Lead generation, simply put, is the act of getting interested customers into your sales funnel. That seems like a basic concept, but many startups fail to acknowledge that move. That failure results in your sales funnel being filled with people who do not need or want your product. Fortunately, there is much you can do as an entrepreneur to increase the value of your lead generation campaigns.
Here are 5 strategies that should help you get the right people into your sales funnel:
- Keep Testing
Whatever strategy you employ needs to be tested thoroughly. Every relevant metric must be measured, and every context studied. All details, from the language you use to the colors of your advertisements, have to be thoroughly vetted, even if the strategy has proven effective for other companies. That is because no two startups are truly alike, even if they sell the same kind of product to the same market. Just because an approach worked for one company does not mean it will work for yours - so you need to test and customize the strategy to fit your context.
- Make Your Landing Pages Easy to Process
Startups, especially ones with disruptive offerings, need to educate the consumer, as most people do not know what you have to offer. However, you can easily elicit information overload in your potential customers, driving them away. That is why you need to make your landing pages - the pages in your site customers are usually directed to - as easy to digest as possible. Go hard on the selling point. Use whatever proofs you need, such as studies or social proof. Then give them a quick but clear call-to-action. At best, you will generate a strong lead. At worst, you will provide them with enough information to mull over.
- Offer Greater Value
If you want to generate more leads, you have to offer more. Optimizing your advertisements only goes so far. You need to offer your target market greater value. If you can offer free trials of your product, do it. Discounts for first-time customers can also generate more leads for you. The goal is to grease the wheels and alleviate any concerns customers have with a new company. Do whatever you can to make choosing you easier.
- Embrace Remarketing
Not all people in your sales funnel will convert, even the ones that are legitimately interested in what you have to offer. Some of them will leave their carts or your site because they are canvassing. Others will leave because they are unsure for one reason or another. Still others will leave without buying because they got distracted. Whatever the reason, you cannot afford to let go of the leads you have generated. Retargeting campaigns are for those people and aim to remind them of their abandoned carts or offer them discounts to sweeten the deal for them.
- Invest in Your Ad Writers
Your advertisements may not be the only part of your campaign, but they will be under the most pressure. The average consumer has some measure of ad blindness, due to being exposed to offers from every angle, and at every opportunity. To make your advertisements work, they need to be clever, well-written, and appeal to your target market - and only good writers can accomplish that goal. Invest in them, and your startup will generate more leads.
If those strategies seem like a lot, there is good news - you do not need to employ all of them. Every startup is unique, and you have different skills and resources available to you. Take a look at what you have at the office, and find a strategy that emphasizes the strengths present. It will be difficult, but having a strong lead generation campaign will serve your company well.
