LEAD GENERATION
1. What does lead generation mean?
WHAT IS LEAD GENERATION?
The term lead generation describes a marketing process in which the goal is to acquire new prospects (leads) and increase sales. This goal is pursued using various measures with which a company tries to arouse the interest of its target group and encourage them to leave their contact details. Lead generation is used in both the B2C and B2B sectors.
A lead is a person who has shown interest in a company's offer but has not yet made a final purchase decision. The interest is expressed by the person entering their contact details in a form, for example in exchange for downloadable content. A lead can only be spoken of as a lead if the person concerned has left their contact details voluntarily and due to genuine interest. If this is the case, the lead is contacted by the company in the next step. The company decides when exactly and in what form this happens. Digital channels are often used to generate leads.
WHAT TYPES OF LEADS ARE THERE?
Depending on which area a company belongs to, the focus is different: In the B2B area, qualitative leads are more important, while B2C companies concentrate more on quantity. When it comes to qualified leads, a distinction is made between SQLs (Sales Qualified Leads) and MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads):- MQLs: These leads have already shown a general interest in your offer and meet all the criteria of an ideal customer. The marketing department's job at this stage is to provide the MQL with additional valuable content to maintain interest and eventually convert them into an SQL.
- SQLs: These are genuine potential buyers who can be contacted by sales for the purpose of a sales discussion. In some cases, an SQL also contacts the company independently to clarify questions or initiate the sales process.
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3. What is the so-called customer journey?
WHAT IS THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY?
The customer journey, also called the buyer's journey, refers to the different phases that a person goes through before becoming a customer of a company. In general, the customer journey consists of three phases:
- Awareness: The potential customer becomes aware of a problem or a need that needs to be solved or satisfied.
- Consideration: In this phase, the potential customer begins his search for a solution and weighs up options.
- Decision: The potential customer has found a suitable solution and decides on a provider.
Depending on which phase of the customer journey the potential customer is in, different approaches are appropriate on the part of the company to maintain the interest of the potential customer.
4. How has lead generation changed?
HOW DIGITALIZATION HAS CHANGED LEAD GENERATION
Digitalization has changed lead generation forever. Thanks to the Internet, everyone has quick and almost unlimited access to any information. This means that prospective customers are already well informed about a product or topic when they come across your company.
In the past, a sales representative's job consisted of contacting uninformed potential customers to present their offer for the first time. The people only learned about a product through the conversation and it was their only source of information. Today, such a conversation is no longer necessary, as prospective customers have already familiarized themselves with the product or service through search engines, blogs, social media and other digital channels. Companies that offer suitable sources of information in the form of high-quality content (content marketing) have a clear advantage in attracting potential customers' attention.
Since most potential customers have already completed a large part of the customer journey before they first contact a company, they tend to be averse to a traditional sales conversation. A strong online presence is therefore the key to successful lead generation.
Simplified access to information also has advantages for companies: They can get a precise picture of potential customers and their needs. It doesn't matter whether they come from the B2B or B2C sector. Companies can therefore respond even more precisely to the interests and needs of their potential customers. But competition on the Internet is fierce: Companies have to make more effort to attract their leads and maintain relationships with them, especially when it comes to building a long-term customer relationship.
5. What is the importance of lead generation?
WHY IS LEAD GENERATION IMPORTANT?
Lead generation forms the basis for the search for new customers and helps to expand the customer base. At the same time, the company gets to know the interests of its potential customers better and can tailor content even more specifically to their needs. In addition, the number of leads also increases sales figures, which are also easier to plan with the help of lead generation.
6. How is lead generation applied?
METHODS OF LEAD GENERATION
In order to reach customers in the different purchase phases, companies usually use several methods for lead generation. A distinction is made between inbound and outbound marketing methods.
INBOUND MARKETING
Inbound marketing is about attracting potential customers with the help of valuable content. Accordingly, the inbound methodology has developed into an important strategy in the area of lead generation. A significant tool in this approach is content marketing, which deals with the planning, creation and distribution of content that is relevant to the target group. The aim is to address interested parties and encourage them to leave their contact details. The prerequisite for this is that the content is high-quality and interesting and meets the needs of the target group.
Content is generally distributed via multiple channels. These include blogs, eBooks, white papers, social media posts, and videos. Of course, the content must be able to be found by the right people. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play. When searching for a specific term, users first come across content that has been optimized for the search engine, as this is displayed high up on the search results page. SEO ensures that your website is in the top positions and can therefore generate more leads. It is worth investing time and effort in your own company website, as this is one of the most effective methods of lead generation.
OUTBOUND MARKETING
In an age of information saturation and internet research, outbound marketing has lost a lot of its effectiveness. The outbound method of cold calling, i.e. contacting a person by telephone with whom there is no business relationship, is even prohibited without explicit consent. In combination with inbound marketing, outbound marketing can still make a positive contribution to lead generation. The event marketing sector gives you the opportunity to present your company and at the same time build a relationship with potential customers.
While pop-up advertising windows and irrelevant ads are perceived as annoying by most Internet users, native ads tailored to the target group fit seamlessly into the user interface. Native advertising is a form of advertising in which the advert corresponds to the design of the editorial content of the website on which the advert is placed. If the native ads are also presented in an informative and interesting way, they become a worthwhile means of generating leads.
7. How does lead generation work?
LEAD MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE
Maintaining and organizing customer relationships and leads is a central aspect of inbound marketing. Marketing automation can simplify processes and provide valuable support. These are software platforms that digitize certain processes in marketing and sales. Specifically, marketing automation supports you in the following three points:
- Lead generation: Customer relationship management systems, or CRM systems for short, function as databases in which all information about your leads is stored. But the CRM system also supports you in collecting this data.
- Lead nurturing: You know which topics a lead is particularly interested in and which phase of the customer journey they are in. You can use this stored information about your leads to take targeted measures, for example in the form of email marketing. With the right settings, emails can be sent automatically to the relevant people. This improves communication and makes it easier to maintain the interest of the leads.
- Purchases: The information collected helps to identify leads who are ready to buy. Sales can then contact them specifically and close deals more quickly.
8. What is the importance of lead generation?
THAT'S WHY LEAD GENERATION IS IMPORTANT
What exactly happens to leads after they have been generated? Lead nurturing provides the answer to this question. Lead nurturing describes the process by which a lead becomes a sales qualified lead and ultimately a customer. In order to maintain the interest of a potential customer and bind them more closely to the company, they are continuously sent high-quality content according to their qualification level. But lead nurturing is not only beneficial for acquiring new customers. This approach also achieves positive results when it comes to customer retention or reactivating inactive customers.
The challenge of lead nurturing is to always send the right content to the right leads and to accompany them seamlessly along the customer journey. It is important to note that lead nurturing does not end with a purchase. Now it is important to convey to the customer that you will continue to support them with questions and problems. High-quality content that meets the customer's needs strengthens trust in your company and increases the likelihood of another purchase.
9. Measure lead generation
HOW CAN THE SUCCESS OF LEAD GENERATION BE MEASURED?
The success of lead generation is not only reflected in the number of leads acquired. There are different metrics that are used to monitor and classify leads. Ultimately, lead generation is about attracting as many qualified leads as possible that have the potential to become customers. The following lead generation metrics are common:
- CTR (Click Through Rate): The CTR is a percentage value that results from dividing the total number of clicks by the number of page views. The CTR indicates how many visitors follow a call to action.
- Number of MQLs: This number indicates how many leads are qualified enough to be handed over to the sales team.
- Time to Conversion: The time to conversion indicates how much time passes until a lead becomes a customer.
- Cost per MQL: These are the costs incurred during the development of a lead into a customer.
- ROI (Return on Investment): ROI refers to the financial gains taking into account the total costs of a campaign.
CONCLUSION: THIS IS WHY LEAD GENERATION IS IMPORTANT
Lead generation helps you gain new customers. Lead generation has changed dramatically in recent years, along with customer purchasing behavior. Since both the search for information and the purchase usually take place online these days, a strong web presence is essential for successful lead generation.
By stimulating the interest of your potential customers through high-quality content, they are encouraged to leave their contact details, which turns them into a lead. Lead nurturing ensures that interest remains. Various criteria are then used to determine whether a lead is ready for the next phase of the customer journey or even ready for sales. Close cooperation between sales and marketing is an important component of modern lead generation. CRM software can help here.
Are you interested in the topic of lead generation and the question of how you can profitably integrate it into your company? Talk to us. We'll be happy to help you!