How to do lead generation?
Before you start any lead generation activity, you need to know who you’re targeting. If you’re not sure about that, you’ll miss out on a lot of opportunities.
So, begin by creating one or multiple buyer personas—a representation of your ideal customer. Based on market research and data of your existing customers, list out demographics, the challenges these individuals face and how your product or service can help them be successful. Armed with this information, you can get started with lead generation.
The first step is to cast a wide net to gain exposure and increase your brand awareness among your target audience. You can do this many different ways, both paid and organically, but some winning strategies include:
- Search engine optimisation
- Google ads campaigns
- Social media campaigns
- Email marketing
- Content marketing
Choose a strategy that will resonate the most with your target audience. And when measuring progress, don’t focus only on engagement related numbers, such as likes and comments. Although those metrics do improve your reach, one of the most important numbers worth analysing is your number of website visitors. Because when a lead lands on your site, the odds are slim that they will immediately make a purchase. However, they now know of your existence, the first step in building a relationship with them.
Once people start gravitating towards your site, the next step is to find out more about them. How? Using lead magnets. A free resource or service chock-full of value which you give away for free in exchange for a person’s contact details. This could be:
- How-to video series
- Free trial
- Webinar
- E-book
- Whitepaper
- Interview with an expert
Once you’ve identified leads, time to decide on the quality of these potential customers. How likely are these companies or individuals to make a purchase? To sort through high and low-value leads, assign them a score. Assign a point value to every lead based on your buyer’s personas, firmographics, time spent on your site and the user’s level of engagement across all touchpoints. Most CRM’s and lead generation products have embedded a lead scoring feature. Allowing you to go after the hottest leads with confidence and discard low-value fruit.