Building a quality pipeline right now is a challenge, and Google isn’t making it any easier.
Changes in how traffic and leads are coming to your site have probably shifted, yet lead generation is still a top priority.
It’s critical to start by understanding that the customer journey has never been more important. Also, be aware that the final stages are where the most failures happen, such as not having your CRM and sales team ready before a campaign launch.
In a recent webinar, Brent Csutoras and I talked about the shifts that need to happen at an organizational level, not just within your marketing department.
Keep reading for a takeaway of the nine insights we took from the webinar, and watch a full on-demand version here.
9 Tips For Successful Lead Generation
1. The Customer Journey Has Never Been More Important
Understanding customer journeys is crucial for successful lead generation.
Brent and I highlighted the shift in how users navigate online, emphasizing the need for content that addresses pain points throughout the funnel. Quality content that solves problems and adds value at every stage is the key to engaging and converting users effectively.
2. Generating Quality Leads Takes Quality Content, Which Takes Research, Testing, And Budget
Creating content that converts begins with thorough audience and market research.
Regular testing, optimization, and diverse formats like blogs, videos, and emails ensure you can reach potential customers via a media channel that appeals to them. It’s not going to be free, so make sure you allocate a content budget when talking to leadership.
3. The Channels Are Working Fine. It’s Your Content And Execution That Are Not Working
Tried-and-true channels still work. It’s just that too many marketers focus on only the bottom of the funnel because it’s easy to track and attribute.
While some leads will convert from a single content piece, you must prepare for those who require more nurturing before they convert. Considering most of the content you create should be top- and mid-funnel, spend time matching the channel with intent.
These are just a couple of examples of channels that work. Watch the on-demand for more ideas.
- Email marketing remains a powerful tool for lead generation, especially when focusing on segmentation and personalization.
- Leveraging internal experts and influencers can build trust and credibility with your audience.
Here’s a snapshot of the channels we used to drive leads for this webinar:
4. “Sweat The Assets!” Meaning Use One To Make Many
Maximizing the value of each piece of content is essential for scaling your efforts. Repurpose and tailor content for different platforms and audiences to ensure it serves multiple purposes.
It’s also important to budget for both content creation and promotion, recognizing that quality content requires investment.
5. You Should Expect To Pay Quality Money For Quality Leads
Investing in quality resources for lead generation may mean higher costs, but it can lead to higher quality leads and lower overall Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC). Consider all costs, including advertising and human resources. Optimization and continuous assessment are crucial for optimizing budget spend.
Plus, low-quality leads take your valuable sales resources who could have been working on legit leads. A good lead-scoring strategy can help reduce resource drain.
6. The Key Is An Always-On, Full-Funnel Strategy
A common mistake is relying on a single piece of bottom-funnel content for all stages of the buyer’s journey. Brands must engage their audience consistently from awareness to consideration, conversion, and retention to build loyalty and keep the cycle running.
7. Know What Efforts Are Working For Your Goals
Continuous evaluation is key to understanding the effectiveness of your lead generation strategies. However, with these shifts in customer demand and creating more top-of-the-funnel content, engagement is one of the most important metrics you can track to tell you if your content is resonating.
Catch the on-demand webinar to hear more about metrics we think are important to track.
8. Outside Vendors Impact Your Lead Gen Success
Leveraging external resources can enhance your lead generation efforts, especially if you’re a lean team. Treat vendors as team extensions, sharing goals and KPIs. Listen to their audience insights. Most importantly, ask if they offer real-time lead delivery to keep leads fresh and your brand top of mind.
9. The Most Important Piece: No Follow-Up = No Leads
Don’t overlook what happens when a lead enters your system. Ensure your customer relationship management (CRM)/customer data platform (CDP)/marketing tech is ready. Set up lead scoring, automation, and dashboards. Prepare your sales teams to smoothly handle new leads, reducing launch day stress for everyone.
It’s All About Building A Customer-Centric Experience
The bottom line is that the way customers want to interact with brands has changed. These strategies outlined above aren’t new. We learned about them in Marketing 101, but they’ve been pushed aside for product-focused marketing over the years.
Customers are really looking for brands who get them, and provide a solution to their pain. Then, they’ll repay you with loyalty.
So, ask yourself – “How is the quality of my leads?” Then, assess how much-focused effort you are putting into their journey.
Discover How You Can Supercharge Your Lead Generation Efforts
As a publisher, we serve as an agency to our advertisers (those looking to reach marketers and SEO professionals). That means we’re marketing to marketers – some of the smartest out there –and that’s you!
And what we’re doing to drive quality leads is working.
Whether you’re an expert or just getting started, Brent Csutoras and I put this webinar together for you. It’s full of functional takeaways that even the savviest marketers tend to forget, or worse, that leadership doesn’t see the value in.
This on-demand webinar has insights that we’ve been taking note of for years, and so should you. You can use this for strategy and to sway others in your organization to change the way you think about – and drive – leads.
Trust us, you don’t want to miss this!
Featured Image: Olivier Le Moal/Shutterstock