Lead generation is a great way to grow your online business
Effective strategies are required for any online business that wants to acquire new customers. These strategies include attracting, capturing, and nurturing website leads. In a perfect world, every visit to your eCommerce website would lead to a sale. This is your primary goal! To be realistic, a large portion of your traffic will come from people who are ‘just surfing,’ who still need to be ready to purchase, do comparison shopping, or require a little convincing before they give you their business. Lead generation is about capturing this valuable traffic and preventing it from being wasted.
Website leads have shown interest in your products or services through their online behavior. After finding your website, they may have filled out an inquiry form, downloaded thought leadership content, requested quotes, or subscribed to your eNewsletter. Lead generation is about attracting visitors to your site, optimizing their experience, and capturing their contact information and permission to contact them. After generating these leads, it is essential to increase their interest and convert them to purchasing customers through ‘Lead Nurture.’
Lead generation for all stages of the Marketing & Sales Funnel
Online businesses need to develop strategies to capture leads at every Marketing & Sales Funnel stage – from the initial awareness phase to the final evaluation.
Free gated content, such as downloadable infographics or information sheets, may suit audiences in the ‘Awareness and Interest’ stage. The subject matter must be relevant and valuable to your audience and not overly sales.’ Promote this content through social media advertising and other online channels—link to landing pages that require forms to be filled out to access the resources.
If you are targeting audiences in the “Consideration” or “Intent” phase, gated content that is suitable for them might be White Papers, Case Studies, or detailed product manuals.
In the “Evaluation” phase, depending on the complexity and value of the service or product you’re selling, a free consultation, webinar, or demonstration may be a good hook.
It would help if you made it easy for your audience to ‘Make a Request,’ Contact Us, or ‘Sign up for eNews.
Website Traffic: Attracting the Right Visitors to Your Site
Digital Advertising and Inbound Marketing are two key strategies to attract your target audience to the website.
Digital Advertising
Digital ads can attract traffic to your website, which will then direct them to the relevant page containing additional information about the product or service advertised. This page also includes a call-to-action to secure the customer’s contact details.
Google Ads allows businesses to create ads that pay per click and appear in Google’s search results. You can set the parameters of the audience that you wish to reach and the search terms (keywords) against which you would like your ad displayed.
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing is an effective strategy that attracts customers to your site by providing valuable content. Content that works best will depend on the target audience and their stage in the purchasing process.
Gated content is any content where visitors must complete an online form to download or access it. It is essential to capture and generate leads. Inbound marketing content examples include:
Download eBooks or Guides
Video
Blogs
Press Releases
Infographics and Information Sheets
White Papers and Case Studies
Research and thought leadership reports
Podcasts and webinars
Expert Interviews
What’s next? Lead Nurture
Your business should constantly be acquiring new leads. The story is not over! It is essential to nurture leads to the point of conversion or online purchases.
Nurture Existing Leads
Your leads should be treated with care by offering them a benefit not available to the general public. Make them feel valued – personalize your email content, and give them a free product trial or special discount. Building a relationship this way can be time-consuming and complex, but the effort is worth it when they convert.
Analyze Your Lead Generation Process
It is essential to evaluate and scrutinize your lead generation system. You want it to be as effective as possible in bringing new leads to you, nurturing them, and turning them into customers. Analytics can help you determine if your goals are being met by increasing traffic to your site.
