First of all, what is lead generation? Essentially lead generation is the process of capturing interest in your product/solutions and developing that lead down the sales funnel and turning that lead into a fully-fledged customer. Before we dive in, I want to touch on content syndication which ties in some of these points together.
Content Syndication
Content syndication is a way of getting your whitepapers (or a clients), articles, weekly newsletters and so on in front of potential new businesses using a third party. Generating a high volume of high-quality leads can be a challenge to manage yourself consistently, so using a company that specialise in this who potentially has access to high quality data lists can absolutely save your company time & money. That’s not all, usually, you will be charged by cost per lead (CPL). This means you won’t be given a comprehensive list of ifs and maybe, but targeted individuals that match your target audience. More often than not those leads will be delivered straight into your inbox ready to go.
Telemarketing
Telemarketing is a tried and tested outbound marketing strategy which is great to use alongside some inbound strategies like content creation, blogs, social media, company website etc. It’s effective in taking your content/solutions to specific individuals instead of just waiting for the right people to come to you. You can use one or several telemarketers to reach different regions or ones that specialize in particularly complex campaigns. Obviously, research is key but having a selection of trusted and efficient partners (that are also GDPR compliant of course) can really be effective and boost your lead generation. Good telemarketing can really push people through the sales funnel quicker. Converting leads into customers can be difficult so combining outbound and inbound techniques can help your sales and marketing teams cover as much ground as possible.
Your Website
Your website is your digital storefront, where you can turn a potential customer into a real lead. You may want to direct them to a landing page, weekly newsletter or maybe a form to download a free trial/demo of your services. Whichever it is, you can use the information you have acquired through these avenues to follow up with them and attempt to turn them from a window shopper to a brand-new customer.
Events
Hosting conferences, tradeshows, webinars, etc. can be an effective tactic in quickly turning a prospect into a strong lead. Events give you the opportunity to interact and engage with potential customers allowing you to clarify who you are and the solutions you can provide them. It is also an opportunity for your current clients to talk you up to possible new clients because that’s what people do when they’re receiving a good service! An excellent event can really create a buzz around your company and place you as a leader in your industry. I recently attended a King Pin charity event and it was a great way to bring people from the industry together to raise money for a good cause and put faces to names.
Email Marketing
Hopefully, email marketing is already a main component of your marketing campaigns. It is one of the most used lead generation tactics and it’s no surprise why. It’s a great way to maintain communication with current clients or to help generate new leads by placing your content in front of people who didn’t know they needed it. The most successful email marketing campaigns start with an email list full of qualified leads that are interested in what you have to offer. The best way to build a targeted email list is to convert your website visitors into subscribers. Alternatively, content syndication could save you the leg work, a company could source the leads, call them to confirm their interest in your whitepaper/Event/Weekly Newsletter etc. then send out those emails. Reporting back to you with quality leads all at CPL. Beware, badly designed emails may not reach the recipient. Emails that use certain spam words in the subject heading or content itself are likely to be filtered out by email software and internet service providers.
Content
It’s difficult to demonstrate ROI regarding content, even if you’re knocking your competitors out of the park with the standard and volume of what you’re putting out there. However, it should be the cornerstone of any company. It is a great way to define your brand and start to build trust with existing and potential customers. Trying to create meaningful content will be a challenge… offering extensive insight, information and genuinely trying to help the person at the other end of your content is key. Don’t be just another business trying to sell something!
Obviously, this isn’t a comprehensive list but it’s a good introduction into the world of lead generation. If you are new to the MarTech industry or lead generation specifically like I was a couple of months ago and you have any questions at all do not hesitate to get in touch!
