It's among the many terms you'll hear a lot the moment you step into the labyrinthine domain of online business. Before the digital age, lead generation[/b], the process of finding potential customers who will buy your product or service, mainly anchored on word-of-mouth and hard selling. Sales reps would talk to interested parties and offer to discuss their product with the potential customer. As technology upgraded, however, lead generation spread unto the Web. Now it's possible to utilize search engines to find the leads you need.
You might find it ironic that despite the handful of techniques you use to generate leads, you still seem to fail at it, albeit unintentionally. So today, read up on the mistakes you're probably doing and how to correct them.
Whether your product caters to a specific crowd or to everybody, it's imperative that you identify who your target audience really is. Otherwise, generating leads would be tantamount to you shooting the moon and that's not good for business.
While you're still at the planning stage, establish your target market very clearly. Know the marketing approach that makes them tick and personalize the strategies for each category (e.g. age, race, social status). Remember that in this game, you have to know your audience first before they know you.
Your business regardless of its size deserves to be taken seriously first and foremost by you. If you don't, you can't expect other people to pay it even the least attention.
To make your audience feel that you know what you're doing, come up with a look for your website that is both professional and creative at the same time. If you want, hire an expert web designer and ask his/her opinion on the appropriate look your website needs to have so that it can generate leads. You should also be able to channel this look to your other paraphernalia such as business cards, packaging, and logo.
While slaving yourself at work is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be detrimental for your business if you fly the lead generation job solo. Lead generation is about finding prospects and thus requires a great deal of interaction.
That being said, it would be to your advantage if you build relationships with other entrepreneurs in the same industry you are in. They may be your competitors but it doesn't mean you have to kill each other's businesses in the field. Many business owners who have been in the industry long already know how important it is to keep on engaging with fellow entrepreneurs. You can also seek membership in alliances so that you can establish a veritable reputation for yourself and your business.
Generating plenty of leads is great so it might surprise you to learn that this doesn't always translate to better sales. You could have come up with, say a hundred leads, but if those are not of good quality, your efforts will still be in vain.
So apart from producing a lot of leads, another thing you should keep in mind is that all of them should be relevant. Target-specific leads tend to bring desired results faster, while non-specific ones entail waiting longer.
Many netizens have the attention span of a goldfish, but this doesn't mean that you can't turn them into promising leads. You have to remember that there are businesses similar to yours, so it's important to take care of those who invest interest in you.
Make your audience feel appreciated by replying to their questions and comments as soon as you can. You can even interact with them by staying active on social networks and updating your blog. Also, stay on top of everything by sending reports to your business partners the earliest time possible. The more you keep track of every transaction you're doing, the easier it would be for you to follow up your clients and colleagues.
Lead generation may not be the center of your business' universe but you sure want to do well in it. After all, it's a tried and tested way of making businesses thrive.
You might find it ironic that despite the handful of techniques you use to generate leads, you still seem to fail at it, albeit unintentionally. So today, read up on the mistakes you're probably doing and how to correct them.
- 1. You don't know who you're talking to.
Whether your product caters to a specific crowd or to everybody, it's imperative that you identify who your target audience really is. Otherwise, generating leads would be tantamount to you shooting the moon and that's not good for business.
While you're still at the planning stage, establish your target market very clearly. Know the marketing approach that makes them tick and personalize the strategies for each category (e.g. age, race, social status). Remember that in this game, you have to know your audience first before they know you.
- 2. You underestimate your website.
Your business regardless of its size deserves to be taken seriously first and foremost by you. If you don't, you can't expect other people to pay it even the least attention.
To make your audience feel that you know what you're doing, come up with a look for your website that is both professional and creative at the same time. If you want, hire an expert web designer and ask his/her opinion on the appropriate look your website needs to have so that it can generate leads. You should also be able to channel this look to your other paraphernalia such as business cards, packaging, and logo.
- 3. You do all the work by yourself.
While slaving yourself at work is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be detrimental for your business if you fly the lead generation job solo. Lead generation is about finding prospects and thus requires a great deal of interaction.
That being said, it would be to your advantage if you build relationships with other entrepreneurs in the same industry you are in. They may be your competitors but it doesn't mean you have to kill each other's businesses in the field. Many business owners who have been in the industry long already know how important it is to keep on engaging with fellow entrepreneurs. You can also seek membership in alliances so that you can establish a veritable reputation for yourself and your business.
- 4. You're obsessed with quantity.
Generating plenty of leads is great so it might surprise you to learn that this doesn't always translate to better sales. You could have come up with, say a hundred leads, but if those are not of good quality, your efforts will still be in vain.
So apart from producing a lot of leads, another thing you should keep in mind is that all of them should be relevant. Target-specific leads tend to bring desired results faster, while non-specific ones entail waiting longer.
- 5. You do not follow up.
Many netizens have the attention span of a goldfish, but this doesn't mean that you can't turn them into promising leads. You have to remember that there are businesses similar to yours, so it's important to take care of those who invest interest in you.
Make your audience feel appreciated by replying to their questions and comments as soon as you can. You can even interact with them by staying active on social networks and updating your blog. Also, stay on top of everything by sending reports to your business partners the earliest time possible. The more you keep track of every transaction you're doing, the easier it would be for you to follow up your clients and colleagues.
Lead generation may not be the center of your business' universe but you sure want to do well in it. After all, it's a tried and tested way of making businesses thrive.