Lead generation: StreetPR’s hacks, strategies and reasons why

Lead generation is crucial for business.

In this article we want to discuss:

• How lead generation helps to boost business 
• Some smart strategies to consider 
• A few of the hacks we’ve picked up along the way 

Let’s jump in!

How Can Lead Generation Help In Boosting Your Business?

If you are looking to generate more leads, let’s take a look at the small print first.

Do you know the difference between offline and online lead generation?

As you would expect, offline generation is a face-to-face process – or perhaps by telephone or Skype – whereby there is interaction with potential clients or customers.

The leads might be gathered from attendance at a trade show, expo or networking event; if this is the case, each lead gathered will need to be contacted individually.

As you can imagine, offline lead generation is an industrious approach to an eventual sale.

On the plus side, meeting people in person encourages trust and connection, with research showing that leads are more likely to convert if they have actually met someone who represents the company they are purchasing from.

Online lead generation may look easy but it can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. For this reason, it is well worth considering outsourcing the task.

Questions, questions

What should you be looking for when you are considering how to go about creating leads?

Firstly, remember that lead generation is the key to the continued success of any business.

Try to move away from the mindset that you can do it all by yourself; put simply, you can’t!

Research companies will be able to give you examples of how they have promoted a brand and converted sales, with the two going hand in hand.

Keep it simple

Don’t be fooled by too much tech.

Promotional staff can work wonders and although an age-old way of lead generation, it is worth its weight in gold for capturing people’s attention and their all-important contact details.

You should also look for firms that provide follow-up services, such as adding the leads into a database or onto your own system. The provision for follow up phone calls is also important, and don’t forget GDPR.

If lead generation is done properly, it can reap some excellent results; if approached in a haphazard way, it can result in time-wasting and a cost explosion.

Our advice is to combine both online and offline for the perfect solution.

The internet is a goldmine and companies can build a network of contacts by spending time doing research or outsourcing if this is considered too time-consuming a project.

Be wary of calls for online advertising, as this could end up as a bottomless money pit if not handled correctly. 

Successful lead generation is the missing piece of the jigsaw, so start making it work for you.

Seven Lead Generation Strategies

Lead generation is a key way of creating new custom for today’s businesses, but anyone new to the concept will find themselves agog with the sheer choice of strategies available.

We cut the wheat from the chaff and briefly explore the seven best lead generation strategies for businesses today.

Trade shows

This is especially effective for B2B companies.

Trade shows and exhibitions are a really easy way to showcase your products or services to prospective customers or clients with a vested interest in your industry.

Trade shows offer the chance to gather data, hand out fliers and merchandise, offer sign-ups and even sell products and services.

Email marketing

Email marketing is still a key route when it comes to lead generation, but it’s imperative that you do it well.

It’s really important to ensure you are reaching the customers who actually want emails and giving them something worth reading.

Ensure your email offers plenty of opportunities to engage and respond with the content, as well as navigating towards your company website.

Recommendations and referrals

Getting friends and family referrals from existing customers is an incredibly low-cost solution.

In effect, your existing customers are doing your marketing for you, so for this to work, there should be a reward for those existing customers.

These leads tend to be genuine and based on customers’ own positive experiences, making them more valuable than a simple response to a discount or promotion.

Social media content

Creating unique content continues to be a key lead generation strategy.

Make sure that you provide something that your potential or existing customers are likely to engage with – social media needs to be a two-way conversation to work effectively.

Authentic, narrative-driven content tends to be the most effective.

Ensure you include a link or call to action.

Telemarketing

It may be decades old, but telemarketing continues to be a hugely effective lead generation strategy.

Make sure you carefully define who you choose to phone – it’s better to call ten customers who are likely to engage than 100 who are simply not interested.

Leaflet dropping

No matter where you are based, you can get your name out there with a house-to-house leaflet drop.

This is most effective when the flier contains an offer or promotion.

We have been running leafleting campaigns since 2006 and it still holds weight as an effective, and personal, approach to marketing.

Us!

We would be remiss to not talk about our own lead generation efforts such as leafleting, handing-out free samples or even hosting street events such as live music and shows.

Use these opportunities to gain email addresses or even lead customers directly to your premises. 

These seven simple and low-cost lead generation strategies are all excellent ways to engage potential customers and even retain existing ones.

Five effective lead generation hacks

Every business looks for ways to improve its B2B lead generation in a constantly changing and highly competitive market.

 Some measures can be implemented quickly and with minimal cost, while others can be built into a longer-term strategy as part of your sales planning.

Leverage LinkedIn

LinkedIn has launched a lead generation form that makes it easy to simplify your efforts for B2B sales.

First, check that your offer resonates with your audience and make sure it offers something that is perceived to be of high value.

This needs to be valuable enough to encourage your target audience to hand over their email address, so research to find out what sort of information this is likely to be.

For example, it could be a webinar, ebook, template, guide or coupon. Remember that it doesn’t need to be new content. Instead, you can repurpose quality content.

When you have set up your offer, create a LinkedIn ad campaign following the walkthrough and linking to an automated form.

Build a microsite

A dedicated microsite can be built to capture leads. Make it focused and purely to generate leads.

Remember that this isn’t the same as your company website and you are not aiming to build brand awareness.

Make sure your microsite is SEO optimised and you will end up with an ongoing source of quality leads with a good conversion rate that is well worth the time investment.

You will need to invest in your content and user personas to ensure it hits the mark.

Once you have built your microsite, be sure to keep investing in it with regular evaluation and adjustment as required, along with fresh SEO-friendly content.

Conference speaking

Public speaking is a relatively easy route for businesses to take in terms of low entry barriers.

What’s more, it is an extremely rapid way to position yourself as a trusted source within your industry.

As a salesperson, you constantly have to pitch to individuals for every sale. At an industry event, you get to share your insights to an engaged audience of potential buyers in one go.

You can maximise the gains by obtaining a sponsorship deal that gives you promotion instead of a speaker fee and by offering useful content in return for contact data.

Source the right public speaking events and implement a strategy for converting listeners to leads.

This might include sharing your speaker notes, with additional insights or a supporting report, with delegates who are prepared to hand over their contact details in return.

Invest in webinars

Webinars put you in a strong position as an authority source, which is vital for building credibility.

You also greatly enhance your likelihood of building rapport and encouraging interaction from your audience.

Once you are trusted as a source of knowledge it becomes far easier to convert your leads into customers.

Webinars are easy to host and fit the modern trend for digital engagement perfectly.

Even better, the content can be reused and shared afterwards to potential leads that were unable to attend at the time.

Help a Reporter Out

The HARO website sources English-speaking journalists from across the globe as experts on a wide array of topics.

You can apply to be listed on the database and offer voluntary interviews to journalists writing in your niche.

You will usually get your business name listed alongside your quote, which offers instant visibility in media publications.

It pays to be patient and to work as helpfully as you can with journalists, especially if you are not the only listed source for your speciality.

This can be a great means of no-cost publicity and the ideal way to put your thoughts and your brand in front of a relevant audience.

These five approaches are well worth trying in your ongoing efforts to build leads. You can focus on them all at once or implement them one at a time. Good luck, and here’s to a visible return from your efforts!

If you need help generating leads for your business, speak to a lead generation expert today!