Library > Lead Generation
Lead Generation
Written By Alexandra Flygare
61% of marketers say generating traffic and leads is their top challenge.
Yet in B2B marketing, lead generation is the beating heart of your business that can make or break your growth trajectory. But what exactly is lead generation, and why is it so essential?
Let's dive into this crucial marketing component, exploring its nuances, benefits, and shortcomings.
What’s a lead?
Before getting into the intricacies of lead generation, let’s go over what a lead is. At its core, a "lead" is a potential customer who has shown interest in a company's product or service.
Leads can be categorized as:
Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs): These are individuals who have engaged with your marketing efforts but are not yet ready to make a purchase. They might have downloaded a whitepaper, filled out a form, or engaged with your social media posts.
Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs): These leads have shown a higher level of interest and are considered more likely to become customers. They might have requested a demo, shown interest in pricing, or engaged directly with your sales team.
Product Qualified Leads (PQLs): These leads have used your product in some capacity, such as through a free trial or freemium model, and have shown signs of becoming paying customers.
Sales Accepted Leads (SALs): This is a lead that has been okayed by both the marketing and sales teams for further engagement.
What is Lead Generation?
Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting strangers into someone who has indicated an interest in your company's product or service. In simpler terms, it's the way you gather potential customers' contact information so you can nurture them into becoming full-fledged clients. This process values quality over quantity—identifying those who are genuinely interested and likely to become paying customers.
Why is lead generation important for B2B marketing?
Lead generation is the lifeblood of B2B marketing for several reasons.
First and foremost, it drives revenue growth. The more leads a business can generate, the higher the potential for sales and revenue growth. Leads are the first step in the sales funnel, and without them, the funnel dries up.
Another vital aspect is the ability to focus marketing efforts more precisely – so companies can focus their efforts on prospects that have shown interest. By increasing the efficiency of marketing campaigns, resources are concentrated on those most likely to convert into paying customers. This also enables businesses to segment their audience based on various factors (like industry or company size) allowing for more personalized campaigns.
Lead generation also provides valuable data about market demand, customer preferences, and emerging trends. Analyzing this data can inform product development, marketing strategies, and overall business planning.
Additionally, lead generation is the starting point for building relationships, providing the initial touchpoint that can be nurtured over time, helping to establish trust and credibility with potential clients.
How does Lead Generation work?
Lead generation typically follows a structured process that begins with attracting potential leads. This can be achieved through various channels such as content marketing, social media, search engine optimization, paid advertisements, webinars, and trade shows. The aim is to draw the attention of potential clients and spark their interest in your offerings.
Once interest is generated, the next step is to capture relevant information. This often involves using forms on landing pages, gated content, or sign-up offers where potential leads provide their contact information in exchange for something valuable, like an ebook, a whitepaper, or access to a demo.
After capturing leads, it's crucial to qualify them. Not all leads hold the same value, and lead qualification involves assessing their potential based on criteria like company size, industry, and decision-making authority. This step helps businesses prioritize their efforts and allocate resources efficiently.
Following qualification, leads are nurtured through targeted communication. This nurturing phase can include personalized emails, follow-up calls, or tailored content that specifically addresses the identified needs and pain points of the leads.
The final goal is to convert these nurtured leads into customers, typically through the efforts of the sales team, who guide them further down the sales funnel to close deals.
When to use Lead Generation
Lead generation should be an ongoing effort in any B2B marketing strategy, though there are certain times when it is particularly useful. For instance, when entering a new market you’re going to need to generate leads to establish a presence. Similarly, when launching a new product you can use lead generation to create awareness and stir interest among potential customers.
For pre-established businesses, when existing pipelines are becoming dry or there is a need for additional revenue streams, focusing on lead generation can expand the sales pipeline effectively.
Dreamdata’s Customer Journeys feature can help you identify high-intent accounts.
Shortcomings of Lead Generation
One common issue associated with lead generation is the balance between quality and quantity. There's often a trade-off between the number of leads generated and their quality, as high volume doesn't always equate to high conversion rates.
Moreover, good lead generation can be resource-intensive, requiring significant time and effort. From creating content to managing campaigns, the process can be costly.
Also, the evolving expectations of B2B buyers, who increasingly seek personalized experiences, make it harder for businesses to stand out and capture attention.
Finally, With increasing regulations around data privacy, businesses must be cautious about how they collect and use customer information.
Conclusion
Lead generation isn’t just about filling the sales funnel with names and email addresses; it's about identifying genuine business opportunities and cultivating them into long-term relationships. The rewards of a well-executed lead generation strategy are well worth the effort.