What Is Lead Generation Marketing and How You Can Use It to Grow Your Business

Lead generation is the process of getting people interested in your business and gradually moving them through a pipeline to become paying customers for a company’s product or service. It’s a necessary evil in the world of marketing, as without leads, businesses would have a tough time growing their customer base and making sales.

Any effective lead generation strategy should have a clear and well-defined pipeline through the sales funnel. The lead-generating process clearly explains the three different types of funnels.

1. Top of the funnel marketing (TOFU)

Top-of-funnel marketing (TOFU) is the process of generating awareness and interest in a product or service through online channels. It’s the first stage in the lead generation process, and its goal is to get potential customers interested in what you’re offering.

2. Middle of the funnel (MOFU)

The middle of the funnel is where leads are nurtured and converted into sales-ready opportunities. The purpose of MOFU marketing is to develop relationships with leads while educating them about your business’s products and earning their trust.

 3. Bottom of the funnel (BOFU)

The final step in the lead generation process, known as the bottom of the funnel (BOFU), is where leads are transformed into paying clients.

Process for generating leads: Steps to start a campaign

Step 1: Determine your targets

Onboarding new customers or increasing annual recurring revenue from existing customers, your lead generation strategy needs to work closely with sales and marketing. It’s important to clearly outline how you’re going to measure success and ROI and how performance is going to be rewarded.

Step 2: Consider proposition and audience

As a business, it’s important to have a clear understanding of what your objectives are and how you’re going to achieve them. Moreover, it’s crucial to understand and, where possible and establish a clear picture of your target audience.

Step 3: Plan your marketing channels and messaging & Convert Visitors to Leads

Lead generation is done by using different techniques and tools to identify potential customers and then convert them into leads. These techniques are usually called lead generation strategies. The following are some of the most common lead-generation strategies.

• Email marketing
• Search engine optimization
• Social media advertising
• Direct mail marketing
• Content marketing

 

Conclusion

Lead generation is also important for eCommerce and other businesses, this is especially important for businesses whose products are expensive since web visitors are less likely to make a purchase directly from the website.  One of the most successful strategies for online marketing nowadays is email marketing. Obtaining a potential customer’s contact information enables the company to market to them later even if they do not make a purchase straight away.

If you have any thoughts or questions about lead generation marketing, please leave them in the comments below.