Saying “thank you” can go a long way.

For starters, it’s basic manners you learn at an early age. When someone does something for you, you thank them.

But it’s also a crucial inbound marketing strategy.

According to research, 68% of customers will leave a company if they don’t think it cares about them.

That’s why your website needs to have a thank-you page.

Website visitors will be redirected to your thank-you page after filling out a form on your site, e.g., opting into your email newsletter. Right now, if your thank-you page simply thanks the visitor and does nothing else, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

These landing pages can be used for much more, such as building brand awareness, getting customer feedback, or even increasing sales.

You just got a new lead. You’ve got to nurture that lead.

Converting leads into customers is a top priority for businesses in the coming year:

Sure, you’ll send them a confirmation email welcoming the lead to your email list, which will be the first of several messages in your drip campaign.

But for those to work, the person needs to check their email, open the message, consume the content, and then convert. You can’t assume it will always happen.

However, the thank-you page is right in front of their face, on the same screen, right after they performed an action.

If you design this page correctly, it will be extremely beneficial for your company.

If you have already recognized the importance of thanking your new leads, you’re on the right track. But this guide will elevate your thank-you pages and take your lead nurturing strategy to the next level. Here’s what you need to know.

Give your leads a reason to buy

Sometimes your new leads need a little bit more motivation to make a purchase.

Clearly, they’re already interested in your brand. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have navigated to your website and signed up to receive emails.

But when it comes to convincing them to buy something, you need to give them that added incentive to complete this process.

Think of your thank-you page as the checkout line at a retail store.

The consumer has already been sold on an action. They decided they’re ready to buy something or, in this instance, provide your company with their contact information.

In a retail store, certain items are strategically placed by the register to encourage people to buy. Likewise, you need to place something on your thank-you page that will encourage a sale.

Here’s an example from NatureBox:

As you can see, it offers new leads a 50% discount.

But the coupon code isn’t available to just anyone. To see this screen, the visitor had to provide the company with their contact information.

Giving these customers a chance to win a contest is how NatureBox is collecting email addresses in the first place. This is a great strategy for running a profitable giveaway.

Take a look at the top right corner of this page.

NatureBox also displays social sharing icons. The icons make it easy for people to share this content on social media, but I’ll talk more about this tactic in greater detail later.

Promote your top content

Another way to nurture your leads is by getting them more engaged with your brand.

Every website visitor is different. Some of these people might be more familiar with your company than others.

The best way for site visitors to learn more about your brand is by giving them access to your top performing content.

This could include:

• blog posts
• guides
• ebooks
• videos
• podcasts

There are certain metrics every marketing manager needs to track. You’ll use this information to determine which type of content you should be promoting on your thank-you page.

Here’s a great example from Optimizely:

As you can see, the three links at the bottom of the screenshot differ from each other.

If you put three different posts on the page, but the person isn’t interested in reading, they won’t click. Offering different options increases the chances of them being interested in at least one of the links you’re suggesting.

The content can also be related to what they signed up for.

Use the information you received from their contact info to segment them accordingly. Here’s what I mean.

Let’s say someone signs up to receive your newest blog posts delivered to their inbox, but another person signs up strictly to receive product updates and promotions.

You can promote different content on your thank-you page to each of these people.

The first person could be shown links to your blog posts, while the second person could be prompted to click a video demonstration of one of your newest products.

Establish social proof

The thank-you page is a great opportunity for you to showcase that your products and services actually work.

The best way to do this is with real success stories from your customers.

Check out how Infusionsoft accomplishes this on its thank-you page:

Put yourself in the shoes of your new leads for a minute here.

They just signed up to receive emails from your business, but they haven’t bought anything yet. Maybe they’re waiting to see what kind of value you’ll offer them in your emails.

Or, they might not be sold on your business just yet.

You can sit there all day, explaining through your own posts and videos how great your products and services are. But consumers aren’t stupid—they know that content is biased.

If you can put case studies, success stories, reviews, or customer testimonials on your thank-you page, you’ll show social proof of your product.

Your leads will recognize your business is legitimate, and it will increase the chances of them converting.

Drive ebook downloads

This idea connects to the topic of promoting your top content.

Offering a free ebook download is a nice incentive for the new lead to receive, especially if normally they would have to pay for the content.

Plus, now you’re killing two birds with one stone. You’re nurturing your leads while driving downloads for your ebook.

The free download link is well worth it if you can turn that lead into a customer.

Greenhouse uses this strategy on its thank-you page:

It offers two free ebook downloads here.

Plus, by doing this, you show your customers you appreciate them. Here’s what I mean.

All of us have gotten an insincere thank-you from someone. They’re saying thanks because they feel obligated.

But when someone is actually thankful, they might do you a favor to show you their appreciation.

Offering a free ebook download is a nice gesture that can potentially drive conversions.

Encourage social sharing

Give your leads a reason to share your content on social media.

I mentioned this earlier when I pointed out the social sharing icons on the NatureBox thank-you page.

This strategy will expand your reach, create brand exposure, and potentially generate even more leads.

But people may not be willing to share the fact that they just signed up to receive emails from a business. That’s not very exciting.

To be successful with this strategy, you need to understand why people share content on social media.

Find a way to tie what you’re doing to one of these factors.

For example, are you associated with any causes or charities? That’s a great way to use people’s emotions to drive sales.

Here’s something else to keep in mind.

Look at the types of content getting shared the most on social media:

Combine the reasons why people share content with the type of content that gets shared the most, and you will increase the chances of this strategy working.

For example, you could donate $1 to a specific charity every time someone signs up for your email newsletter.

Put social sharing icons on your thank-you page that will post as a picture when added to a new lead’s social media profile.

By asking your leads to share, you might encourage their friends to sign up as well.

Embed a video

Your brand needs to be producing original video content.

I like the idea of uploading all your videos to YouTube and then repurposing them across your other distribution channels.

Add them to social media, blog posts, and your emails. The thank-you page is another place where you can embed a video.

Video content drives conversions:

Furthermore, 64% of people are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it.

And 50% of business executives look for more information after watching a video, while 39% make a phone call. This is a great way to nurture your B2B leads.

Qualify your leads

Not all leads are qualified leads.

This means that some of your leads are more likely to become customers than others. You need to identify who those people are.

Ask them to fill out a quick survey on the thank-you page.

This additional information will help you qualify them accordingly.

For example, let’s say you have a payroll company. To qualify new leads on your thank-you page, your survey can ask questions such as:

• How many employees do you have?
• How often do you pay?
• Live checks or direct deposit?
• How soon do you want to make a change?

Then, you can score your leads accordingly based on the results.

Lead generation isn’t cheap.

It varies according to industry, company size, and revenue.

Here’s a graph that shows the average cost per lead based on these factors:

By using the survey method to qualify your leads on your thank-you page, you’ll be able to generate a higher ROI and increase your chances of getting more people to convert.

You can send your leads content that’s related to their responses.

Ask your leads to follow you on social media

Earlier I talked about getting your leads to share your content on social media. But that doesn’t mean they’ll follow you.

You need to make this process as easy as possible for them.

Include a link to your social media profiles directly on your thank-you page. Then simply ask for a follow.

This will make it much easier for them to follow you than going to those platforms separately, searching for your company.

According to Sprout Social, these are the top reasons why people follow brands on social media:

Once a new lead follows you on social media, they’ll see more of your content and promotions than they would if they only received your emails.

Consumers are 57.5% more likely to buy from brands they follow on social media.

More than 60% of consumers need to see something two to four times before they buy it. Social media makes it possible.

Leads will be exposed to your content on different channels:

• lead generation page
• thank-you page
• social media post
• email

That’s four different times right there.

Social media is a great place for you to nurture your leads. But for this to work effectively, you need to make sure they’re following you.

Conclusion

Your leads should automatically be directed to your thank-you page after filling out forms on your website.

But you need to design your thank-you pages in a way that does more than just thank them.

Give your new leads a reason to become customers by offering them an incentive to buy.

Showcase your top content, such as free ebook downloads. Show social proof by featuring success stories, case studies, customer reviews, and testimonials.

Add a video to your thank-you page. Create a short survey to help improve lead scoring.

If you can get your leads to follow you on social media, they’ll be more likely to buy from you in the future.

Once you make these changes to your thank-you page, you’ll be able to effectively nurture your leads.

How is your business using thank-you pages to nurture new leads?

Source: quicksprout

How to Nurture Your Leads with Thank You Pages