It's been a long time since we sent out a direct mail or ran an ad and just sat back and waited for the leads to pour in. And it is that, today, there are numerous channels for generating leads and these are constantly multiplying.
However, with proper planning and the right tools in place, establishing and managing a consistent lead generation program can be one of the best investments of time and resources for any marketer.
Define the objectives
Be as specific as we can. To do this, asking yourself a series of questions at the beginning is the most logical thing to do. What do you intend to achieve with your lead generation program? What are the objectives of your program? The more specific the answer to these questions, the more effective the lead generation program will be.
Therefore, we must formulate concrete objectives such as generating more leads, increasing the number of followers on Facebook, encouraging the sharing of content on social networks, increasing sales in general, increasing the average transaction volume per shopping cart, increasing the number blog subscribers or reduce sales cycles.
Managing a modern lead generation system requires a sophisticated yet simple application, such as HubSpot's Inbound Marketing platform. This is essential to handle the different pieces involved in the generation and capture of leads, as well as in their management to effectively maximize your return on investment.
Understand the needs and preferences of our customers
Currently, there are many options to communicate with users (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram...), it is essential for the lead management program that we know their preferences, from the channel to the frequency, going through the triggering factors of purchases. And if we don't know that data yet, it's as easy as asking them.
You may not be an expert in all of this yet, but with every tweet posted, every Facebook page update, and every email marketing campaign launched, you'll gain more experience and get more leads.
As important as generating leads is managing them once they are with you. How you do this will depend on the sales cycle of your business. In some cases, you'll need to pass them on to sales right away, while others will require you to contact them, based on their online and real-life behaviors and what you glean from their marketing interactions.
Quality content
Content is known to be the fuel that inbound marketing runs on: that goes for lead nurturing as well. If your fuel is of poor quality, your marketing efforts will be in vain. If no one reads you, no one will buy from you. It's not enough for your content to reach consumers; On top of that, it has to grab their attention (and the competition is very strong) and spark an interaction. The important thing for your content to be successful is that it is more interesting, relevant, current and useful than that of your competition.
Develop an Editorial Strategy and Calendar
Take a look at all your content, in all its forms: emails, blogs, videos, LinkedIn posts, guides, ebooks… Then, prepare a calendar that includes the title of each item (or a subject in the case of emails), a description of two or three sentences and the resource you will use as material. A constant stream of content means leads will arrive just as regularly, making your lead management program more consistent and predictable.
Metrics matter: measure your results
Don't just log metrics randomly, log the right metrics. To know what they are, you have to think about the objectives of your lead management program; some examples are:
Percentage of follow-up of leads by sales.
Average Conversion Time – This is a measure of how quickly leads from different sources or campaigns transition to a qualified opportunity. The goal is not to reduce this number to zero, but to understand the timeframes required until conversion.
Cost per Lead, Opportunity, Customer – Consider for analysis what each qualified opportunity and customer acquisition costs you.
Leads are the lifeblood of every B2B company and inbound strategy; We are happy when they become effective sales, but they also imply great challenges to face. In fact, obtaining leads is only the first step. In order to close a sale, intense work is necessary on the part of the sales team, which implies collaboration with marketing, lead classification, effective management and follow-up, as we have seen in this article.
By the time you realize it, you'll be managing leads like a pro, that is, constantly learning and always looking to improve a little more.
