Let’s be real, a business without leads is like a car without fuel. No matter how you build your product or service, without customers, your business will not survive.
According to the study conducted by HubSpot 61% of marketers consider lead generation to be the biggest and most difficult problem.
But if you have an effective strategy in your hands, you can achieve your business goals.
In this blog, I have shared with you a proven, effective lead-generation strategy, tools, and processes to implement, attracting more customers and increasing your small business revenue.
Before entering into lead generation, let’s understand LEADS.
Lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers or individuals who have expressed interest in your products or services and can eventually become paying customers.
For sales, it is a starting point where businesses can nurture and convert them into potential customers through targeted marketing efforts.
Leads are classified into different types depending on the customers’ interest level and engagement.
This includes the following.
If an individual is attracted and engaged with your business’s marketing efforts, they may be classified as a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL).
These leads have shown interest in the business’s products or services. And, they may become your customers.
If a Marketing Qualified Lead meets specific criteria, such as engagement level, budget, and timeline, they may be classified as a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL).
These leads have been reviewed by the sales team and are determined to be more likely to become paying customers.
When an individual is engaged with a business’s product and shows a high level of interest, they may be classified as a Product Qualified Lead (PQL).
It required a lower level of effort to convert PQLs into customers compared to other types of leads.
It is an additional category that identifies leads who have already purchased a product or service and may be interested in additional offerings or upgrades.
By identifying and prioritising Service Qualified Leads, the sales team can focus on upselling and cross-selling opportunities to increase revenue from existing customers.
This can increase customer lifetime value and deepen the overall client relationship.
Inbound lead generation is an approach to attracting customers through valuable content and online interactions, which includes creating blog content, optimising search engines, engaging on social media, and hosting webinars.
It is an effective method to build trust, which focuses more on creating valuable content without interrupting the experience of your targeted customers.
Outbound leads are generated by proactively contacting potential customers using methods like cold calls, direct mail, and advertising.
These strategies involve actively going out and contacting potential leads rather than waiting for them to come to the business.
Generating B2B leads is a process of targeting or attracting companies, organisations, or professionals as customers to increase sales and grow the business.
This often involves understanding the specific needs and challenges of the target businesses to offer customised solutions.
LinkedIn, industry events, trade shows, and Account-Based Marketing (ABM) are common tactics used in B2B lead generation to connect with decision-makers and build relationships.
Online is one of the best tools that you can’t avoid to generate leads. It brings your business to a wider audience and provides you with measurable results.
Leading pages, lead magnets and chatbots are some examples of effective online lead-generation strategies that can help you convert the leads into potential customers.
Offline lead generation needs a lot of effort to generate leads, but it is the best way to reach a local audience and establish personal connections with potential customers.
According to a study from MarketingSherpa, offline marketing, particularly through print ads, local events, and direct mail, can foster a higher level of trust and credibility with consumers.
To generate leads offline, you should take part in networking events, trade shows, and conferences that help you build connections.
Hybrid Lead Generation is a combination of both offline and online strategies to maximise reach and engagement with potential customers.
If you plan your hybrid lead generation strategy effectively, you can create a more comprehensive approach that responds to the different preferences and behaviours of your target audience.
To achieve this, you can try this by conducting webinars or workshops with follow-up calls, or you can promote an offline event through advertising in the online space.
Lead generation is not a word that can be taken lightly in the world of business. It is a vital component, especially for micro, small and medium-sized business owners.
Here’s why it’s important for your business.
Generating leads helps businesses to fill their sales pipeline. It gives you the results of individuals who have already shown interest in your product.
So, it is easy for you to pitch the sales to your potential customers, and you always have leads in your pipeline.
Individuals who have shown interest in buying or are more engaged with your product are known as prospective customers.
Lead generation helps you target the right customers and increase the likelihood of converting them into long-term loyal customers.
Lead generation is like catching two fish with one hook!
When you generate leads, you not only collect the information of your customers, but you also study your customers, market trends, and competitors.
These insights help you to plan your marketing strategies and provide an idea to convert your potential leads into paying customers.
Generating leads is not so difficult if you understand and do it properly. It involves the following steps:
Depending on the market research and analysis of demographics, businesses choose their lead generation strategies to attract their customers.
After executing the lead generation strategies, businesses can capture lead information through forms on websites, landing pages, or social media ads.
This is the third step. Building relationships involves nurturing leads through personalised communication, providing valuable content, and addressing their needs and concerns.
It is completely based on the level of interest and fit with the business’s target customer profile.
By evaluating lead information and engagement, businesses can prioritise leads that are most likely to convert into customers, saving time and resources.
This is the final step in the lead generation process. Once leads have been qualified, businesses can focus on converting them into paying customers through targeted marketing strategies and effective sales tactics.
For example, businesses can use personalised email campaigns, follow-up calls, and special promotions to nurture leads and encourage them to make a purchase.
And if building LEADS for your business feels complex, having the right business framework can simplify the process.
I hope, after reading the lead generation process, you understand how it works. Now let’s see how you put that into action:
All business types can use lead generation. And, each sector requires a unique approach.
Here are some examples of lead generation in different sectors to give you a better idea of how businesses can put the process into action.
In the retail and e-commerce sector, businesses can utilise strategies such as targeted social media ads, email marketing campaigns, and offering exclusive discounts to attract potential customers.
Newsletters and financial webinars are helpful lead generation strategies in the finance sector.
These methods help establish credibility and build trust with potential clients, leading to more conversions.
Most of the manufacturing industry’s target audience is B2B clients, so utilising tactics such as networking events, industry trade shows, and creating informative content like white papers can help generate leads in the manufacturing sector.
If you are in the trading business, consider hosting webinars and virtual events that enable direct engagement with your potential customers.
Also, you can create targeted campaigns on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach specific demographics and interests, which can drive targeted traffic to your website.
Service businesses can use both online and offline marketing strategies to generate leads. Using content marketing strategies on social media platforms can help to create brand awareness and providing offers and discounts offline, helping you to generate more leads for your business.
A lead generation funnel is essential for lead conversion. It provides you with the opportunity to create targeted strategies that address the specific needs of your audience.
There are 3 major stages in the funnel in lead generation. All three stages have their own purpose.
Creating awareness is the first step in the funnel. At this stage, potential customers aren’t looking to buy a product. But they’re just exploring solutions to their needs.
So it is your responsibility to nurture these leads by providing valuable content and information that will educate and engage them.
For example, you can create blog posts, social media content, or webinars that address common pain points and offer solutions.
If your target audience knows about your product, they enter the consideration stage.
Here, they think about whether your product fits their needs. This stage usually takes the longest.
Try to engage them with your product by sending short notes and messages to understand their interest, then try the following to build trust among your audience.
Bottom of the funnel is for conversation. In this stage, the your potential customers (lead) feels your product is right for them and is ready to make a purchase.
At this stage, it’s your job to help prospects feel confident in their choice by sharing case studies, testimonials, and product demos that highlight your product’s benefits.
You can also motivate them to make the final purchase by:
There are many ways to generate leads. In fact, one study found that 53% of marketers spend at least half of their budget on lead generation, while only 34% spend less than half of their budget on it.
Yet for many small businesses, finding effective ways to generate quality leads remains a big challenge. To help with this, here are 9 proven lead generation strategies you can use to attract more customers and grow your business.
A lead generation strategy is a set of plans or actions to attract and convert leads into paying customers. In other words, it is used to reach the right audience and get their attention.
Blogs, guides, and case studies always keep your audience engaged and educate them.
Try publishing content to highlight customer success stories and testimonials, which help build trust in your product or service.
Platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook are great places to advertise your business.
They allow you to reach a wider audience and target specific groups based on interests, location, or other details.
Send newsletters, offers, and personalised messages to keep in touch with potential customers.
Organise live webinars or Q&A sessions about the needs of your customers based on your service.
Use these sessions to interact directly with your audience, address their questions on the spot, and build trust by showing your expertise.
Use limited-time deals to encourage quick action.
SEO is important in helping your website appear higher in search engine results, and optimising it with keywords helps potential customers to find your business online.
Build a dedicated landing page focused on one specific offer to grab attention, and also use the right and strong CTAs that encourage people to act immediately.
Showcase your happy customers’ testimonials to highlight real-life results.
Collaborate with other businesses or attend industry events to reach new audiences.
Businesses can measure their success in lead generation by analysing the quantitative and qualitative metrics of their lead.
Quantitative metrics may include:
To know the conversion rate of your generated leads, you have to divide the number of leads that convert into customers by the total number of leads generated, then multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage.
To calculate your cost per lead, you have to divide the total money you spent on a marketing campaign by the number of people who showed interest in your product or service during that campaign.
It is very simple and important to look for. Start by taking the revenue you earned from these leads, subtracting the total cost to get them, and then dividing that number by the total cost.
Qualitative metrics could involve:
Identifying the quality of a lead depends on your own criteria for what makes a lead valuable. However, the most popular method is BANT.
There are different types of lead generation tools available in the market to generate leads. The following are some examples:
Many people feel nervous about lead generation, but it becomes much simpler when you follow the right strategy.
I hope this blog has helped clear your doubts and given you the confidence to start attracting and converting leads effectively.
If you found these insights helpful and want to read more blogs, explore our website for more tips, strategies, and insights to grow and run your business successfully.
None can destroy iron, but its own rust can! Likewise, none can destroy a person, but their own mindset can.
Former chairperson of the Tata Group
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