In the digital era, whether you are a small business or large enterprise, new customers are required to grow your business. The best way to attract new customers is through lead generation.
The methods of acquiring new leads online are changing. Many lead generation strategies that have become so overused that potential new customers become immune to them. If you want to consistently grow your business, then you need to upgrade your lead generation strategies today.
This Rate of change has been rapid. Digital technology has opened up a whole new wave of B2B lead generation channels and strategies. However, not all strategies are effective at delivering quality leads. You need to focus on ones that will generate the most ROI (return on investment).
Before we discuss lead generation with digital marketing, let’s describe precisely what we mean by leads. Leads are potential clients who expressed some interest in your product or service. They may have provided contact information like an email or phone number. Your team can use the lead data provided to follow up with the potential client. This is usually done by your sales team, or through warming them up with a content marketing program.
In a perfect world, every marketing campaign you initiate is successful. Similarly, every B2B lead generation campaign generates a vast number of high-quality prospects for your sales pipe. However, the unfortunate truth is that we don’t live in such an easy world!
In today’s market, many buyers are more sophisticated than ever before. Thus, if you are not providing your sales team with a stable stream of potential clients, your business may suffer.
Luckily, there is a lot of information out there about how to get more B2B leads. Perhaps the main advantage of lead generation through channels like social media is their ability to find highly qualified leads with detailed targeting.
What is lead generation?
Lead generation means finding potential customers for your business. In marketing, it is a process to identify potential clients for products and services of a particular business. With effective lead generation strategies, you can attract more eyes that can turn into paying customers. In simple words, lead generation is a way to get high-quality potential customers for your business.
It’s important to note that lead generation tactics can vary depending on your industry.
For example, paid lead generation opportunities for realtors include using platforms like SmartZip, but a non-agent wouldn’t consider these sites helpful. With that said, any business can pay for leads if they use the right industry-specific platform.
Lead generation is a process that should be under scrutiny to get new leads and then converting them into customers. The same lead generation strategy will not work for all types of businesses. There is a need to find the best strategy for every company.
Lead generation is one of the main functions of digital marketing. Technology has made it easier than ever to acquire new leads online.
Here are several digital marketing strategies that can produce amazing results. By following these suggestions, you can fill improve your sales funnel today:
1. Generate SEO friendly content
It’s important to be publishing new content regularly, especially if you run a newly launched small business. But only content is not sufficient if it is not SEO friendly so that it can rank on Google or other search engines. Keep in mind that anything you publish should be focused and relevant for your target audience. Lead gen growth is mainly dependent on the quality (not quantity) of your content. Blogs, articles, social media posts, and website updates should be unique and of a high standard. Content is the first and most important piece that can engage visitors to your website.
There are certain things that you should remember when creating content:
(i) The headline should be informational and attention grabbing. If possible, add your keyword in heading for SEO purpose.
(ii) Try to write engaging content. Sales or marketing copy is unlikely to engage visitors. Provide your audience value, and save the call-to-action for later.
2. Effective referral systems
It is a method to promote products through word of mouth, which is a very common marketing strategy. A single third-party recommendation can be more influential than a dozen product demonstrations. Getting your clients to endorse you to other individuals is the most sought-after prize in marketing (besides a sale). There are hundreds of different referral systems you can use to acquire and showcase referrals. Some benefits of these systems include the ability to:
- generate a large amount of warm leads,
- get prospects returning your calls,
- contact hard-to-reach purchasers,
- improve client satisfaction, and
- Increase sales and profits.
Referral systems make your life easier and more professional, while bringing more profits and customer loyalty.
3. Become a recognized authority in your niche
No matter, if you have wonderful services if you don’t know techniques to reach your target audience. In order to reach the target clients, brand name is must which means your products should be famous to get more leads. Being considered an authority, or thought leader comes with many benefits. Clients will be more likely to trust your products and/or services. In addition, it’s likely your brand will stand out in comparison to competitors’ offerings.
Here are several steps you can take to become a recognized authority in your niche. They Include:
- writing articles and reports
- generating newsletters with relevant industry news,
- hosting webinars and podcasts, and
- speaking and delivering live sessions
4. Ensure quality
Leads are only valuable if they have the potential need to become potential clients in the future. We already know that that quality content can be an amazing source of web traffic which will ultimately lead to more potential customers. However, not all leads are created equal.
To ensure you have high quality leads, it’s important to qualify potential customers. When filling out forms, including fields that can help you determine the lead’s potential revenue opportunity. And make sure that the lead fits your criteria. For example, if your software is tailored towards real estate agents, you may want to filter out leads for mortgage brokers or other unrelated leads.
By qualifying your leads, you focus company resources on customers that are likely to generate the most revenue for your business.
5. Attend and sponsor trade shows to attract potential clients
When focusing on online lead generation, it’s easy to forget the basics. Many successful companies demonstrate and sell their products at various exhibitions and trade shows. They know that many serious prospects will attend these events.
There is a well-known secret to exhibiting that produces better results. Leads that are warmed up online (aka have gone through your marketing funnels) are more likely to convert. If you can educate them about your offering online, then it’s easier to close with an in-person interaction. There are few other sales opportunities where it is as easy to close as in-person events. You can keep an Apple Wallet business card with you. It’s very handy for such events. It’ll enable easy sharing of contact information and also guarantee your business card doesn’t inadvertently end up in the trash.
Conclusion
Lead generation with digital marketing can be a viable strategy when done right. By making use of these 5 strategies, you can generate more high-quality leads across your digital marketing channels. This will ultimately drive more revenue, and give you an edge over your competition.
Start generating high-quality leads today with lead generation quizzes from Pointerpro or check out our additional resources on lead generation below:
8 Lead generation mistakes you must avoid
Organic B2B lead generation – How to acquire high-quality leads
