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In this issue of the Claymanite, we will be discussing lead generation. Can leads be generated via social media? How can leads be generated by analyzing landing pages? Can your company blog be a lead generating machine? What are the best ways to generate leads at a trade show? We've gathered some news stories, some of our own thoughts, and we invite you to add your insights to the mix!
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How's Your Lead Generation Program Going? Oh,You Say You Don't Have One?
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The term lead generation is a relatively new marketing term. Of course, the idea of generating leads is not new at all but in days of yore, we didn't have as many tools in the toolbox as we have today. It was also a much slower process.
Today, lead generation is typically defined as an active marketing program designed to generate leads semi-immediately through a particular (typically online) program. The term "lead" can have many meanings. Anybody who has come back from a trade show with 350 "leads" printed out from visitor's show badges can attest to the fact that not all leads are created equal.
Today, as in the past, it's all about quality - not quantity. And therin lies the rub. The only way to determine quality in the leads you generate from a trade show, an e-blast, a blog, etc., is to follow up and quantify which leads are truly "hot". How should you define a "hot" lead?
A "hot" lead is a prospect who:
- is in a position to actually affect the purchase of your product or service
- is going to purchase said product or service from you or one of your competitors in the next 60 days
It's that simple. Anything less is a soft lead. An easy way to think about this is to look at your mindset when you go to buy a car. In the early stages, you may do some window shopping just to see what new styles look like and get a feel for prices. But once you get serious, you go to a dealer or dealers with the plan of buying a car that day. The choice of car, pricing and the sales person will determine where you buy but you will buy that day. On that given day, you are a "hot" lead.
What are the best vehicles for lead generation today? That may vary depending on the market, your particular audience (end user vs distributor, engineer vs nurse, etc), the timing and numerous other factors but the following list should give you a good kick start.
1. E-Blasts
2. E-newsletters
3. Blogs
4. Public Relations
5. Trade Shows
6. Website
7. Online Advertising
8. QR Codes
Once these leads have been generated, the next question is what to do with them. All leads should be added to a CRM program such as Goldmine so that these leads can be "touched" on a regular basis. Newsflash! Not everybody buys the first time.
Ideally, at the end of the year, you should be able to look at the total number of leads generated and determine the number of those leads who actually purchased from you. Convert that to a percentage and you have the foundation of a solid lead generation program. Each year, try to bump the percentage of leads to purchase number. If you succeed, consider yourself a winner in lead generation.
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