Certain types of businesses base their entire sales strategies on the idea of lead generation. Other types of businesses do not. That second group is making a mistake. Whether a company pays for lead generation services or handles lead generation in-house, sales leads are the engine that drives customer acquisition. Without them, bringing in new business is hit-or-miss.
Lead generation services are a priority at Azola Creative. If you would like to know why, this post is for you. We believe so much in lead generation that we make it a specialty. We know from first-hand experience just how transformational solid leads can be to sales growth
With all that in mind, here are the four most important things to know about lead generation:
1. Targeting Is the Main Priority
By its very nature, lead generation is designed to put you in touch with the customers most likely to buy your products or services. In other words, lead generation is about targeting specific members of your audience.
Imagine being out in the yard with your kids on a summer day. You are having a water fight. Your kids have their powerful blaster squirt guns while you’re working with one of those rotating sprinklers. The sprinkler can put out a ton of water, but you’re better off grabbing the garden hose. Why? Because you can point it. You’ll have a clear advantage getting your kids soaked.
General marketing is like using the sprinkler. Lead generation is like using the hose. Your goal is to target a specific section of the audience in order to generate qualified leads.
2. Brand Awareness Is a Fringe Benefit
Lead generation services are designed to bring you qualified leads so that you can make sales. But there is a fringe benefit that comes from the practice: increasing brand awareness. Even if some of those qualified leads do not become paying customers immediately, you at least make them aware of your brand and what it offers. Brand awareness may bring a lead back to you for a future sale.
3. Lead Generation Is Budget Friendly
Although lead generation does cost, it’s budget friendly in the sense that qualified leads are more likely to pay for themselves. Not only that but lead generation campaigns can also be cheaper than generalized marketing on a per-sale basis. In other words, your ROI is better on lead generation. You ultimately spend less to make more.
This is not to say that lead generation is always cheap. It’s not. Leads can be expensive depending on their quality and what it takes to obtain them. But dollar for dollar, lead generation services tend to be very budget friendly compared to mass marketing.
4. Lead Generation Improves Marketing
Although you can make the case that lead generation is a form of marketing, it’s distinct enough that we consider it separate from more generalized marketing strategies. Here’s the good news: effective generation can actually improve marketing. How?
Successful lead generation produces qualified leads, which is to say customers with a high propensity to buy. Taking a good look at those customers and what makes them tick makes it easier to understand how to market to them in a more general sense. Qualified leads are a gold mine of analytics data that can better refine your future marketing strategies.
We cannot say enough good things about lead generation. It is important enough that we think every business that relies on direct sales should be utilizing it to one degree or another. If you would like to know more about our lead generation services, don’t hesitate to reach out.