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What is lead?

A lead is a customer interested in your offer, which he shows by, e.g. a query about a product or a service. Leads differ in quality. The most valuable are those leads that are most likely to take further actions and eventually finalise the transaction. It is also crucial to know your target audience. Detailed customer segments increase your chances of winning high quality leads – customers are the most prone to purchase. Depending on whether you are engaged in B2B or B2C activity, your leads can be both individuals or a company.

Why is it important to get leads?

Gaining leads is based on creating your potential customer and subscriber databases. The whole process is aimed at getting your customer to make a purchase or use your services as well as converting a prospective customer into a real opportunity.

“85% of B2B Marketers say lead generation is their most important content marketing goal” CMI

Division of leads

Each lead produces data, such as a contact or personal details. Leads differ in terms of data completeness and the readiness of a person to buy.

Types of leads:

• hot leads – your sales team should contact them as fast as they can because they are 100% ready to purchase and they can finalise the deal on the spot.
• warm leads – people interested in your services who will take action in the future. Now they want to get an idea of your offer and will make decisions later. If you take care of them quickly, they can become hot leads.
• cold leads – they do not require your immediate attention because they are not interested in your services right now. However, if you make a wise move, the situation may change in the future.

Lead verification

How do I tell which group a lead belongs to? To do this, you need to thoroughly analyse the data collected taking into account several basic criteria:

• information detail – what data did you manage to collect? What are the client’s requirements for the product? What budget does he have?
• readiness to make a purchase – Is it likely that you will close the transaction within the next few days or even hours? Is your customer a decision-making person in the process?
• business opportunities – does your company have the desired product or service? Are you able to accept an order?

Lead generating techniques

There are plenty of possibilities to gain new leads. You do not have to pick one. In fact, the easier you are to find (you are visible in many places), the better.

Where to find leads?

• Online subscription form – The rule of quid pro quo works here, e.g. You give away a free guide, access to an article or e-book and they leave you their email address.
• Social media – organise a contest; to take part, your customers will be required to like your fan page or sign up for a subscription. When your customer knows that he/she can benefit from it, he will do anything to win.
• Referral program – encourage your clients to promote your products amongst their friends. Introduce special offers for both recommended and recommending clients.

Content matters

A user will not subscribe to your website, if it does not bring any benefits for them. You need to offer something first. There are many possibilities. Prepare an e-book, a guide or an extended manual. Each person probably expects different things. It all depends on how much your customer is involved in the purchase, what he needs at the moment, and most of all, whether the content offered is worth completing the subscription form.

What to do with leads which are not ready to buy?

If a given person is not ready to make a purchase, it does not mean that he or she will not change their minds in the future. Lead nurturing helps in such cases. Provide your leads with content, make them interested with your offer and watch for a change in their actions. The basic principle says, the more expensive and complex the product, the more time it takes for a person to think about it. Having a real impact requires long-term and periodic activity.

Lead generation is developing. It draws more and more attention to the most paramount element of every business, that is the customers. According to the study conducted by BrightTALK in 2015, more than half of the experts in marketing admit that a significant part of the budget is spent on generating leads. It really works. So let us do it! There is no time to waste.