Particularly in the B2B (business to business) industry, lead generation is widely regarded as the most difficult, time-consuming, and expensive aspect. In this ever-competitive marketplace where thousands upon thousands of businesses are competing for their audience’s attention, how can you cut through the noise and effectively generate as many, high-quality prospects as possible?
In this article, we’re going to highlight effective lead gen methods, including those which generate the highest ROI (return on investment). Keen to learn more? Read on and let’s get stuck in…
What is the most effective method of lead generation?
There are many different methods of lead generation, though some are far more effective than others. Not only that, but even the ‘best’ lead gen method can fall flat on its face if you don’t do the necessary research and strategize accordingly.
For the best results, you should look to combine a number of strategies into one broader lead generation campaign. For example:
- Invest in your SEO: SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the best long-term lead generation / digital marketing strategies at your disposal today. By optimising your website and creating content around a number of highly targeted ‘keywords’, you can effectively drive more traffic through to your website. However, the main benefit of a well-strategized SEO campaign is the fact that this ‘traffic’ should be highly relevant as they are actively searching for the products or services that you sell. Having the right marketing tool can help in that regard.
Of course, getting that traffic to your website is only half the battle. While they may well be ‘warm’ leads, they still need nurturing and convincing into parting with their hard earned cash. This is why having an attractive and intuitive website with engaging sales copy and a seamless UX (user experience) is an essentiality.
- Add a quality opt-in / ‘lead magnet’ to your website: another awesome lead gen strategy is to encourage website visitors to opt-in to your email list for further nurturing. You can do this by creating a stunning eBook with immense, free value that users can obtain by simply entering their email address on a submission form. Following that, once they have signed up to your email list, you can send out regular emails in the form of a Newsletter or special promotions and VIP discounts to further nurture those leads.
This approach is great because, not only is it an effective way of recapturing those who don’t immediately buy from you, but it also encourages previous customers to continue spending by building trust, authority, and brand loyalty.
- Create a simple and intuitive lead gen form: additionally, you want to make it as easy as possible for prospective customers to reach out to you and register their interest. Given that most users will likely be on a mobile device; you have to consider what lengths they will be prepared to go to. So, rather than having a lengthy lead gen form with too many fields to fill out manually, you could try offering a more intuitive solution, for example:
a. “Click on the options that best apply to you” – With this approach, your leads will be able to register their interest quickly, while giving you enough information to qualify them – and then you can fill in the missing data gaps later when one of your sales team / campaign managers reach out.
Which gives the highest ROI?
While it can vary significantly from one campaign to another, SEO is widely considered as being the best lead gen strategy in terms of ROI. The initial investment can be steep and SEO does take 6-months to a year to really kick in, however, once you are up and running, you can make some serious money through your website.
If you look online for SEO ROI calculations, you’ll see A LOT of different numbers. Some websites claim that SEO offers an ROI up to 2,200% with others coming in at 989% – and while such numbers are indeed possible, as a rule of thumb, you should set your expectations to at least the 500% mark ($5 for every $1 invested).
Again, this takes time to achieve and investing in the right SEO agency is an essentiality.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the key to generating leads effectively is to define your brand clearly and have an awesome proposition in place. What are you selling? Who are you selling it to? How can your products / services change people’s lives? What is your USP?
Through proper market research, you can better position your brand and business in front of your audience. Then, by hiring a reputable marketing agency and combining a number of ‘tried and tested’ lead gen methods, you shouldn’t have much trouble attracting hot prospects who are ready to spend!