While lead generation is still considered important, the introduction of inbound marketing has significantly impacted how things are done.
What does this mean for businesses?
It simply means your target audience now wants their attention earned as opposed to bought.
This would also mean that current lead generation strategies need to be revamped in order to better meet the needs of today’s target markets.
Below are some of the changes you can make to fully maximize the results of your lead generation efforts.
Lead Capture
It would be safe to assume half of your visitors will no longer return to your site if you won’t be able to capture some information about them.
While a working e-mail address is your best option, many visitors are not always willing to part with this kind of personal information.
Likewise, call to action buttons like ‘Sign up here’ have also been associated with spams so marketers would have to find other ways to get the information they need.
The following 2 Golden Rules need to be taken into account when asking for visitors’ information:
- Give before you ask.
- Make every marketing process step (promotions and advertisements) valuable in and of itself.
Lead Scoring
In essence, lead scoring helps you gauge the level of engagement of your leads so it will be a lot easier for you to figure out who are ready to purchase what you have to offer.
Also, given that it is set up accordingly, it can help you identify what your leads are interested in.
Basically, this technique is used to quantify the interactions your prospects have with a particular content by assigning points for various types of engagement.
For instance:
- Downloading an e-book – add 10 points
- Watching a product overview video – add 5 points
- Filling out an opt-in form – add 6 points
- Unsubscribing from a list – deduct 10 points
Lead scoring can provide you with real-time insight on how responsive your prospects are to your marketing campaign.
Lead Magnets
The tools that provide value for your visitors in exchange for the information you need are called lead magnets.
Lead magnets like subscriptions, social media follows, and e-mail opt-ins are used to gauge for some sign of interest from site visitors.
The primary goal of this approach is to get permission from visitors to follow up.
Other effective lead magnets you can use include:
- Free trials
- Webinars
- E-books
- Training videos
- Bonus tips
- White papers
- Interviews with experts
The aforementioned free-of-charge educational tools works will not only educate your visitors regarding your business but it will also entice them to freely give out their e-mail addresses.
Landing Page Conversion Techniques
One huge asset businesses use when converting visitors to leads is the landing pages.
Landing pages can be any page they land on after clicking on an ad or an online marketing element.
Basically, landing pages work by capturing leads and warming up prospective customers.
Both are considered key stepping stones before a lead is moved further down the sales funnel.
There are two types of landing pages:
- Lead generation landing pages – used to capture a company or user’s information in exchange for something. This relates to the concept of ‘giving before asking’ mentioned earlier.
- Click-through landing pages – used to attract a visitor to a particular service or product you are trying to sell. The primary goal is to educate the visitor so they will be convinced to make the purchase.
As a general rule of thumb, make sure your landing page delivers the promise your ad source has made.
If you promised a 50 percent discount off what you are offering, it is imperative that you reassure your prospect you will deliver what you promised as soon as they are directed to your landing page.
