married, they're graduating high school soon, got laid off from their job, got their girlfriend pregnant, got hurt on the job and don't have good insurance, a co-worker got unduly fired, whatever…) There is no such thing as "just kicking tires" with someone who has intention to solve a problem.
When that lead is delivered to your email box, they are ready. They are in the market. Now. And if we don't solve their problem someone else will. They may have seen one of your ads for 6 months, a year, two years, before they decided to stop down and take time to fill out a form on your website, landing page, or social media form. They are going to solve their problem whether you are involved or not. Our goal is to be the organization they think of first and like the best, when that triggering event occurs.
2. Stay in touch repeatedly
We want to be their "First call and Last look", meaning that when they fall into the market for what we offer, we want to be the first ones to set the precedent, and the last look when considering their options. To do so, we also need to stay in touch repeatedly. Deciding to change jobs, let alone join a union, is a big decision. We're going to need to "stay-in-touch" strategy to provide relevant and timely information. There are marketing automation tools you can use to help with this. Persistent but respectful follow-ups can be conducted over the subsequent hours, days, and even weeks. Implementing a lead nurturing process ensures that you stay engaged with them over time, addressing their evolving needs.
Speaking of 'Shortly'...
Union Up makes sure our clients have a library of content from which to tell their story in powerful and different ways. It allows us to make edits on the fly and tell different stories during the year. This "short" is currently running in Alabama. WATCH SHORT
