What Is Customer Lead Generation
And
How It Profits Your Business?

Using lead generation effectively can dramatically improve the profitability of your business and help it grow.  It can also improve business’s brand awareness while enhancing your relationship with consumers.

Traditionally, lead generation was performed using door-to-door sales, direct mail, telemarketing, networking, referrals, advertising, and events.  However, the advent of the Internet means that there are many more avenues for lead generation.  Any business can take advantage of these new techniques to massively boost profits.

To help you learn more, this guide will share the most useful techniques for customer lead generation and explain how lead generation enhances business profits.

To help you learn more, this guide will share the most useful techniques for customer lead generation and explain how lead generation enhances business profits.

The Most Popular Techniques for Customer Lead Generation

There are dozens of customer lead generation techniques available. The most effective technique for your business will vary based on your target audience, products or services being offered, and the market niche you are working in. 

A business selling software will use different techniques compared to a local window cleaning business.  The most popular customer lead generation techniques include:

Direct Mail

Also known as advertising mail. This is a traditional form of lead generation that remains effective today. It is particularly useful for businesses targeting a specific geographical area or customers who may not be reachable by online advertising. 

Direct mail can be targeted at previously identified leads or used to reach completely new leads. It usually involves sending pamphlets, letters or leaflets to homes and businesses.

To be very effective with this lead generation technique, a predefined customer database access is important, coupled with bulk pricing to bring per lead acquisition cost to the minimum. You must have seen this technique in operation when you receive leaflets or "junk mails" either directly in your post office box or sandwiched inside your newspaper or magazine. Plumbers, home repair trades, dentists, newly opened medical clinics and cleaners are just a few examples of discerning professionals who use this technique the most. 

Want more customers to your business? Try the direct mail technique for 6 to 12 weeks and see how it could dramatically improve your bottom line.  

TV, Radio, Print, and Billboard Advertising 

Traditional forms of advertising like TV, radio, print, and billboard ads remain effective today. Nothing beats TV and local radio advertising when it comes to creating a wider and almost immediate brand awareness. However, they are typically not as cost-effective as some newer techniques.

If you have a large marketing budget and know how to navigate the sea of media ad buying, then this means of customer lead acquisition can work wonders. 

If you are a small business and looking for the most impact with minimal budget and bottlenecks, then look into digital advertising. 

Telemarketing

Telemarketing involves calling people to gather or provide information, or ask them if they are interested in your product or service. Almost everyone would have received calls from companies who extract details of residents in a particular geographical area from the local phone book to make these calls.

You certainly could reap huge benefits from telemarketing if properly set up. Advertages of telemarketing include:

• Direct contact with potential customers and securing qualified interest that could translate into immediate sales
• Opportunity to know how a segment of your target population sees your business offering by being able to speak directly with them to sample opinions on goods and services and adjust product or service development to meet customer's expectation
• Excellent telemarketing reduces barrier for telesales
• Being able to leave non-intrusive voice message on potential customer's phones they can access at their leisure and follow up such calls if they are really interested in what you offer.

It is often combined with other forms of lead generation, including online techniques.

Websites and Blogs

A well-designed business website that is packed with high quality content can be an excellent source of leads. You can promote your website using search engine optimization techniques or via online advertising, then capture the contact details of potential customers.

Email Newsletters

This was one of the most common lead generation techniques in the early days of the Internet.  Businesses would email clients with details of their product or service to generate leads. Of course, there are many more restrictions on the ways you can use email marketing today, but it remains an extremely effective tactic.

Content Marketing

Content marketing campaigns will develop high quality content that is shared across many platforms. The types of content that can used includes white papers, blog posts, articles, videos, podcasts, and social media posts.

This content usually includes a call to action that gathers leads for your business. Content marketing is also useful for establishing your business as an authority in the industry and for improving brand awareness.

Social Media Marketing

The popularity of social media has exploded in the past decade.  Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest are used by millions of people every day. You can harness the power of social media to generate leads for your business. This is often done through content marketing campaigns, advertising and user engagement.

Exhibitions And Trade Shows

This is another traditional way of generating leads that remains effective today.  Your business can purchase a booth at exhibitions and trade shows to meet potential customers and gather their details.

Paid Online Advertising

Online advertisements can be an effective way to gather targeted leads.  There are many advertising programs available including Google Adsense, Chitika, Clicksor, and Blogads.

How Lead Generation Profits Your Business

Lead generation can dramatically boost your business’s profits by:

Increasing The Number of Sales

When performed correctly, lead generation will provide your company with more customers and more sales — directly increasing the profitability of your enterprise.

It Helps You Track Leads Through The Sales Funnel

The sales funnel is the process that you lead potential customers through when they purchase products or services.  Using lead generation techniques helps your business accurately track these potential customers throughout the entire process.  This ensures that no leads are forgotten or ignored — maximizing the profitability of your business.

Gain Useful Information From Leads

Leads can also be an excellent source of information that improves the profitability of your business. 

A lead can provide information like:

• What they liked or didn’t like about your product or services
• Why they decided to use a competitor’s product instead of yours
• What they thought of the price of your product
• What barriers were preventing them from buying right now
• What kinds of products or services they wish you offered.

You can capture this valuable information from potential clients process, then use it to improve the performance of your business and its long-term profitability.

Conversion Rates Tend To Be Higher

The leads that are generated by techniques like social media marketing, content marketing, and websites have very high conversion rates compared to most traditional lead generation techniques.  This occurs because the leads are better targeted to your product or service than traditional media like television or newspaper advertisements.  You can obtain a far greater return on investment, which increases the profitability of your business.

 To give you an idea of how effective online lead generation is, a study by Hinge Research found that businesses generating 60% of their leads online were twice as profitable as companies generating less than 20% of their leads online.

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