Lead generation; what it is and why your business needs it.

If you’ve been around the marketing or business world for while you’ve probably heard or even used the word lead once or twice, if you’re new to the scene it’s okay, I’m going to break it down for you in this article, at the end you’ll be able to know a lead, how to generate leads and why you should do it for your business. 

So, what is a lead? A lead is a person that shows interest in your business, this interest can be in the form of downloading a piece of content from your website, subscribing to your newsletter, or even signing up for a webinar (there seem to be many of these nowadays, you could do one too). 

Now that you have an idea of what a lead is, let’s find out how you can generate leads for your business. Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into someone who has indicated an interest in your company’s product or service. Some examples of lead generators are job applications, coupons, and online content.

You’re probably wondering how you can go about generating leads for your business; Well here is a brief breakdown of how you can do it; 

1. Create an offer on your website – Whether it’s an ebook or a webinar, you only need one offer to start generating leads. It has to be something that adds value to your customer otherwise they will not take it. 
2. Build landing page: Build a dedicated landing page for your completed offer. Remember to include a form on the landing page that visitors will need to complete in exchange for your offer which will redirect them to a thank you page where the offer is hosted or by sending a confirmation email with the offer.
3. Build thank-you page & kick-back email: Now that your offer is created and ready for download from your landing page, start promoting the landing page URL on your various promotional channels. Social media is a great place to start, that’s how we did it and the really good.

You’re probably looking at all this and saying it’s all well and good but what good does it do for my business? Well, let’s look at why your business needs lead generation. 

It helps with brand awareness. 

The more people are aware of your brand, the better your image, the greater your opportunity for profit and overall business growth. Lead Generation educates and informs people in your established market about your product and its features, thus creating scope for ‘word of mouth’

It increases your sales base

Lead generation programs can result in more sales by converting leads into actual customers. It’s pretty simple really, unlike other forms of marketing, in lead generation the customer already showed interest in your product and brand and the more you communicate with them and nature them the higher the chance that they will actually buy the product. 

You can collect detailed information on your customers. 

From customer interests, needs, and contact information, you’re able to collect important information you can use to customize your customers’ journey and personalize their experience. This allows you to tailor your product or service messaging to them and increase your chances of gaining them as a customer

So there you have it, now that you know more how to generate leads for your business Keep creating great offers, landing pages, and forms — and promote them in multi-channel environments and you will experience another level of business growth