In the old days, word-of-mouth marketing was the lead generation tool marketers had. But in today’s high-tech world, things have taken a drastic turn. Marketing has seen some significant changes, too. The digital era took over, and media sources like newspapers lost some relevance (although they’re still important!)
Marketers no longer rely on the power of one-on-one connections to generate new leads; instead, the Internet continues to provide excellent tools to make it an easy task. So, why don’t we look through the microcosm of lead generation and 13 excellent strategies that will help you land qualified leads for your clients?
An Introduction to Lead Generation
Lead generation is the process of generating potential customers for products and services through different media channels. This marketing tactic is crucial for B2B companies.
Effective lead generation requires contact information and, on certain occasions, further facts (such as demographic ones) to better understand the customer’s interest in what the company offers. You want to nurture that interest so that it reaches the sales process and becomes a successful conversion.
Understanding Lead Generation Strategies
Understanding lead generation methods is crucial before you begin your creation process. The goal of lead generation strategies is to help you get your target audience’s contact information and eventually become a successful sale.
Lead generation strategies aren’t just about getting the information and pitching it to the team that manages it; they require you to find the most high-quality leads available, and you must use the proper lead generation methods.
10 Outstanding Lead Generation Methods
When creating your lead generation strategies, knowing the methods you’ll use to make it happen is a game changer. Here are ten extraordinary lead-generation methods to help you carry out your plans with suitable leads.
1. Email Marketing
Times have changed, but emails continue to be a well-loved communication channel. Most business owners believe that, while social media is continuously rising, email exchanges are the most professional approach to communicating with colleagues.
Furthermore, the stats don’t lie: 87% of B2B companies believe emailing is the most beneficial organic marketing strategy. Additionally, the goal of 85% of email marketing is lead generation.
Try growing your email list by providing email subscription options to the people who visit your website. Of course, give them reasons to subscribe and ensure they get high-quality content in their inboxes.
Additionally, be sure you send emails to people who subscribe to your newsletters and other diffusion messages, otherwise, the recipient could mark it as spam, which is ultimately harmful to your business.
2. SEO
Search engine optimization is crucial to gaining new customers for your business. Almost all brands know this by now. The rise of SEO marketing agencies showcases it. But what about using SEO for lead generation?
If you have optimized websites and business profiles, chances are potential customers will come across your company when conducting a quick search. Adding your company’s contact information and its exact location on Google Maps can make a significant difference. Managing its reviews can help your product or service reach its target audience.
Picture this: a person just opened a new and rising restaurant in their town. People are interested in visiting, so they trust Google to gain insights about the restaurant’s contact information. Then, given that the place has an optimized Google Business page, the potential customer makes a reservation for two through a phone call.
See how SEO played a part in that scenario? If the restaurant didn’t have its information online and accessible, the customer could have lost their interest entirely.
3. Pay-Per-Click Ads
Another way to generate leads is through PPC advertisement. As the name states, you’ll be charged whenever someone clicks on your ads.
Several marketers believe that PPC ads are the best way to generate leads. When you create a PPC ads campaign that helps with lead capture, you might see results quicker than when using other methods. Then again, it might not be the most affordable option for you since you’d have to set a budget for a marketing campaign, and it might be higher than what you expect.
4. Social Media Platforms
One of the best lead-generation techniques is social media marketing. Social media allows you to reach your audience quickly and effectively; the changes.
Using social media for lead-generation efforts can go from running ads to using hashtags and keywords to help your profiles reach more people within your target audience. Furthermore, if your target audience is within the younger generations, leaning on social media is an excellent lead-generation technique.
5. Referrals
Referral programs are a commonly used lead-generation tactic. These programs work by making your current clients refer them to your business. Usually, these programs offer rewards like promo codes, discounts, freebies, and others.
And if you aren’t entirely convinced about this lead generation technique, here’s what might do it for you: studies show that 18% of clients who come to your business through referrals tend to be more loyal. It sounds great, right? Who doesn’t want to have a loyal clientele?
6. Marketing Videos
Video content is more popular than ever nowadays. TikTok, with more than 1 billion active users, has become a go-to for marketing.
When using these platforms in your lead generation campaigns, consider talking about your business, the products or services it offers, contact information, and any other relevant information that can help you make lead scoring easier. Also, consider adding call-to-action buttons and form links.
7. Webinars
Another option to add to your lead generation tactics is doing webinars.
Webinars are the online form of seminars. You can start your lead generation process by making people sign up for the live discussion. Consider including call-to-action buttons on your webinar’s landing page.
Furthermore, create a high-quality webinar. This panel can help improve your company’s reputation and overall brand. Include valuable information and showcase your expertise professionally and respectfully.
8. Free Trials
Lead generation is not impossible, but offering a free trial of your products and services might make the task easier for you.
The best way to prove what you can do is by showing it, and free trials are an excellent opportunity for sales teams, as it knocks two birds with one stone.
9. Ebooks
Creating Ebooks could be time-consuming, but they’re effective! When potential customers come across ebooks with the information they are searching for, they’re inclined to download the material.
When obtaining high-quality leads, it’s crucial to know how to carry the strategy depending on what it is. Regarding ebooks, it’s favored to have this content available free of charge, as you will come across as a company that goes the extra mile to provide important information.
10. Digital Networking
One of the best lead-generation techniques is networking. Online lead generation has several tools, but it still relies on one dominant fact: the connection between people.
Marketing and sales teams know that quality leads come from several strategies, but focusing the lead generation efforts on building business relationships that boosts the brand’s reputation and puts its name out there can be one of your marketing team’s hidden card.
Best Practices for Lead Generation
B2B lead generation best practices will help you take your lead gen campaigns to the next level. When working on these strategies, consider making these items part of your process.
- Create high-quality lead magnets: Whether you’re going to the content marketing road or the email marketing, ensure you create valuable lead magnets for these campaigns. Excellent eBooks, professional videos, high-quality podcasts, you name it.
- Make segmentation a valued tool: If you have a SaaS business, for example, you know the potential clients could come from several different industries. That’s when segmenting them makes lead nurturing easier for you.
- A/B test your options: Before making decisions, rely on a/b testing to see what works best for your marketing or sales team. Lead-generation marketing strategies have room for errors, but ensuring their success is crucial.
- Help hesitant clients decide: See what can help your potential clients determine to invest in what you’re offering. Free trials, discounts, promo codes, or any other option that could work might make a difference for your campaigns.
- Know your crowd: You could come up with lead generation techniques that work wonderfully, but if you direct them to the wrong audience, you’ll find that they won’t be as effective. Ensure you know the public you’re targeting by doing research and understanding their consumer behavior.
The Importance of Leads in Digital Marketing
Effective lead-generation strategies can be game-changers for digital marketing campaigns. For instance, having the correct leads can help boost your company’s visibility. It can also help you increase your following, especially if you’re focusing your lead efforts on content marketing.
One of the most relevant benefits is that it can help you grow your business opportunities. For example, a non-competing company could reach out to you to create an eBook or do a webinar together. These occasions give access to their leads and vice-versa.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Lead Generation Lifecycle?
When a lead goes through an evaluation, segmentation, qualification, and routing process, it goes through a lead generation lifecycle.
Simply put, lead generation lifecycles are the processes required to take a lead to a customer successfully. Several people on marketing and sales teams work on different levels of the lifecycle to ensure the process goes smoothly.
Who Handles Lead Generation?
Sales and marketing teams handle lead generation. A marketing team’s work starts at the beginning of the lifecycle by creating awareness, starting the lead capture step, prospecting, and doing the marketing required for those leads.
A sales team works on the last part of the lifecycle. They work with the sales-qualified leads, who later become opportunity leads, and aid them to become customers.
How Do Startups Generate Leads?
Startups can generate leads by working with the strategies provided in this article. Some of the best lead-generation techniques for these businesses include focusing on video marketing and overall content marketing efforts, PPC ads, social marketing, and email marketing.
Conclusion
Lead generation is a crucial factor for businesses. Having the proper lead generation methods is as important as gaining valuable leads. The process can be time-consuming, but it is worth your investment.
If you’re interested in seeing a boost in your leads, get in touch with us to know everything we can do for your business. Thank you for reading!
