You’ve probably heard the term ‘lead generation’ used in the world of sales and marketing, but what does it actually mean? Let’s start with the basics. A ‘lead’ is any person who indicates or shows interest in a company’s service or product. This is usually demonstrated through them providing their contact information, for example by submitting a form, sending a message, or in exchange for downloading a free resource or signing up to a free trial.
‘Lead generation’ is the process of gathering the leads and getting these potential customers to show their initial interest in the products or services you provide.
Attracting lots of leads to a business so you can start to nurture them into paying customers is a crucial part of any marketing strategy and can be achieved through effective lead generation and digital marketing methods.
The stages of the lead generation process
Interrupt
Through methods such as Google Ads, social media and email marketing, gain the attention of your audience with a strong message about your services or products with USPs (unique selling points).
Attract
Give your audience incentive to click through to your website or landing page. This could be through an online discount deal or offering them a free trial for a month of your services.
Capture
Make the process of handing over information as simple and straightforward as possible for all potential customers. A solid call-to-action and strong messaging across your website is vital to convince them to share their email address or phone number.
Nurture
Once you have the contact information of a potential customer, you need to offer ongoing education and information to keep them engaged until they’re ready to buy. This is often done through regular email marketing.
Convert
Once you have successfully converted the lead by securing the sale, your lead generation efforts shouldn’t just come to a stand still. By providing a continuation of outstanding customer service, you could turn them from a one-time paying customer to a loyal, long-term brand advocate.
Why lead generation is important for business success
Attracting new leads into your business and converting them into customers is the key to achieving your growth objectives. Good lead generation helps builds that all important trust, credibility and visibility of your business.
Lead generation isn’t just about getting as many leads through the door as possible, it’s about getting quality leads. This means attracting people who are likely to have an interest in the service or product you offer. They may have already shown interest in, or bought from you before, or they could be in a similar demographic to your current customers.
In the online era, using digital marketing activities for lead generation is the best way to drive relevant traffic to your website, or visitors to a physical store. Your business needs a constant flow of leads coming through the door in order to see success.
Gone are the days of cold calling or door knocking – digital lead generation strategies are more targeted and will provide better results. You can warm your audience up and pique their interest with social media campaigns, email marketing, paid advertising and content marketing. That way, there is a higher chance of them converting from a potential lead to an existing customer.
What are the different digital marketing solutions for lead generation?
Lead generation is a very important part of any marketing campaign because without leads, it would be impossible for the sales team to close deals. Here we explain the top five digital marketing methods used for lead generation.
Google Ads
Google Ads is a form of PPC (pay-per-click) marketing that uses keywords to target customers already looking for, or interested in, your products or service. You pay to have your website appear in the top positions of the results page in the form of an ad. This ad will have relevant headlines and description based on the search query the user has inputted into Google, so you can be as laser-targeted as possible. Your ads will only appear when a user searches one of the keywords you’re targeting, that way you know that when an ad appears, it’s showing to someone looking for what you offer.
Find out more about Google Ads here.
Organic social media
Organic social media campaigns across the likes of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are great ways to generate brand awareness, free of cost. Sharing company updates, news and information about your services or products via social media is a great way to reach more people and promote your business.
Find out more about organic social media here.
Paid social media
Paid social media such as Facebook Ads and LinkedIn Ads are the ideal solution when you want to boost reach or engagement on a post, or to promote a specific product or service. You can create audiences based on demographics, interests and location to ensure your ads are seen by the right people.
Find out more about paid social media here.
Email marketing
Email marketing is an extremely cost-effective, highly targeted way of reaching your audience. It’s a great way to not only nurture your leads, but also educate past or existing customers about your brand’s value, while keeping you in their hearts and minds between purchases with engaging or informative content.
Find out more about email marketing here.
Sales funnels
Sales funnels are used in both B2B and B2C marketing. They are especially useful in B2B businesses, where leads can often take longer to convert. Once you’ve identified and reached out to your ideal customers, through social media or paid advertising, the next step is to get them into your sales funnel. Here, you can move them along the process by qualifying and cultivating them, to nurture them from interested parties to potential buyers.
Find out more about sales funnels here.
How QBD can help create strong lead generation campaigns
In today’s technology-driven marketplace, your digital presence goes way beyond your website. Your brand needs to be present and visible across multiple digital touchpoints and channels to capture the attention of your target audience so you can nurture them through the buyer journey.
We create and implement tailored lead generation campaigns across multiple digital channels to help you connect, engage and inspire your audience. From pay per click (PPC) and sales funnels to social media and email marketing, our lead generation services help you reach more customers and achieve more sales.
Talk to us today about our lead generation services and how we can help your business achieve growth and continued success.