When it comes to lead generation techniques, there will be marked
differences between industries and businesses, but the fundamental
concept remains the same: you need market exposure to gain traffic,
targeted traffic to increase lead generation, and effective lead
generation tactics to convert more sales. The difficulties lie in
utilising effective tactics that will ensure your business gains success
in the long term as well as in the short term.
First of all,
market exposure. What do I mean by market exposure? I mean how widely
available your business is, whether online or offline. When customers
are looking for a particular product or service, these days they usually
go online and Google it. So you need to take advantage of the many
online resources at your disposal so that your business is easily found
on multiple platforms. Here are some online resources you can utilise to
make your business more exposed in its market:
• Online directories - these can be both free and paid
• Social media - Facebook and Twitter in particular are seeing massive success when utilised as business tools
• A business website - so that your customers have somewhere to be directed to when they search for you
The
more ways in which your business is exposed, the more potential it has
to be seen by a greater number of people. Then you have to utilise
targeted customer-generating tactics, which leads us to:
Traffic.
Now that your business is on as many platforms as possible, you have to
apply rules and techniques that will target and draw in specific groups
of people. Eye-catching slogans and enticing advertising tactics work
well here but online, you can also use other methods including search
engine optimisation (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), and minisite
development. SEO tactics are engineered to position your website or
other business pages among the first rankings of Google's (and other
popular search engine's) organic search results. SEO functions by using
keyword analysis to determine which phrases will rank your sites higher
in these results. SEO is also a free online tool! SEM works in the same
way, however, SEM is a paid online traffic tool. Minisites are often
used for traffic generating purposes because you can use them to target
niche audiences. You can create a minisite that feeds to your major
website, that also focuses on a more specialised product or service to
cater for specific needs. These sites can also be optimised in search
engines; the more sites you have optimised in search engines, the more
likely you are to target and attract your audience. You are also more
likely to hold the attention of your visitors with compelling website
design that aligns with your brand
Generating leads is the next
step to gaining a sale. Your product message needs to be strong enough
to not only spark interest, but also hold that interest enough that your
prospects will want to find out more. If your traffic generating
tactics have been successful, your leads will be interested in what you
have to offer and therefore more likely to submit an enquiry. You can
use lead generation techniques such as opt-ins, special offers,
discounts, and more traditional methods such as cold calling, if the
need arises. When you've generated leads, not all of them will be 'ready
to buy' - also known as qualified leads. This does not mean that you
should let those leads go cold. Lead nurturing is a very important
element of lead generation techniques, as a large percentage of sales
come from previous leads. Keeping in contact with these leads, giving
them regular updates and valuable information allows them to remain
informed so that when they are ready to buy, they already have a
relationship with your business. Effective lead nurturing and fostering
strong client relationships is what leads to increased sales conversion.
It
is also essential that you make it very easy for customers to make a
sale. The more difficult it is to access your products and services, the
more likely visitors are to leave your site. E-commerce and m-commerce
are excellent ways to facilitate easy online transactions. If you have
successfully captured visitor attention with maximised market exposure,
targeted traffic tactics, and compelling lead generation techniques,
making a sale will be far easier.
These four elements are all
critical for effective marketing and business success. Lead generation
techniques form an integral part of this process and will determine the
success or failure of your marketing campaign.
If you need help finding
lead generation techniques
that will work for your business, don't hesitate to check out SOS
Development. SOS Development specialises in modern marketing for
sustainable business growth, with an emphasis on developing highly
successful
lead generation techniques. For advice, tips, and a superior marketing system, visit SOS Development.
This article was written by Tess Brinums, Marketing & PR Assistant at SOS Development, 2012. All Rights Reserved.
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