Lead generation: A simple way to attract customers
The success of online business rests on the traffic that gets diverted to the website. There are innumerable marketing tools that help in promotion of websites and brands and one of the simplest tools is Lead Generation.
Online Lead Generation refers to creating the interest of potential buyers for a product or service, leading to an enquiry about the product or service.
Precisely a lead means getting the contact information and other details of a customer who has visited the website. Leads are categorized as qualified leads and non-qualified leads. A lead may visit your website and enter wrong information like a wrong telephone number or a false name, just to check the further details on the website. These are non-qualified leads and they are of no use to a business.
Companies want qualified leads, that is, customers who are actually interested in the business. They provide correct information, correct contact number, etc, with right intentions of procuring details about products and services.
Most of the marketing companies are offering online lead generation services to client through several effective techniques. The advantages of lead generation processes are:
- They assure better visibility for business
- There are methods to achieve highly targeted leads
- They facilitate keeping a track on the number of visitors
Leads are of various types:
1. Pay per lead: In case of a pay per lead agreement, the advertiser needs to pay for the leads that are generated on the concerned website. Payments are not made for visitors who do not sign up.
2. Sales leads generation: It refers to generic leads where visitors enquire about a particular offer rather than a product or service. It is identifying potential consumers who possess both interest and ability for online purchase.
3. Social media lead generation: In B2B context, social media serves as an important platform for generating results. Social media networks give access to a wide range of potential customers. They have various applications and functions that can be used for effective business leads generation.
The objective of lead generation is mainly to create web presence for brands and then converting leads to sales. Companies use a judicious mix of online marketing tools to formulate lucrative strategies for effective lead generation.
Buyers no longer wait for calls from sales people to initiate buying. They get all necessary information from the Internet. As B2B and B2C buyers increasingly use Internet for all types of research activities, marketing companies are discovering ways to exploit the marketing potential of the web to connect with the potential buyers. Display ads, Pay per click ads, direct e-mailers, Social Media Optimization, Blogging, etc are all successful means for generating leads. Online Lead generation is a creative and consistent effort that assures considerable return on investment.