It goes without saying, finding new customers and expanding your client base is crucial for sustained growth. Lead generation will play a pivotal role in achieving this.
What is lead generation and why does it matter?
Lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers to your business and convincing them to purchase your product or service. The goal is to connect with people early in the buying process, earn their trust, and build a relationship with them, so that when they’re ready to make a purchase or schedule a service, they do so with your business.
Lead generation accomplishes the following:
Drives Business Growth: Lead generation provides your business with a pipeline of potential customers creating opportunities for conversion and revenue generation.
Greater Understanding of Client Needs: Lead generation helps to collect data and information on your potential customers. This data helps you to understand your target market better and tailor products, services, and offers which will be more enticing to them.
Cost-Effective Marketing: With lead generation marketing, you can target specific demographics and customer profiles to better optimize your budget and, hopefully, get a larger return on investment through thoughtful and targeted marketing.
Builds a Sustainable Customer Base: Lead generation marketing is all about nurturing relationships - in not only gaining new customers, but also in retaining existing ones, which can lead to repeat business and referrals.
Adaptability to Market Trends: Information gathered through lead generation provides opportunities for your business to meet the changing needs of your customers and to pivot/adjust your products and services to meet those needs.
Lead generation can truly be a lifeline for driving growth and sustainability in your business. Understanding the importance of it, and implementing it effectively, can help you build a robust customer base and thrive in a competitive market.
Getting started may seem like an insurmountable task. As a matter of fact, according to a study published by APSIS, 68% of businesses struggle with lead generation. Reverie has outlined 5 simple steps to help you get started or improve your existing strategy:
Step 1: Research & identify who your target market is.
To determine your target market, it’s important to identify who your ideal client is and what makes them your ideal client. Begin by looking at your entire customer base. Are there clients you do not enjoy working with? Cross them off the list. For the customers you do enjoy working with, spend time looking at the demographics and habits of these clients. What are their ages, spending habits, past purchases, pain points, disposable income, etc? Create client/customer personas based on what you learn about the clients you enjoy working with.
Step 2: Think about the marketing channels/platforms your ideal clients use
Once you have identified your target market, it is imperative to determine which marketing platforms/channels will be most effective in reaching them. For example, if your target market is Gen Z, direct mail or telemarketing are not effective platforms to use in reaching them. Instead, you will likely want to focus on social media platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, that your target market is actively using.
Step 3: Create great content
At this point, you know your target market and understand their needs. Now is the time to create content that will clearly communicate how your products and services meet those needs. This is also the time to create product offerings and promotions that will appeal to your target market. Be sure that your content provides value to them.
Step 4: Generate & qualify your leads
There are many ways to generate leads, including online advertising, direct mail, email marketing, cold calling, online and in-person events, search engine optimization and blogs - to name a few. Focus on the platforms where your target market is most active and engage with them through relevant content, contests, and discussions. In addition, ensure your website is user-friendly and optimized for lead capture. Use clear calls-to-action (CTAs), create dedicated landing pages, and implement lead capture forms to collect valuable information from visitors. You may even choose to invest in a CRM.
Regardless of which tool you use, it is imperative that you study, filter, and segment your leads. Identify your leads based on if they are hot, warm, or cold, if they are new or working leads, or if they are ready to buy now or in the future. This will help you create specific content that is tailored to where your leads are in the sales funnel.
Step 5: Nurture your leads
Nurture your leads through consistent, targeted, relevant, and compelling communication to keep potential customers engaged and interested in your products or services, as well as drive repeat business.
Who is ready to get started?
For more information on lead generation, contact Reverie at thelab@findreverie.com.