What are some common types of lead generation?
Generating new leads for your business is what keeps your company increasing. The market is always competitive, if you are not growing, then you will soon be extinct. That is why businesses are always on the lookout for new strategies that can help them raise the flow of relevant leads that will convert into clients or customers. There are numerous different methods of lead generation and all of them may not be the right fit for your products. To understand what type of lead generation services are right for you and how you can apply them, continue to read this article below
Types of lead generation services
There are a number of lead generation methods that businesses implement to gain more customers and increase their revenue.
Here are some of them –#1: Cold Calling
Cold calling is one of the oldest methods of lead generation. Since there were telephones, cold calling has existed as a way to reach possible customers to directly pitch them a product or service over the phone. Since it is a form of interruption marketing, these days’ lots of businesses refrain from engaging in them, yet this practice is famous all over the world across different sectors.
How is it done?
The first thing required here is the database of potential customers. You can either purchase this data from different data vendors or source it yourself through various online directories and data scrubbing tools. Next, you need a strong script that contains all the information and advantages of your product/services. It should additionally contain the counters to various objections the customers may pose.
Who is this right for?
Cold calling works for every business where you have a product or service that you can easily explain over the phone. It works for products that are fairly common and are in enormous demand across the market. It works for both B2B & B2C industries.
#2: Email Marketing
Email marketing consists of sending bulk emails to a list of potential customers to get them to either visit your website or place an order for purchase directly through the mailer that is sent. It is a type of digital marketing that is referred to as drip marketing too. It is one of the most popular marketing & lead generation methods of the 21st century.
How is it done?
Just like cold calling, the initial thing you need is a database of potential customers. Again, this database can also be purchased from a vendor or sourced manually. It should be noted that email marketing has a conversion rate of only 3 percent statistically. This means we need an enormous bulk of the email addresses of potential customers for this technique to be won. The next step is to write a noticeable subject line and content of the emailer that is generally designed in HTML made responsive for all devices and then launched using an email marketing tool such as mail chimp. Note that you can also end normal text with normal emails also if that seems better for you.
Who is this right for?
This tactic is perfect for both B2B & B2C companies. If you are organizing any special offers or discounts on your service, then creating an email campaign around it works excellent. It also helps in cases where you require your leads to sign up for events or webinars.
#3: Inside Sales
Inside Sales is a method where you have a team of lead generation professionals use tools such as LinkedIn and other online platforms to market your products directly to relevant people of relevant companies. This method is ideal for B2B companies that care more about the quality of leads than quantity.
How is it done?
You need a team of inside sales experts with LinkedIn accounts. You might need a sales navigator LinkedIn premium account to reach the right people. You need a clear list of target sectors or companies and who the right people are for those companies. The executive then reaches out as well as connects with those people and proceeds to pitch them for a meeting with the sales managers.
Who is this right for?
This technique is for B2B companies that want to sell their products or services by reaching the related executives of target companies. Since LinkedIn is a professional network, it is the ideal platform for this activity.
#4: Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Marketing is part of a digital marketing that consists of placing paid ads on search engine result pages of Google & Bind in order to reach customers that are searching keywords that are related to your business. This is a form of inbound marketing where you bring the applicable audience to your website or landing page, from where you can convert them into leads.
How is it done?
You need to have a website or a landing page with a contact form and related content about what you are offering. After that, you must create an account on Google or Bing advertisements platform and set up your campaigns that comprise the keywords you are targeting and the ad copies you want to show. The advertisements are charged as per a pay-per-click model where you get charged for every click on your advertisement, based on the amount you have bid for your keywords.
Who is this right for?
This method of lead generation is ideal for those companies who are selling a product that there is a large demand for on the internet. You need to check the keyword searches for your product category as well as if you have an abundance of searches, then you should go for it.
#5: Social Media Marketing
All business wants to capitalize on the power of social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn have millions & even billions of potential customers for numerous businesses. Companies are realizing that and have launched advertisement campaigns on all these platforms to increase their customer base and increase awareness about their brands.
How is it done?
Every social media platform has its own advertisement manager. You require to create an ad account there and set up your campaigns. On social media, you can target your demographic in a very broad or narrow manner depending upon who your key audience is. You can target people based on their gender, age, location, job profile, educational background, and interests. Once you have a target audience ready, then you just set up your advertisement copies with relevant text, images, or videos.
Who is this right for?
Social media marketing is mostly useful for B2C companies that want to advertise their products to the end-users & get them to place orders directly. For B2B companies, LinkedIn is the only social media platform you can advertise on to generate relevant leads.
Conclusion
The above were some of the most popular lead generation methods that are used by businesses around the world with great success. Now you know which would be best for you, you can go ahead and apply these methods to grow your customer base. You also hire a lead generation services company like Star Web Maker to help your business reach its lead generation goals through one or all of these methods.
