As a small business owner, you invest your hard-earned money into acquiring quality leads for your business. So when a huge chunk of those leads never turn into paying customers, it can be frustrating.
Although there will always be a certain percentage of leads who never decide to buy from you, there are things you can do to boost the number of leads who become customers.
If your business relies on manual follow-up with every lead or sending one-off sales promotions to your entire contact list, you’re probably missing out on a lot of potential sales.
Let’s look at why your follow-up strategy might be failing — and how marketing automation software can turn it around.
Why Aren’t Your Leads Converting?
Here are the most common reasons new leads don’t turn into paying customers:
1. Slow response times
Today’s buyers expect fast replies. If your team is too busy to respond within minutes (not hours or days), you risk losing the lead to a competitor who got there first.
2. One-size-fits-all outreach
Not all leads are created equal. A generic email blast won’t move the needle for someone who’s still figuring out what they need. If your outreach isn’t tailored to where the lead is in their journey, they’ll tune it out.
3. Not enough follow-up attempts
Most sales require more persistence than you think. In fact, it typically takes 6–8 meaningful touchpoints to convert a lead into a customer, yet many small businesses give up after just one or two outreach attempts. Without a system to keep the conversation going, your follow-up stalls — and so do your sales.
For small business teams juggling it all, there just isn’t the time to follow up quickly enough or often enough with every single lead. Marketing automation software makes it possible to plug the gaps in your follow-up processes, without having to hire more team members.
What Is Marketing Automation, and How Can It Help?
Marketing automation software takes repetitive, manual tasks — like email follow-up, lead nurturing, and appointment reminders — and handles them for you, automatically.
Marketing automation is more than just sending the same message to your entire list. The right marketing automation platform allows you to customize messages based on the lead’s behavior, interests, and stage in the buying process. It works alongside your CRM system, helping you deliver personal, relevant messages at scale, without adding more to your workload.
This means you no longer have to write individual emails for routine outreach — the marketing automation software handles it for you. The result: You can stay in front of every lead without lifting a finger, and still make it feel like a one-to-one conversation.
Where to Apply Marketing Automation in Your Follow-Up Strategy
Automated workflows help you manage every stage of the customer journey:
Initial Lead Response
Send an instant, branded reply whenever someone fills out a form or sends a message. Set expectations, share next steps, and let them know you’re on top of their request — even if you’re not at your desk.
Short-Term Follow-Up
Schedule a thoughtful series of six or more follow-up messages to educate, build trust, and invite action. Include emails, texts, and calls to increase your chances of finding the connection approach that each lead prefers.
Long-Term Nurture
A lead might not be ready to buy today but might be ready in six months. Stay top-of-mind with helpful, relevant content sent out consistently weeks and months after their initial inquiry.
Cold Lead Re-Engagement
Don’t lose touch with leads who’ve gone quiet. Automated check-ins, surveys, and promotional offers can bring them back into the conversation.
Keep the momentum going after the sale. Automate welcome emails, account setup info, or service instructions to create a smooth, memorable experience.
Past Customer Nurture & Re-Selling
Use automation to send loyalty offers, rebooking reminders, and seasonal promotions that bring happy customers back.
With Keap small business marketing automation software, it’s easy to create all these workflows — and tailor each one to your business.
Marketing Automation = Growth Without Burnout
Automating your lead follow-up isn’t just about saving time. It’s about creating a better experience for your prospects, building relationships that convert, and reclaiming your bandwidth so you can focus on what you do best.
When your CRM software and marketing automation platform work together, follow-ups will happen automatically, your messages will be more relevant, and you’ll no longer lose sales because you didn’t have time to respond.
Want to see it in action? Watch a demo of Keap marketing automation software.
