Lead generation is one of the most important marketing activities any company can engage in. It “feeds the funnel,” after all, providing the sales fuel that keeps the company growing. What does successful lead generation require of you, though, and what common hazards can you avoid?
1: Do Ask for Website Visitors’ Email Addresses
We feel like this is something everyone should do, but there are still so many websites out there that don’t even bother. It’s mystifying.
Most successful entrepreneurs know the rule that to get what you want, you have to ask for it. That includes marketing leads and their contact information. Make sure your website has an email opt-in system that asks them to subscribe. Sweeten the deal by promising great content in return, but first of all, ask.
2: Don’t Send Spam; Not Now, Not Ever!
Once you do have those email addresses, though, don’t abuse them. We’d hate to see you become one of those companies.
Getting a lead’s contact information is an act of trust. They’re counting on you to only use that information for the purposes they agreed to. So don’t bombard them or flood their inboxes with irrelevant material. That’s a good way to make them not like you, but it’s also just wrong.
3: Do Use The Heck out of Social Media
As a business owner or a marketer, social networks are your friends. They’re catching a lot of flak right now for how they enable some bad social effects, and there may be big changes on the horizon, but keep your eye on the prize.
Social networks rise and fall. Remember MySpace? Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn may each someday follow, but others will take their place. Go with the flow! Social media is too advantageous to business for it to disappear completely. Use it to engage with people who are talking about problems you can solve, and build the relationships that lead to great deals!
4: Don’t Focus on Only One Prospect at a Time
These days, it’s rare that decision-makers can act alone. There are usually numerous stakeholders when it comes to purchasing and contracts, so successful lead generation efforts need to revolve around connecting with each member of those teams.
We wholeheartedly recommend using demo automation tools like the ones provided by Consensus. They make it really easy to ensure that everyone who needs to know about your solutions learns what’s relevant to their role.
5: Do Think a Lot About Mobile and Voice Search
People are getting more and more comfortable using voice search (they’re literally just asking for what they want!), and you need to be comfortable answering them.
“Nearly 20% of all voice search queries are triggered by a set of 25 keywords. These consist mainly of question words like “how” or “what” and adjectives like “best” or “easy” (Source: seoClarity).”
Since many such voice searches are happening on or being referred to users’ mobile devices, you likewise need to make sure that your web content is optimized for both.
If you need help turning any of these ideas into successful lead generation strategies, be sure to contact us at Smart Funnel. We help our clients collect reliable and actionable data to drive business growth, and then we help them carry out that action with top-notch sales enablement!