In establishing a sustainable and successful business, marketing is fundamental. One of the key aspects of your marketing strategy is lead generation: the process by which you, as a business, attract potential customers and grow their interest in your offerings geared towards turning them into paying customers. Without leads, there are no sales; and without sales, there is no revenue.

What is a Lead?

To understand lead generation, we must first be clear on what a “lead” is. A lead is someone who shows interest in a business's products or services. This is an individual that often initiates the conversation, as opposed to one who receives cold calls from marketers. Upon initiating the conversation, a lead usually participates in some form of interaction with the business, such as a survey, subscription, or trial. 

Leads can be “marketing qualified,” which means that they have participated in marketing devices but are not yet ready to entertain sales calls. They can also be “sales qualified,” meaning that they have clearly expressed interest in becoming a paying customer. Meanwhile, “product qualified leads” are those that have used the product or service (for instance, via a free trial) and have voiced interest in paying for that service. 

How to Generate Leads?

As mentioned earlier, lead generation seeks out prospective clients and grows their interest in the business in order to convert them into paying customers. Normally, a possible lead finds your business through marketing avenues, such as a business website or social media platforms. The visitor clicks on the call-to-action; these are usually lines like, “Head over to our page for more information,” or “Message us for a free quotation today.” The visitor then is brought to the business’ landing page, a portal wherein they must enter some personal information in exchange for an offer (for example, an online course).

Lead generation can be done in variety of ways:

• Content. This comes in the form of blog posts, news articles, videos, or images that offer free information that your audience will find useful.

• Email. This method is for people who are already familiar with your brand. Because of the volume of emails that people normally get, your email copy and call-to-action must be attention-grabbing.

• Social media. Platforms like Facebook, for instance, can redirect users to the business website.

• Product trial. Free trials encourage potential customers to pay for the service.

• Referral marketing. This technique is how your business is brought to the attention of more people, and therefore, more leads.

• Paid ads. Ads are geared towards urging prospective clients to take action. Your landing page should offer exactly what your ad says.

Ways to Maximize Lead Generation

Lead generation requires continuous effort in order to work. 

Below are some tips to improve your endeavors:

• Improve content. Make sure your content is new and fresh. Search engine optimization comes into play here, helping your website rank higher on Google search results. 

• Optimize your landing page. Make sure that this portal is easy to navigate, pleasing to the eye, and easy to read. Review the text for spelling and grammar. Ensure your landing translates properly to computer and mobile device screens. Present your offers, messages, and call-to-action clearly. Assure customers on your landing page that their data will remain confidential and will not be abused. Your ‘Thank You’ page should also direct users to related content and information.

• Explore alternative traffic channels. Keep in mind that not every social media platform is suited to your business. Research brands similar to yours on various platforms and check if creating an account there would be a lucrative way to get leads. These include using Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

• Offer free webinars. Touted as one of the most effective ways to generate leads, webinars enable you to present your products or services, answer queries, build your brand, and create relationships with your audience.

Apart from being a meticulous process, lead generation requires continuous improvement and adjustments. Religiously monitor your existing channels and explore new ways to gain as much traffic as possible. Explore and experiment, and don’t be afraid to change strategy should the situation (and the data) support it. 

Not sure how to effectively apply your sales strategy through lead generation? BT Partners would love to collaborate and help your business take the spotlight with the right approach. Get in touch with us today at partners@btpartners-asia.com.