What Is LEAD GENERATION: DEFINITION
Lead generation is a commonly used term in B2B marketing. The lead is a more or less qualified contact generated from a prospect. The qualification of the lead is, among other things, the intention of the Internet user to go to the end of his action on his own to create a first contact with the brand.
This notion of ” intentions ” is essential for the final conversion, showing the customer’s interest in the product or service. It is in these leads that your future customers will be born.
Better understand lead generation:
Before understanding what lead generation is, we need to take stock of what a lead is. The lead is often confused with a prospect, however different from the latter. Indeed, the lead is a qualified prospect; that is to say, the information held on the latter is essential (name, email, habits, etc.) and could serve as an acquisition lever.
To this end, lead generation is the set of acquisition techniques and marketing tools used in an inbound marketing strategy to generate business contacts.
With the help of a convincing argument, the latter will be called upon to pass the conversion tunnel. So, once the buying cycle is over, if that is the marketing objective of the campaign, it will be achieved.
Indeed, companies pursue many objectives when developing a lead generation marketing campaign. However, each of the goals must respect the principle of SMART objectives. It is an acronym that breaks down as follows:
- S as specific
- M as measurable
- A as acceptable
- R for realistic
- T as temporally defined.
Also, the main objectives pursued by a digital marketing campaign for the generation of qualified traffic are:
- Obtain new customers;
- Increase brand visibility;
- Increase the notoriety of the company;
- Make the digital communication of the company;
- Advertise products and services.
Are there multiple lead generation categories?
Indeed, it is essential to know which category of lead generation to subscribe to before understanding its advantages. As such, here are the different lead generation categories:
- Outdoor lead generation: also called outdoor or external communication, is a strategy that makes it possible to obtain leads during physical events. These are events such as fairs, shows, etc. During these meetings, the company employees do prospecting to find potential customers. On the other hand, this lead generation technique is quite expensive for companies.
- The generation of print leads: Print is translated into French by the expression “paper”. Thus, through the paper format, brands manage to generate leads that are so valuable to their commercial actions. The paper newspaper, magazines, and advertising mail are means, among many others, to generate print leads.
- Phone lead generation: This is both an outbound and an inbound strategy. It consists of salespeople reaching out to customers or even receiving incoming calls from prospects. Thus, this role is assigned to customer services and call centres. The major disadvantage of this technique is that strict laws govern it. Therefore, telephone calls for commercial purposes imply compliance with specific legal rules.
- Online lead generation: this is the complete method because it uses almost all communication channels ( emails, social networks, websites, blogs). Also, advertising banners and retargeting techniques are used to generate quality leads. However, the formats used are different, and so are the attraction means.
These different types of lead generation are effective, but some are more beneficial. It is in this capacity that communication agencies specialize in online lead generation.
What are the benefits that come from generating leads with MEDX Publishing?
Many business owners with an online presence are hesitant about outsourcing lead generation to a third-party company.
However, there are many advantages to entrusting this task to a specialized agency such as the MEDX Publishing agency. To this end, here are some benefits that can be drawn from it:
Make it easier to communicate with customers:
For a company, it is essential to strengthening its proximity to customers because this helps to improve customer relationships. In addition, good interaction with customers allows brands to offer products and services that meet consumer expectations.
Thus, the leads generated allow companies to present products and services whenever they request them. In addition, you should know that when an interaction mechanism is effective, it will enable the company to increase its credibility.
This is essential for collecting positive opinions and multiplying prospects’ conversions into customers.
Achieve cost savings:
There is another alternative to lead generation, and that is campaign advertising. The latter, much more expensive than lead generation, is used less.
Thus, thanks to the generation of leads, specific complex tasks like the payment of commissions and the recruitment of intermediaries are bypassed. The result observed is that the cost of a lead generation campaign is lower.
Moreover, winning new leads is a relatively simple process when you have the required skills. However, outsourcing this task also allows you to have enough time to care for the most important thing: the customers.
Increase retention rates:
Out of all the business contact generation methods, lead generation proves to be the most effective method to improve customer retention. Also, you should know that before obtaining leads, the lead generation method provides access to prequalified prospects.
Plus, a business shouldn’t have to worry about getting a list of qualified prospects. Instead, it is a question of knowing what actions are taken to convert visitors to its website into customers.
Allow the improvement of notoriety:
Running a lead generation campaign is touted as one of the surest and most effective ways to build brand awareness.
Also, thanks to it, brands manage to strengthen the commercial leads they exploit. In fact, according to a recent study, 40% of traffic is acquired through the name and brand image.
To benefit from this advantage linked to the name and the brand’s image, it is recommended to concentrate enough resources on a technique that prioritizes increasing notoriety.
A site that enjoys good exposure on search engines has every chance of generating more traffic and, therefore, more customers. Then, it will be up to its owner to either conquer new markets or confirm its current position.
Stand out from competitors with lead gen:
Companies are waging an unprecedented war for more market share. This is how they use all possible strategies to stand out from each other. However, lead generation gives a company this advantage to distinguish itself from its competitors.
But to achieve this, specific rules must be respected, such as creating relevant, unique content with high added value.
At this stage, the marketer uses his expertise to make a good referencing ( SEO and SEA ), especially to avoid duplicate content.
Obtain a satisfactory return on investment ( ROI ):
The primary purpose of a lead generation campaign is to acquire new customers. Thus, for the leads obtained, it is essential to know how many have converted into customers, and this is where the concept of return on investment comes in.
Indeed the lead-gen is a strategy that allows you to reap enough benefits by obtaining qualified prospects at a lower cost than other methods. As a result, it is possible to cover the expenses incurred and achieve the commercial objective set.
Make sales prospecting automatic:
This is the wish of any company to have a list of qualified prospects. Thus, all the information collected should serve as levers to trigger the purchasing process. You will get an automated lead generation process by setting up one-click downloadable guides or subscribing to a newsletter.
The advantage is that the company will no longer devote many resources to the digital prospecting phase because it already has the best customer profiles.