How can lead generation help brands grow online?
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There is a saying that there is no brand without a prospect.
Each and every brand requires a prospect to start stepping in the stones of the growth of a brand. It is necessary to convert a prospect or a lead into a buyer. Here is an article detailing what is lead generation followed by buyers' journey & the perks of lead generation for a brand.
What is Lead Generation?
“Leads are the qualified prospects who can become customers and ambassadors of your brand if you play your cards right. Sure, a firm may have several important goals, but a large percentage of organizational goals focus on lead generation” — Neil Patel
In simpler words, lead generation is a process of attracting people who can be our potential customers. Lead generation can be done by attracting name, email id, mobile number, etc and initiate business relations.
It's no more about cold calling or sending emails across. It involves a lot of strategies and techniques that convert a stranger to a promoter for the brand.
If you meet people over a blog and they share their email address with you that’s lead generation. When someone comments on your post showing interest in a product it is lead generation. Converting a lead into a buyer/ customer helps a brand grow. To understand the conversion of a lead to a buyer/customer we need to know its journey.
Read: 5 Top Challenges for generating leads.
So,
What is the Buyer’s Journey?
The process where a buyer's challenges are addressed and then evaluated following with purchase that leads to help to be a promoter.
This is called the buyer’s journey. Right from Stranger to Promoter.
The brand sits to decide a bunch of collaterals that can be used to attract our target audience. These collaterals are promoted to meet the strangers in the platform of their interest. This way the stranger is made aware of the existence of the brand.
Sequentially the stranger gets attracted to these collaterals and is led to the website. Here, they interact with content that will give them a proper understanding of the product/service, just as a salesperson would do. Make sure the visitor can access needful content easily with a form through which they can become your lead.
These leads are further classified into MQL ( Marketing Qualified Leads ) & SQL ( Sales Qualified Leads ). Accordingly, they are further guided in the journey. After all the consideration the lead makes a decision for the purchase and gradually develops into a consumer.
Learn about the difference between MQL & SQL
After being satisfied with the brand the consumer becomes the promoter of the brand which leads to building a brand with a strong reputation.
Considering the journey of the buyer there are three stages that are awareness, consideration, and decision.
Awareness Stage
Here the potential client realizes the problem that they need to solve to reach their goal. Potential buyers in this stage are finding details and are trying to find answers to the query.
There are various tactics used to attract the consumers in this stage like:-
A. Blogs
The most common form of awareness-stage content is the blog post.
It’s accessible in a few seconds via a simple Google search. Blog posts can be used in all stages of a buyer’s persona however a few distinct characteristics for blogs regarding the awareness stage can be the blog should be purely informative in nature that helps to solve queries and problems of the lead.
The blog should be comprehensive, easy to understand, and should avoid unnecessary acknowledgment of brands.
B. Videos
We all know videos are one of the most popular ways people consume content.
Did you Know: Including a video in your landing page improves conversion by 80%.
Also, 97% of video marketers claim that videos help in understanding the product better and faster and 76% said it helped in sales.
What Numbers? Isn’t it.
Video is an easy-to-consume format that can deliver tons of information in a fraction of the time it takes to read written blog content.
Like blog posts, videos are a great way to help solve people’s problems. How-to videos and Q&A videos are a great place to start.
C. Infographics
Infographics are just as they sound, extremely informative and engaging graphics. The best part of the infographic is that it helps you gain information faster and better.
Infographics are especially appealing in the awareness stage for several reasons. They are easy to consume and easy to share.
D. Social media
Social media is a new and upcoming means for buyers to get aware of the product or service and interact with the company to understand better.
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It is a two-way communication platform, where you can converse and convert.
Social media is easy to operate and can be accessed at any time and also has a strong reach. Every morning, one of the basic activities apart from all morning work is hopping on to our favorite social media platform.
After the stage of getting aware of the product, the potential buyer moves to the
Consideration Stage
In the consideration stage, the prospect's challenges and issues are addressed further and given steps to overcome the initial stage issues.
Buyer is still in an educational frame of mind and will be looking for information that will make them more confident about their potential purchase. The strategies below can help the potential buyer to develop into a consumer
A. Product comparison guide
A comparison guide is a great way to answer buyers’ questions regarding how your brand’s product compares to your direct competitors. However, it is necessary to be authentic regarding the details shared across. The guide can have comparisons with multiple competitors or with a single competitor too.
Read: How to build an Interactive Comparison Chart
B. Expert guidance
Like product comparisons, expert guidance can help the potential lead get converted into a buyer. Here the consumer can get answers to all its guidance and faith on the brand and all the doubts can be managed comprehensively.
C. Podcasts
Podcasts are time efficient and an easy way to consume content. The buyer can get detailed information about and can swiftly move an obstacle in the way of the consumer from making a decision. List of Best B2B Podcast
D. Webinars
Webinars are a good way to push content to the leads as it creates a sense of authenticity and also creates trust in the eyes of the lead which can be an added advantage for the brand to convert a lead into a customer.
After the potential buyer makes a consideration about the purchase, he/she moves to the
Decision Stage
Leads in the Decision Stage are working on becoming buyers, who will make a final decision on their purchase. The following strategy can boast the decision process
A. Demos & Free Trials
By this stage, the lead is already looking actively to purchase the product. A free trial or demo of the product gives the prospect a clear idea of what will they get if they purchase the product. It gives the potential client proof.
B. Product Literature
A product literature increases consumer confidence and creates an ideal customer experience which enables the customer at this stage to have a sense of belief and trust towards the brand.
C. Analyst Report
An analyst report gives a holistic view to the consumers regarding the brand and the positioning of the brand in the market. At the decision stage, an analyst report strengthens the brand's credibility and reputation for the consumer.
This is the journey of a lead getting converted into a buyer.
Benefits of Lead Generation for a brand
1. Generate Awareness
Lead generation organic or inorganic can lead to awareness about the brand. Brand awareness is a raising step towards the growth of the brand. It also increases the chance of generating conversions and dominating the market.
2. Result Orientated
Lead generation focuses on converting leads into potential clients. With the help of leads generated through website, social media, etc the brand can get a targeted audience and can focus more on them, and have a better scope of conversion.
3. Better Returns on Investments ( ROI)
ROI is a key performance indicator. Lead generation can ultimately result in an increase in return on investment and increase in revenue which can gradually help the brand to develop.
4. Business(Revenue) security for future
Whenever talking about lead generation this projection can never be ignored. A systematic process of lead generation can lead to an increase in potential clients which can slowly and gradually develop brand loyalty and develop security for future business and revenue for the brand.
Feeling like you have a better understanding of lead generation now? Great!
But we’ve only scratched the surface of lead generation and how it can help your brand. Stay tuned for the second part of our lead generation series to get a more in-depth look at techniques and tips for implementing lead generation.
