A company that wants to be competitive and grow its business cannot just try to increase sales on the customers it already has, it has to look at new potential qualified leads.
There are many ways to find qualified contacts, the easiest one is definitely online. And no, having a website is not enough.
Contacts don’t fall from the sky just because you have an online presence (although that would be great). You need to implement strategies that will attract prospects to the website, which will convince them to leave their contact information with you specifically.
It is precisely about doing lead generation.
But what does lead generation essentially consist of?
And what are the most successful techniques for acquiring contacts?
We will answer these questions in this article.
What is lead generation and why it is useful for your business
First, let’s start with the definition of “lead generation.”
is a set of strategies and actions that aim to collect relevant data such as first name last name email and company, of people potentially interested in the products or services you sell, and then convince them to buy.
It is about attracting potential customers, with the idea of establishing a dialogue, earning their trust as you go, so that they will choose and continue to choose the product or service your company offers.
Doing lead generation is critical because it is the most effective way for a company to acquire new customers today. A well-designed lead generation campaign allows you to get customers at a lower cost than traditional channels.
Moreover, because the consumer buying process has changed, the goal of companies is no longer to bombard the potential customer or prospect with pounding messages (such as cold calls, e-mails…) but to accompany the potential customer with relevant and specific tools, messages, and information toward the sale.
A path called, in marketing, the “sales funnel” or “conversion funnel,” which begins with lead generation and continues with lead nurturing.
“But what are these strategies and actions that I can implement?”
Read on and you will find out.
Some techniques for generating leads:
Using a Lead Magnet
A super effective strategy for getting a contact through paid advertising is to attract them with a lead magnet.
The lead magnet is something you offer the user in exchange for their contact information.
So the key thing is to find that something that interests your potential customers so much that they will be convinced to leave their information with you. There are various magnets you can use, now we will look at some of them.
E-book
One resource you can offer in exchange for contacts is a free e-book. Remember to first do thorough research on what your target audience likes, you need to find content that is interesting.
Webinar
In this case you can invite the user to participate in a free webinar in exchange for their contact information. Remember that in the webinar you should not say anything too trivial and obvious, but you should try to make your professionalism perceived and your products or services known.
Infographic
Infographics are another great lead magnet. This involves creating combinations of images and text distributed in a visual format.
The purpose is to convey a message, inform or attract the user with graphics that have a visual impact. The images used should be easy to understand, with little text that is very summarized and clear.
Discount coupon on purchase
A purchase coupon is another great way to acquire a lead and also allows you to track who comes to your store or who has purchased on your e-commerce.
Discount for free shipping
Like the purchase coupon, the free shipping discount is also a good magnet, helpful in boosting conversions on your e-commerce.
Making a Funnel Quiz
A quiz funnel is essentially a type of marketing funnel that allows you to separate your audience based on their interests and needs. People who respond to your quiz can then be ranked according to these key criteria, and you can subsequently nurture these contacts with targeted emails leading them to conversion.
All you have to do is construct a quiz that is engaging to the user and they won’t even notice that they have left you their contact information.
The tools for doing lead generation
Paid advertising:
To do lead generation you can use SEM (search engine marketing) campaigns, which allow you to acquire the highest positions in the search results on Google, but also display campaigns on Google Ads and campaigns on social media such as Facebook or Linkedin.
Content Marketing
Among the most effective methods of generating qualified leads is definitely content marketing. Creating, conveying and sharing valuable editorial content proves useful in increasing traffic to the company website, capturing data and information about target users and converting spending intentions into purchases.
Make sure to create interesting and well-written content in compliance with SEO rules. This ensures you get good indexing and increases organic traffic to your business website, multiplying your chances of being “found” in the jungle of the Web.
Seo
Another useful tool is search engine optimization (SEO). Through SEO, you will be able to intercept the potential customer at the moment when they are voluntarily searching for the product or service you offer.
SEO-optimized content is in fact the destination of an intentional search by the potential customer who has googled that specific topic.
Once his attention is captured, the final step is to place a contact form in the right place, perhaps anticipating it with a call-to-action.
SEO expands the possibilities for lead generation only when it is used to its full potential, within a multichannel strategy that takes into account all possible variables.
E- mail marketing
Email marketing is actually a very useful tool when it comes to lead nurturing, many times not helping to generate leads but to increase a user’s chance of conversion through useful and engaging content.
There are some rules you must follow, for example:
- Use an object that is as eye-catching as possible,
- Take great care of graphics and visibility from both mobile and desktop,
- Being able to profile the target audience well.
How to do lead nurturing and why it is important
The next step after lead generation is “nurturing” the lead.
In fact, it is not enough to have collected this data; the lead must be worked on properly to turn it from a simple contact into a buyer.
Contact “nurturing” results in a flow of highly engaging communications and activities designed and managed with the specific purpose of intriguing, being liked, differentiating and making oneself, if possible, indispensable by convincing the user of the need to buy.
Without this fundamental step, the whole scaffolding of a lead generation plan collapses, and it will neither lead to the conclusion of sales or contracts, nor will it bind the customer to your Brand.
Bonus: Cardillo Dealership Strategy
Because we are good, we leave you with an example of a strategy you can use to generate leads for your company. Here you will find the strategy and actions implemented for generating leads for a dealership that is our client.
Conclusions
You should now be more or less clear about the most effective methodologies and strategies for generating leads interested in your products and services and eventually converting them into buyers.
If you need further support please do not hesitate to contact us via the form at the bottom of the page, we are here to help.
