Lead Generation: What It Is and Why It's Important for Business

Lead generation is the main part of the sales process, which is responsible for attracting customers. This concept includes the generation of leads, their classification, management in CRM, analytics, as well as continuous improvement based on monitoring. Why is effective lead generation the key to the success of modern business and how can it increase sales? Let's take a closer look.

Leads: what they are and their types

Lead generation is an effective marketing tool aimed at obtaining contacts of potential buyers/consumers. In simple words, it is collecting customer contacts. People click on advertisements, get to websites. Then, being interested, they leave their data so that they can be contacted and helped to buy a product/service or make a subscription.

Contacts left by customers are leads. They differ in the level of interest of potential consumers.

1. Cold. When contacts are left accidentally or buyers are not going to buy the product in the near future (they may be interested in the product, but buy it somewhere cheaper).
2. Warm. Customers already need a product or service. They may not buy right away, but when they think about it and decide what product they need.
3. Hot. Consumers are ready to buy now. For businesses, hot leads are the most desirable, as they bring immediate profit.

Consumers are ready to buy now. For businesses, hot leads are the most desirable, as they bring immediate profit.

Leads can be defined as users who have taken the following actions:

• left a purchase request;
• have registered on the website;
• left an email in any pop-up window;
• subscribed to the newsletter in any messenger or by mail;
• signed up for a trial period;
• repeat customers;
• other visitors who have taken any actions on the web resource.

Each type requires careful consideration and a specific approach. Therefore, each group needs to develop a marketing strategy individually.

Important! The deeper the steps taken in generating sales and warming up leads, the more different strategies developed and tested, the higher the sales conversion.

Basic methods of lead collection

Lead generation channels can be divided into two types. These are online and offline traffic sources. Let's analyze the main tools for attracting customers using this method.

1. Social networks. Leads through social networks are obtained through paid advertising, automatic mailings in personal messages, through published content. Features of social networks for lead generation – you can find a narrow audience based on interests and hobbies. Such a target audience is not warm, but if a business hits their interests with its content, mailings, advertising, it will be able to transfer customers to a landing page and turn them into leads.
2. Content marketing. That is, the creation and distribution of high-quality and valuable information that is not direct advertising, but allows you to increase sales. Users find answers to their questions, articles and other content formats that help solve problems. Trust in the company grows and encourages them to use its services. The most popular option is to maintain a corporate blog on a resource where really valuable and useful articles on the most relevant topics are posted.
3. Email marketing. Newsletters are the sequential sending of messages. They can be by mail, in the form of SMS, in messengers, or on social networks. Lead generation through newsletters works like this: the user is sent a message that may interest them, and at the end they place a button or link that leads to a website with a form where they need to leave their contact details.
4. Online chats. Another effective way to get leads. Many customers are uncomfortable or don't want to call the sales department. The easiest and fastest way is to ask your question in the chat. The main thing is that the company's specialists respond promptly.
5. Widgets. Special applications on the site for interaction with users, for example, a button to request a callback, a pop-up window, a subscription form, an online consultant window or social media buttons. Widgets are convenient. Instead of opening the phone book and dialing the organization’s number, consumers can click on the widget and contact the company directly through the resource.
6. Calls. You can call customers and get leads from them. This doesn't always work, especially if the company is calling people who don't know about it yet or don't know it well. However, if you call warm customers who have been buying from you for a long time and know the range, such calls bring leads.
7. Chatbots. Effective virtual assistants. They replace a live manager. The bot is built into the online chat on the website, in messengers, social networks. People write, the robot registers the appeals, and then transfers them to live managers. Chat bots are used in lead generation, because they can collect applications at any time, even at night.

Optimization and monitoring of lead generation

A business attracts leads through advertising, banners, mailings, and publications on partner websites. All of this costs money. To make the money you spend pay off, it’s best to attract leads that are more likely to buy. To do this, you need:

1. Analyze the target audience. To get leads that are more likely to buy, you need to understand what kind of people might be interested in your products and why. To do this, the company studies its target audience: sees who has bought from it before, conducts surveys, collects data from web analytics systems, and forms an idea of ​​the audience.
2. Choosing the type of advertising and design. Advertising banners and texts should attract the attention of customers, make them want to buy. To make them exactly that, you should seek help from marketers and designers who understand texts that really sell and understand visual design.
3. Show advertising. Customers see banners on the resource, from which they get to the website, landing page, messenger or chat. There they leave applications: fill out a form, register a personal account, make an advance payment.
4. Lead processing. Managers contact clients and help them make a purchase, send instructions on how to use the account or the first email in the mailing list.
5. Monitoring lead generation effectiveness. There are several ways to track how well goals are being met. Today, there are effective analytics systems and other tools that simplify the work of marketers:
   • Basic services used to track targeted actions (Yandex. Metrica and Google Analytics). There are other systems that collect data from different channels so that the business can see a holistic picture of the performance of promotion. Analytics is needed not only to track how wisely the advertising budget is spent, but also to find growth points for higher conversion;
   • CRM systems are a real godsend for managers. Every lead is added to the system, along with all the information about the client, their needs/agreements with them, etc. You can combine virtual telephony with the CRM system.

CRM and virtual telephony settings can significantly simplify the work of managers, relieving them of many routine tasks.

Successful lead generation: conclusions

Lead generation is the process of attracting and collecting data on people who may become your company's customers in the future. After collecting the applications, they are passed on to lead processing managers. There are many different methods and tools for lead generation, ranging from content marketing or SEO to lead magnets and chatbots.

The success of the lead generation process is influenced by various factors. For example, the speed of page loading, its convenience, not to mention the attractiveness of the offer. Therefore, all factors need to be taken into account and improved. It is equally important to process applications quickly so that customers do not have time to go to competing companies.