Marketing options today are many. A business can reach their market through the mail, on the phone, over the internet, and on T.V. For a company with an unlimited marketing budget, endless trial and error is acceptable. However, most companies don’t have the funds to waste on hit or miss campaigns. It is very frustrating to spend a lot of money on a mailer that blankets a large area but only attracts a few clients. Some companies splurge on brand advertising in attempt to hone in on a market only to realize that this method of failure simply costs more. The key to effective marketing lies within lead generation. Lead generation is designed to help you find your specific target market and supply only them with enough information to get them to come to you.
Lead generation marketing is designed for companies who can significantly profit off of one sale. If you sell food, it takes a long time for an individual consumer to purchase enough of your product to justify a marketing strategy that singles them out. On the other hand, if you sell houses, you will see a large enough return on one house to make your efforts worthwhile. Therefore, lead generation is best used when the value of each potential buyer (or sale) is high.
The first step in sales lead generation is to narrow your field so that you are marketing only to those who will use your product or services. There are several ways to accomplish this. Some companies buy information from other businesses. Others will include surveys or questionnaires on their websites or internet ads to find potential matches. Many companies have already covered a large area with advertising and are waiting to see who responds. These companies can take advantage of this in a couple of ways. First, analyze the people or businesses who have responded. Calculate your sales potential with them now and in the future (if applicable). Find out what makes them a match for your business and seek out similar companies. Second, contact those who haven’t responded and find out why. If they are a fit for your business, you may need to tweak your information to better draw their attention. Using as few words as possible, avoiding gimmicks, and showing that you know your audience will help.
Once you have researched your field and maximized your marketing potential, the second step is to incorporate several ways to educate your consumer and convince them to use your product or services. The most effective, yet most dreaded method of recruiting clients or consumers is the phone call. Depending on your target market, this can be a time-consuming process that may require you outsource the task. Calling a prospect gives you the opportunity to give the most relevant information, field their questions, and counter their “Not at this time” responses. Regardless of whether you initiate contact with a phone call, email, or mailer, offer an incentive to say yes. Appeal to the economically-minded buyer. Also appeal to the short attention span. As tempting as it is to tout all of your impressive qualities on one post card, most people lose interest after a few sentences.
Initial contact with your prospect is only the beginning. Include several ways for the interested party to get more information. This is when you can brag about your best qualities. Refer them to your website, office, trade show, online article, and anything else that gives them the full story they are now interested in knowing. Make their research convenient and worth their while. Make it worth your while by pulling more information from them (website questionnaire, information card, etc) and add it to your database. Follow up with a phone call (preferably) or an email. Job seekers don’t wait around after sending out a resume; if they really want the job, they follow up with a phone call. As a client seeker, you should be doing the same.
It is important to remember that this method is not successful overnight. Do not get frustrated or ditch your efforts if you are not immediately flooded with inquiries. Do not expect your targeted prospect to drop everything and make an appointment with you upon receiving your email. Lead generation marketing takes time. Monitor your progress about every three months. Continue to analyze who is interested and who is not. Your marketing strategy will likely take at least a year to realize its value. If each sale or client yields a significant profit, the wait will pay off.
No matter how you go about lead generation marketing, it is one of the most successful ways to reach your target market in a cost-effective way. If you utilize your resources properly, you will receive higher revenue on a smaller marketing budget. Stop wasting your efforts with hit or miss strategies. Take advantage of the evolution of marketing and let lead generation work for you.
