Lead Generation Tools

Lead generation is one of the most challenging tasks in marketing.

The dictionary describes lead generation as “the action or process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business’s products or services.“

But, what is lead generation?
Why is it important?
And, most importantly, how do you make it work for your business?

Lead generation is the process of attracting and engaging your target audience to the point where they are happy to give you their information.

Lead generation is the result of your marketing efforts at the top of the funnel, or the awareness end of the funnel, that leads to an interaction with your business.

As it takes approximately 90 days to build a sales pipeline it is essential that your marketing awareness efforts are consistent and frequent. This will help you get an advantage over your competitors when a potential buyer comes looking for a product or service that you are offering.

Ultimately, placing your product or service the the path of where your preferred purchasers are looking will deliver the greatest return on investment (ROI).

With this in mind, we’ve listed 14 ideas to help you discover which lead generation tactics will work best in your business.

1. Content marketing eg. blogs, ebooks etc.
2. Search engine optimisation (SEO)
3. Pay Per Click advertising (PPC)
4. Social media advertising
5. Third party listings
6. Lead conversion tools eg. forms
7. Website
8. Landing pages
9. PR
10. Reviews /WOM
11. Telemarketing
12. Email Marketing
13. Strategic alliances
14. Print advertising

But, these marketing tactics alone will not generate leads.

You need something to create INTEREST and a reason for potential buyers to click through, contact you or share their details with you. This is where it gets tricky.

You need to create compelling information that your preferred audience are interested in AND in a way they want to digest it in the amount of time they are willing to spend looking at information from your business.

Here are 12 ideas to help create the right lead generation tools:

1. Ebooks
2. Papers/Reports
3. Email sequences
4. Competitions
5. Games
6. Quizzes
7. Audits
8. Free consultation
9. Webinars
10. Podcasts
11. Site chat
12. Visitor identification

By linking a tactics and a tool together you will start to be able to create a lead generation process that will work for your business. For example, a marketing campaign to promote your new ebook (which would be a data capture tool) could include a banner on your website, social posts, email marketing, podcast, Facebook advertising, PPC etc.

After pushing traffic to the ebook download page (and they have submitted the form) an email automation sequence should be set up to nurture your new prospect so they become more familiar with you and the content you are sharing with them. If you have their phone number, a well-timed call is also recommended so you can build a personal relationship with your new found potential customer. All this nurturing and provision of valuable content will ensure that you are top of the list when they are in a position to purchase.

Remember: Don’t confuse leads with prospects. A lead is a potential customer that only becomes a prospect once qualified.