Lead generation can seem like a mystical practice, where people are converted into customers by almost magical means 🪄
And it can work like magic - If done right.
When lead generation works like a charm, potential customers flow to you from several different sources. Some might even be ready to make a purchase right away.
Even those who don't make a purchase instantly have already expressed interest in your services or products.
Who would you rather sell to? A person who says they are interested in what you have to offer, or to someone who has never even heard of you?
Below you will find the cornerstones of a good lead generation strategy, 10 proven channels for lead generation.
Best of all, they won't break your budget, and you can get them up and running quickly!
🏃♀️ For quick results download a guide for turning your website into a sales funnel
Lead generation is the most essential part of online sales
The importance of lead generation in today's online-focused sales cannot be overemphasized.
Lead generation is essential to any company's customer acquisition process. But sales should spend most of their time with customers, not setting up appointments or finding potential customers.
That's why sales needs marketing to generate the highest quality leads.
Lead generation is the metaphorical bridge between marketing and sales. It must work or there won't be much selling going on.
Lead generation engages potential customers in your company's services by offering interesting content to read, watch, or consume in any other way.
This is precisely where the power of lead generation lies: It builds trust
when your potential customers can get to know your products and services in peace. When you gain their trust, making sales follows naturally.
Therefore, it is worth building an effective lead generation strategy and implementing it in the proper channels.
At its best, a well-chosen and implemented lead generation strategy produces high-quality leads consistently, with only a small initial investment.
Now let's get to the point: The means and channels of lead generation.
👉 You can also check out the best lead generation tools here 🥇
Top 10 Lead Generation Techniques
1. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
It hardly surprises anyone that keyword advertising is practically synonymous with Google Adwords. This mode of advertising allows you to reach potential customers in Google search, YouTube or Gmail, for example.
The definitive advantage of keyword advertising is reaching the right audience at the right time. Information about products and services is searched on Google extensively, but customers only check 1–2 brands before making a purchase decision. This lead generation tactic is efficient, because you get your services in front of potential customers in the right place at the right time.
2. Facebook & LinkedIn ads
There are many methods for lead generation in the world of social media. The best bet is to focus on the platforms with the highest number of users, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Advertising on Facebook is an effective and underutilized lead generation tactic. Run ads on Facebook where the customer can click on the ad to leave their contact information and in return, download a guide, participate in a webinar or receive a discount coupon. Properly targeted advertising can generate high-quality leads at a low cost.
LinkedIn is an underutilized lead generation channel despite being a network of more than 800 million professionals. LinkedIn is used specifically for professional content, so it offers a direct connection to the decision-makers of your target company.
For example, you can approach the managers of your target companies directly and offer them guides or marketing materials about your products. You can also generate interest in your services by posting useful content on your company's profile page and answering questions.
3. Email marketing
Despite spamming our inboxes, email marketing still works. It is clear that even people interested in your company do not visit your website constantly. That's why email is needed.
You can use email to approach cold leads, nurture existing leads, or generate entirely new leads. Email marketing is well suited for lead generation, as it can be almost fully automated.
You can send messages to contacts that fit your customer profile with little effort. With the help of automation, you can also personalize the messages. To ensure good results, make sure that every message you send contains as much value or benefit to the recipient as possible.
4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the best lead generation strategies as it can produce massive results with little investment. However, it requires time and an understanding of how search engines work.
Start by researching typical keywords in your industry with tools like SEMrush. With research, you will learn more precise search terms, which will help you optimize your content better. You can also monitor what your competitors focus on, which keywords they use to get visitors to their pages, and then use similar keywords in your content.
5. Leadbots
🤖 Lead bots, such as Chatbots, are constantly active on your website to help customers and collect contact information. The advantage of a chatbot is automation. Although live chat is slightly better, it is not a good policy to have employees in the office 24/7 answering messages.
This is a great way to generate leads from your website. You can also integrate bots into your CRM system, Google Analytics or email automation software. This allows AI algorithms to analyze data about where your leads come from. Any lead generation tactic today benefits from the use of bots.
6. Conversion-rate-optimization (CRO)
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is a necessary lead generation tactic.
A conversion is an action taken by a visitor on your website, which converts them into a lead. This means leaving contact information in one form or another.
CRO focuses on making your website's lead generation forms work more efficiently. If two people out of a hundred now fill out your contact form, how could that number be increased to four or five?
Optimization is done by analyzing the behavior of visitors on your website and making adjustments based on the collected information. Optimization can include, for example, adding or removing content or adding CTA buttons to the text.
💪 Read here how to do conversion rate optimization on your website
7. Landing pages
A landing page is a dedicated page for lead generation with one clear call to action (CTA).
The page contains only the most relevant information and just one contact form or link guiding the visitor to take the desired action. The page works best ifyou have one separate page for each target audience you are trying to serve, and delivers what you promised in the ads that link to your page.
If your title is "download a free guide" the page must naturally offer that guide for download.
Landing pages work well, for example, in advertising, social media campaigns, and competitions/promotions. Landing pages are necessary for any company selling digital products.
8. Customer testimonials on the website
Social proof is more valuable than gold online. Visitors to your website trust the honest opinion of your customers more than your other content or sales reps.
According to some studies, 85% of people trust reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family! 🤯
Reviews are like a recommendation from a best friend, and you should take advantage of them as much as possible.
Look into your 10 most profitable customers and collect their experiences into a story. Then turn these stories into reviews or case studies as examples for your website visitors.
9. Inbound content (Downloadable materials)
One of the most sustainable and effective lead generation tactics is to constantly create new content. The content will then be available on your website for years to come. Your potential customers will see that your website is updated regularly and this new information will keep them coming back to learn more.
Downloadable materials on your website can be, for example:
- Educational videos
- Free trials
- Webinars
- Books
- Interviews with an expert in your industry
These free materials enable potential customers to learn about your company and build trust. The materials are downloaded in exchange for contact information, so they serve as an excellent lead generation tactic.
10. Webinars & Events
Webinars are popular lead generation tools. They combine personal influence (even on a large group at once) with easy participation.
Organize a training that appeals to your target audience, where you teach the basics of any practical method in your industry. In the webinar, you get to make an impact with your expertise. Teach just enough that customers will ask you for more information after the training.
You may not generate masses of leads with webinars, but the leads are high quality.
👉 Read here why lead quality matters
Summary
Lead generation is a crucial part of online sales.
Lead generated with intent can be instantly interested in your services or products. An effective lead generation strategy can also increase your potential customers' willingness to buy from you.
Lead generation can be thought of as a metaphorical bridge between marketing and sales.
At its best, lead generation makes potential customers flow to you from several different sources continuously, even with little initial investment. It also hooks potential customers to your company's services by building trust.
Plan the means and channels of lead generation carefully and implement your strategy in the long term.
Top 10 Lead Generation Tactics
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising
- Facebook and LinkedIn advertising
- Email marketing
- Search engine optimization (SEO=
- Lead bots on websites
- Conversion-rate-optimization
- Landing pages
- Customer testimonials on the website
- Inbound content (Downloadable materials)
- Webinars and events
👉 Make sure your lead generation strategy works flawlessly by booking a free appointment with our SuccessGuide
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