Lead Generation Strategies That Work

In today’s blog, let’s discuss the different ways to generate leads –the lifeline for any business.

Lead generation, as you may know, is the process of reaching out to potential prospects with the intention of converting them into paying clients.

Lead generation is the process of searching for suitable customers for your product or service or those who show interest to know more about your product or service.

While this may seem simple, generating good quality leads is the biggest challenge that most businesses face today, not because of less demand or lack of potential for your product or service.

Well, it just the way customers’ source information about products or services is continually changing and so are the buying patterns. And therefore most of what you know about marketing has either become obsolete or has significantly changed.

The tools, techniques, tactics, and media for lead generation have evolved and are so drastically different from what it used to be. And, that’s really where all the challenge is. In keeping up to the dynamic nature of marketing in these times.

That said, following are some 15 lead generation strategies that work

1. Writing great content for your target segment –

By putting out content that’s convincing, interesting, and helpful for the customer, you can build relationships and trust between you and the customer. Your compelling content about how your products or services are going to solve their problem will be the first thing that will leave an impression on a prospective customer.

Your content should educate and create the much-required awareness about the need for your solution. You can attract strangers through your website, blogging, or landing pages and once they are connected with you, you can collect their personal information.

It’s therefore recommended that you invest your time, effort and the means to generate content that’s effective and something that can work for you. And, if you are not experienced in generating marketing content, be sure to seek professional help in content writing, good quality leads, effectively, and efficiently.

2. Leverage Search Engine Optimization (SEO) process to come up on Page 1 on Google

With over 94% of your potential prospects turning to search engines for sourcing info. on products or services, being visible on the search engines is an extremely powerful way there is to generate quality leads. 

And, it’s Search engine optimization (SEO) that brings up your website on the first page of search results and thus is a fantastic tool for lead generation.

And, therefore, if you have a thorough understanding of the SEO process, you could do it yourself or outsource the effort to a credible digital marketing expert to do the SEO for you.

A note of caution however is that SEO is a process that you need to continually work on it to keep your website ranking high and not stop it once you see your website ranking on Page 1.

3. Inbound marketing

Means attracting customers to your doorstep.  This can be done through images, videos, and audios targeting a specific audience.

Once you have built a trustworthy relationship with your customer, you would have a base to share your content, even with their friends.

Studies show that inbound marketing is far more effective than old-fashioned outbound marketing.

4. Opt-In Offer & Incentive

There are numerous ways of offering free benefits and opt-ins, to attract your potential prospects.

Providing insightful knowledge, information and data which could help your potential customers is a great way to attract the right target audience – as they Opt-In to consume what you have on offer.

The free offers could include good quality eBooks,  infographics, ready reckoners, survey results offered in a range of media in .pdfs, audio or video formats.

Here again, studies show that providing free insights thro’ ebooks is helping businesses to generate good quality leads, leading to better conversions and in expanding their business.

5. Webinars

A good quality webinar has the potential to deliver more quality leads, provided you have given useful and interesting information to your audience and this can generate good quality leads and quickly.

To ensure better engagement and response, you can ask valuable questions on the webinar sign up page to the customers to learn about their interests and for you to also assess what people are looking for in your products and services

6. Sharing real life case studies & use cases

It is perfect for you to share your real-life experiences with customers, showing how your product has helped others. Reality and honesty always pay off.

Showing proof that what you are talking about is really worthy and working will be beneficial, rather than just presenting the data and showing images with different colors and fonts to the viewers.

7. Consistency in your messaging across media

Presenting your content across different media including audio  versions, video versions and across various channels is yet another great way to increase the flow of customers towards your product.

Convert different versions of your blog post on a certain topic – in to audio version and video version of that topic to re-iterate your messaging.

8. Multiple Opt-in forms on your website and all your other web assets can greatly help too

You could display your sign-up form in the blog header, after posts, as pop-ups, or as a featured box and every other place creatively – thereby prompting your audience to sign-up, many times over.

That way, there’s a good chance to increase your lead captures, many times over, the traditional method.

9. Leverage email marketing

Email has always been a powerful marketing tool  to generate leads.

Start personal conversations via email with customers in your targeted list.

It’s only when you have relevant personal conversations will your subscribers be happy receiving your email.

Using email marketing tools, you can continue to follow up with your prospects to always stay on their minds until you make them want to buy your product.

10. Blog as a lead generating tool

Blogging regularly about your products or services could help in drawing people’s attention.

And blogging consistently not only helps in page ranking on search engines but also helps attract potential customers which would be  hot leads on a regular basis

Here again, research shows that companies that blogged six to eight times about their product in the month doubled their lead generation.

It could be a good idea to include hyperlinks in your blog posts to other pages.

11. Post consistently on social media

This is yet another golden nugget to consistently generate leads. Posting consistently on social media about relevant related content without being salesy and having a direct conversation with your customers, could be a great strategy for generating good quality leads. 

12. Online networking

Online networking directly helps you in 1-2-1 follow ups to learn about your potential clients.

It will also improve your social skills and could potentially influence your business skills, and in turn increase your opportunities to achieve your target.

13. Launching great offers is yet another way

It’s easy to attract your potential prospects by launching great Offers, that your competition may not even dare, provided you are able to demonstrate value in your differential offer.

Not only will it help you in playing with their minds, but it will also make your bond of trust grow stronger.

14. Encourage Online reviews and answer questions:

In today’s digital world, almost everyone usually refers to online reviews before making the purchase or paying, whether they are booking a hotel or having lunch in a restaurant.

So, it is important to have good online ratings to create leads.

15. Answering your customer’s questions on forums like Quora

Moreover, answering your customer’s questions can also create trustworthy relationships. If someone has asked about your product, you should respond to them immediately and in a polite manner. Remember, the tone of your online answers can affect your business greatly.

16. Influencer marketing:

Establishing relations with social influencers who are from your industry is also important. These days, most brands (about 67% of them) reach out to their target audiences through influencer marketing campaigns.

17. Having real conversation with your customers

Real Conversation with your customers – could not only build your personal relations with them, creating a bond of trust and love that could translate into good quality leads

While each of the above-listed marketing ideas are great ways to generate leads, would recommend that you find ways to make each of them workable for you.

In order to ensure consistent and creative ways to do all of the above, you could either seek the help of a marketing partner for outsourcing or by developing in-house competencies, as possible.

Wishing you all the best in your lead generation activities.

Happy Reading !