Back to blog
The internet has changed everything. Consumers are seeking out brands more than ever, placing the burden of lead generation on the organisation’s ability to simply 'be found'.
How can we tell that things have changed? Take this figure for example – in a recent poll, nearly 80% of consumers believe that they, in fact, found their favorite brands, and not the other way around. With so many eager consumers scouring the internet for brands to patronise, all a company must do is increase visibility and give the target market something they enjoy.
Defining ‘Leads’ and Identifying their Importance
We're going to assume your goal is to generate leads with a cost-efficient model, maximising earning potential and giving your company everything necessary to grow exponentially as leads become conversions.
Successful organisations often use a model that we believe to be quite fool-proof, provided that the necessary infrastructure is in place. When your sales team is spending countless hours prospecting, they are spending less time closing. Using the digital platforms that are at our disposal to generate leads, and then using the sales team to close the sales is the strategy that generates the best results.
Leveraging Search Engines
Consider the last time you needed a specific service – did you pick up the telephone book? Unless you were away from an internet connection, you likely 'googled'. Consumers enjoy this convenience just like we do, which is why having a stellar online location is a key ingredient of generating leads without incredible effort. Google touts that 84% of all purchase decisions are generated with the assistance of search engines, service guides, or company websites. This is another quantifiable figure that again exhibits how the purchasing patterns have changed, and outlines what companies must do to remain on top of their given industry.
Generating Leads Online
Your company's website is essentially your own 'interactive channel that, when found during the purchase-decision search, can sway consumers in your direction. Driving traffic to your website, and then requesting specific contact information regarding their dilemma, what they are seeking from your organisation, etc. is the easiest way to bring new decision-makers into the fold.
Isn’t it interesting that now potential clients are coming to you? Marketers have worked for decades to understand how to consistently make this possible, and yet, with a few years of advancing technology, here we are! Driving traffic to your website, capturing important information, and then following-up on the progress of their decision-making process brings incredible results.
We recommend you leverage one or two channels early-on, maximising each one’s potential before moving onto another. In time, you’ll have all important avenues covered and prospects will begin pouring in.
Including emails, social media campaigns, and helpful widgets can help to improve your company’s image during a consumer’s decision. When using each of these tools, be sure that you are tracking the success-rates associated with each one. This will help your company to better profile what the target consumer is using to make choices, and leverage that information properly. We, like so many other marketing organisations, recommend the use of Google Analytics. It is intrinsic in nature, and allows the tracking of each element of an online campaign.
Traffic is Just the Beginning…
Web traffic is great, but your company must continue to deliver when consumers have questions, and quality can follow you to the ends of the internet. This means that successful conversions, and of course, proper maintenance of those accounts after the fact, must be present in order to truly enjoy the benefits of your new online strategies. When potential clients visit your site, be sure to gather their contact information through registration forms. In exchange for their information, consider offering them a nice perk like an initial discount or valuable information. While they may not be ready to patronise the company today, they may be gathering important information with an intention of doing so tomorrow.
I can shout this til the cows come home: Content is Key!
What good is driving traffic and compiling information about clients if the content isn’t up to par? Marketing materials are still essential despite the changes in the medium used to generate leads, which means that great care must be taken in the development of the overall concepts used across channels and in deliverables. Keep things simple in the early going, and you’ll be positioning your organisation properly in the consumer’s digital 'line of sight'.
If you would like to talk to us about your organisation's lead generation strategies, drop us a line at engagewithus@engaging.io