If you want your business to grow, you will need to invest time and money in the right lead generation approaches. There are many methods you can try, but not all will work to your advantage.
When it comes to running a lead generation campaign, you must know which strategies can help attract qualified leads with a good chance of converting. You also need to know the methods that might not be effective in your line of work.
Here’s a list of lead generation methods you can get into starting from the most to the least effective.
Most Effective: Referral Marketing
People are more likely to do business with you if they are introduced to your brand through a friend, family member, or a thought leader. Word of mouth is a powerful and cost-effective way of attracting qualified leads. In addition, referred customers have a lifetime value that’s 16% higher than non-referred customers.
You must mobilize your customer base towards increasing your reach and attracting potential leads. For this, you only need to improve customer experiences. Responding immediately to customer concerns, giving out freebies and other perks, and improving your offers can help turn existing customers into valuable drivers of quality leads.
Effective: Cold Emails
Despite the fact that nearly all businesses are doing it, sending out cold emails can still help you generate qualified leads. It’s a great way to introduce your business to people who don’t even know you exist. With a carefully structured message, you will be able to capture their attention, build interest, and convert them into loyal customers.
Crafting a successful cold email campaign is easier said than done. Apart from building a list of qualified contacts, you also need to spend lots of time writing a great subject line and structuring a powerful hook. You also need to decide how to place and design a call-to-action that will get people to convert.
Effective: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Whether you are just starting or you have been in business for decades, investing in SEO can have a major impact on your lead generation efforts. Since more and more people are using search engines like Google to find the products or services they need, you are more likely to generate qualified leads in the form of organic visitors.
The best part about SEO is that it won’t cost you much to put your business on the first page of the search results. All you need is to build an engaging website rich in relevant keywords and helpful content to get a good return.
Somewhat Effective: Direct Mail
While some consider this as an outdated form of marketing, direct mail can bring in massive benefits for brands in the retail sector. Since the messages you will be sending out are personalized for each receiver, this method is a great alternative to generating leads online. In particular, it provides an effective way to promote events and offer potential customers vouchers or promo codes they can use for buying your products.
In addition to that, direct mail allows you to build higher levels of trust compared to using digital channels. For one, people may have second thoughts about clicking a link on a cold email because of malware fears. With direct mail, you assure your audience that you’re doing legitimate business. However, you may get a slower rate of return and the costs could add up as you expand your mailing list. It can also be tedious considering the time you spend finding and verifying addresses and creating direct mail content such as brochures and postcards.
Somewhat Effective: Pay-Per-Click Ads
Generating high-quality organic traffic takes time because Google has strict rules for determining which websites get the top spot in the search results. If you want to see immediate results, consider running a per-per-click (PPC) campaign.
While it might cost you some amount of money, setting up PPC ads on the Google Search and Display networks allows you to target users that match your ideal customer profile. The downside is that your ad spend will increase dramatically if the people that click on your ads end up bouncing away (or failing to convert). To make the most of this method, you may have to hire a specialist.
Somewhat Effective: Television and Radio Ads
Traditional marketing channels have helped bring businesses closer to their audience — that is before digital marketing took flight. Back then, TV and radio ads were a surefire means of spreading brand awareness and attracting potential customers. Social media has changed all that.
Even so, TV and radio commercials continue to prosper since not everyone is on their phones all the time. Whether you are a boutique real estate company or a brick-and-mortar store, these channels remain effective when it comes to local lead generation. You just need to produce engaging and clever ads or else your message falls short of your goals.
Least Effective: Cold Calling
Telemarketing has had its day, and while businesses still rely on this channel for generating leads, it’s not as effective as it once was. Compared to other methods, cold calling has a lower success rate with only 2% of calls ending up in a sales appointment. Even if you are making thousands of calls a week, the amount of meetings you get won’t be enough to cover the time and effort you invested. Apart from that, cold calls have always gotten a bad wrap and more are applying to be on the DNC list.
Even if a prospect journeys down the funnel, their decision to purchase will still rely on other channels, such as your website and your social media presence. If you are looking to increase your qualified lead traffic, you are better off developing a great website, publishing valuable social media content, and running a newsletter campaign. You need an expert to handle your marketing efforts, especially when it comes to improving your online presence. Check out this website to learn more.
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