The Ultimate Guide on Lead Generation

Generating leads is all about finding potential customers whose attention you can capture, and who may be interested in the products or services you have to offer. But generating leads isn't the same game it used to be, and lead generation today is a very different ballgame from what it used to be. So for anybody who’s new to marketing or new to inbound marketing, here's a guide that will explain lead generation in the digital age, why it’s such an important focus, and how you should be tackling it.

Today's consumers want to be educated, entertained, and captivated. 

The Buying Process Has Changed—Drastically

One of the most important things you must know about lead generation is that the buying process isn't what it used to be, so the old tactics for drumming up business simply aren't as effective as they once were. Buyers today know everything they need to know about your company, your products, and your services because they can learn all of this from the internet.

Your job, therefore, is no longer to teach consumers about all of this, but rather to guide them through the buying process, and to show them how your products or services can solve their problems. It’s important, however, that you understand the buyer’s journey, have a sales process in place that can guide buyers through the journey, and that you always target your messages based on a particular buyer’s stage in the journey.

Lead Generation = Survival

Business doesn’t exist without leads, because even though you may have enough business right now to keep you afloat, those customers won’t be around forever. Finding new leads is an ongoing process that you shouldn’t ever stop pursuing. However, because buyers today are so immersed in data and information, you must work at getting through to qualified buyers, getting the attention of potential customers, and engaging your best customers, because if you don’t do it, somebody else will.

The Key to Lead Generation Is a Mixture of Marketing Tactics

Just as the buying process has changed, so too have the marketing strategies companies use to get through to buyers. Whereas traditional interruptive marketing was once the norm, customers these days are no longer responding to this type of advertising, and businesses are no longer able to hold this rented attention long enough to make a sale.

Not having an inbound marketing strategy is one of the worst things that any business can do. 

And that’s where inbound marketing comes in, and why businesses are now focusing on owning the attention of customers who find them, rather than seeking out customers who might listen. And because over 60 percent of marketers say that generating leads is a challenge, here are some different inbound and traditional outbound marketing tools you can use to help bring customers to you:

• High-quality and educational content, including blogs, guides, ebooks, and whitepapers,
• Search engine and website optimization
• Social media marketing and engagement
• Email marketing
• Webinars and virtual events
• Conferences, tradeshows, and live events
• Paid search and online advertising
• Mobile marketing
• Print and television ads

No business can exist without leads, because leads are potential customers that will continue bringing in money for your business today, tomorrow, and down the road. But generating leads isn't as easy—or at least not the same—as it used to be.

Getting a lead today is more about understanding the buyer, sympathizing with the buyer’s challenges, and tailoring your communications with each buyer based on that person’s goals, problems, and stage in the buyer journey. The key to generating leads today is using a variety of marketing tactics, and employing outbound, inbound, and digital marketing strategies at the same time.

Your website has the power to generate more leads, but you may need to rethink your strategy. For more guidance and advice on designing an effective website, get your free copy of our How to Build an Inbound Website eGuide. 

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