Ask any salesperson or marketer what their biggest challenge is, and the likely answer will be lead generation. Management demands more leads when times are bad to help increase sales opportunities, and even more when times are good to make sure it stays that way. The truth is that generating quality leads on a consistent basis is sometimes easier said than done, and the quantity required at the top of the sales funnel can often feel staggering.
Factors which go into determining the number of leads required include type of business, target demographic, price, conversion rate, and the type of marketing utilized. With direct mail, for example, a 2-3% response rate is considered good until you realize that mailing out 10,000 pieces only yields 200-300 responses, which still need to be converted to sales. This might be acceptable if the product is a high-cost item, but for lower-price items this approach is not cost-efficient.
Digital marketing has complicated lead generation in some ways and made it easier in others. Just about everyone has access to online information, but the problem for marketers is finding their target demographic and connecting in such a way as to start the sales process. Since it all begins with a lead, here are eight ways to generate great leads online:
- Provide information to get them to your website: The best way to attract attention is to offer free information with nothing expected in return. A series of blogs and articles that provide thought leadership increases search results and brings readers to your website.
- Once they’re there, ask them to do something: When leads come to your website, you must ask them to do something – call you, sign up for a newsletter, or request a quote. Each page needs a call to action button, in case they are motivated to look around.
- Be engaging: Search engine marketing is one way to attract leads, but your business also needs to be social. Most targets spend a great deal of time engaged with social media and are likely to respond to companies that are there as well. Experiture provides social media marketing that will increase your social media engagement through Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to drive leads back to your website.
- Reach out more: You’ve heard of something going viral, which means that everyone is catching on to it. Increase responses to your messages by using hashtags, likes and retweets to reach a larger audience.
- Be consistent: If a lead doesn’t buy the first time they visit your website it doesn’t mean they’re not interested; it merely means you haven’t sold them yet. Use newsletters for lead nurturing to reach out to prospects and customers, and remind them about your company.
- Let video tell your story: Prospects don’t necessarily want to read about your product, but a short, engaging video about it can get prospects to a landing page.
- Or pictures: A picture says a thousand words, and today’s infographics are used to disseminate information in easily digestible tidbits. The added benefit is that they can be shared on social media and in newsletters.
- Educate and engage: Build relationships by offering webinars on a recurring basis which can help prospects gain interest and learn about your product.
Experiture’s marketing automation platform provides tools to create marketing that generates more leads and helps create more qualified prospects. As interest builds, your business can use it to show more relevant information to prospects, accumulate information about captured leads, qualify leads, and support the sales team.