Leads are the lifeblood of any business, representing potential new customers who are interested in learning more about your product or servicing suite. The revenue opportunities that new leads offer to a business can propel significant business growth, regardless of which sector they originate from.
For something so crucial to a business, it is surprising how often the perception is that lead generation should be easy. While the ad formats available through digital advertising and the structure of a lead generation process can be simple, influencing the decision-making process of individuals to get them to become leads is very, very tricky.
Orchard’s Digital Strategist Jack Winter takes us through three key components and considerations to apply to a good lead generation strategy.
Understand your customers and their needs.
Who your audience is plays heavily into how a brand needs to structure any lead generation strategy. Proper audience research is required to understand their wants, needs and perceptions when it comes to your product or service, as these may all be barriers your marketing activity needs to overcome. Without considering these factors, your lead campaigns can lead to a poor conversion rate and low engagement from the people you’re targeting.
Take two different audience examples, and how their decision-making journey should influence your thinking.
Those involved in the business-to-business (B2B) buying process have a long lead time before they even interact with your website for the first time, with an average of 12 searches prior to engaging with a specific brand’s site. Research shows decision-makers are typically 57% of the way down the path to a decision before making any sort of action on your site*. To drive leads among this audience, it’s recommended to build strong awareness of your product or service, while having a clear call to action on your site to drive for leads.
However, in the business of targeting healthcare professionals (HCPs), building trust is of the utmost importance, first and foremost before you even consider lead generation activity. Research by Deloitte Consulting highlights that over 75% of HCPs do not trust marketing information from pharmaceutical companies*. This means that establishing trust and offering value is a necessary building block before launching those lead generation ads.
Source: Research by Deloitte Consulting and what it means for pharma.
Build your strategy on quality and varied content.
Compelling content plays one of the largest roles in generating leads for your business. But without content to utilise or build on, there is less for your audience to consume and diminished opportunities for your potential customers to learn about your offering.
Operating on one channel in isolation may not drive the results you wish to see, as each industry may have multiple touch points throughout the research process.
Approximately 96% of B2B customers want content from industry thought leaders to inform their buying decisions*. This means using your full content suite is crucial, from social content through to website content and Google campaigns, to establish yourself as a product or service worthy of serious consideration.
*Source: Hubspot — The Ultimate List of Marketing Statistics For 2020.
Build and test your lead capture process.
Audiences have become attuned to companies attempting to buy their attention — now they want marketers to earn it. We’ve moved away from the marketing age where the opt-in email box was a luxury, to now where consumers are fending off their information from all angles. This means marketers need to embed and implement mutually-beneficial opt-in methods to their strategies. These methods should come in the form of:
- Giving something before you ask for something — this can be in the form of information, free samples or trials, or some other value exchange; and
- Ensuring all parts of our marketing funnel is valuable in isolation, as well as a valuable piece in the overall sales process.
Testing what your “give” is forms an equally crucial part of any lead generation strategy. You can test this through Lead Magnets — tools that provide value for your visitors in exchange for their contact details, giving you permission from potential customers to follow up or secure them as a customer.
Some examples of lead magnets can include:
- Sweepstakes entries
- Rebates or discounts on your products
- Free trials or demos
- eBooks, or
- Webinars.
Running tests where you alternate the ‘Lead Magnets’ can help identify what is most likely to secure a lead for your business, and what is going to resonate most among your target audience.
What are the key takeaways for brands considering lead generation?
Whenever you are considering lead generation as a part of your marketing activity, there’s a lot to plan for. Understanding the steps required before you move towards executing your lead generation strategy is crucial for your success. We’ve recapped our non-exhaustive list of tips below:
- Understand who your customer is, what their wants and needs are and what their typical decision-making process is;
- Use a variety of quality content across your full advertising suite — don’t necessarily focus on one channel in isolation;
- Give something before you ask for something; and
- Above all else, test, test, test your Lead Magnets!
If you’re ever stuck on what your next steps should be for driving leads, Orchard’s team of strategists and channel experts can help lead you down the right path.
