The pace of the creation and distribution of information keeps increasing but this abundance also brings the scarcity of attention. So this affects how customers make buying decisions and marketers need to find ways to keep their attention. Because they are constantly bombarded with messages from different brands, customers ignore the ones that they don’t want to hear or learn about.

The abundance of information available on the internet created a new type of persona which is called “self-directed buyer”. It requires new techniques to reach out to potential leads before pushing them directly to sales. Rather than using the method with mass advertising, marketers should focus on how to be found by their potential and current customers and build strong relationships with them.

And that’s where lead generation strategy comes in. It refers to the process of identifying potential customers for your brand. But unfortunately, still not many businesses use it even though 85% of expert marketers say that it is the most important strategy for them.

What is a lead?

A short answer would be that a lead is a prospective customer who shows interest in a product or service. In the digital marketing world, a person from your target audience who is interested in buying your product or service is defined as a “lead”.

Leads are the people who heard about a business through their communication tools such as content, blog or email rather than getting a cold call from their sales team. They show their interest by sharing their contact information such as their email address.

What is lead generation?

With the purpose of creating a sales opportunity, lead generation is the process of triggering and sparking interest in a product or service. Having an active lead generation process gives businesses the opportunity to collect contact information of prospective customers to market them later as some of the products and services customers may take their time to decide.

By using lead generation strategy, businesses are able to inform and nurture their potential customers through channels like e-mail or social media. These techniques create awareness for future possible purchases. So when the need arises for a certain product or service, a customer would think of this brand who informed them about it before.

Source: Hubspot

This is a great method especially for many B2B companies as their products and services are less likely to be purchased via their websites. But 61% of B2B marketers say that lead generation is one of their biggest challenges as it could be difficult to have an effective lead generation strategy. For it to be effective it requires a complex process that is built around different strategies so it’s not just about sending a bunch of emails to your subscribers.

This process requires a thorough content strategy created for your personas and every stage of the sales funnel for your business. These stages are aimed to bring a prospective customer to a qualified lead which is approved by your sales team as well.
Leads don’t always necessarily turn into customers as even if they interact with your business they may choose not to make a purchase.
With an effective strategy established and selection of right marketing agency your business would have the ability to turn this lead to a qualified lead who is ready to buy from you.

Why is Lead Generation necessary for your business?

Lead generation provides more traffic to the websites which can potentially turn into conversions. And businesses are now looking for more ways to integrate lead generation into their marketing strategies.

Google has been facilitating businesses to be found and connected to their consumers and this increases the conversion rates and profits in the process. It’s important that your website grabs the attention ofa potential customer when they start to look for a product or service to turn them into a buying customer. If your business has an effective and funneled lead generation process, it will make it easier for the customers to find you and buy from you.

Essentially, new customers need to be aware of your business and the value you provide first to get their attention and this is where lead generation strategy is needed.  Marketers now should try to leverage different tactics that would get users to sign up for business offers or contact them directly.

If your marketing strategy doesn’t have any lead generation process contact us today so we can help you build them to generate the right leads.

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About the Author

Hande is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, Principal of WSI London, founder of Quattro Business Consulting, co-founder of Think Neuro and Buddy Performance. She is independent Board Member in verous companies and institutions. She has studied Industrial Engineering, has worked with 200 clients from different parts of the world and she has 20 years of consulting experience.