In this guide, we will show you how to implement the best lead generation ideas at every stage in your sales funnel.
Growing your B2B business means continuing to acquire new customers. One of the best ways to do this is through lead generation, and convert prospects into sales. It’s now easier than ever to get your brand in front of potential customers with the use of digital marketing and social media, but it is also just as easy to have your brand lost in the noise of competitors. This is why lead generation at all stages of the buyer’s journey is so crucial to growing your business and generating more sales.
There are lead generation strategies your company can use at each stage of the sales funnel. In this post, we’ll be touching on how you can learn:
- What lead generation is and how it relates to the sales funnel
- Lead generation strategies for each sales funnel stage
What is Lead Generation and How Does it Relate to the Sales Funnel?
How using the sales funnel can help you target leads.
Leads aren’t just at the top of the sales funnel, they’re at each level!
As you already know, there are a myriad of potential customers out there who could be interested in your B2B company’s product or service – all of whom could be considered leads. Unfortunately, this just is not the case, as the products or services may not be a great fit to meet their specific needs at this time. In order to help narrow down all of these possible leads, it helps to have a lead generation strategy. Lead generation is a digital marketing tool that focuses on attracting and nurturing potential prospects in order to try and convince them to purchase from you. In the digital world, leads can come from all over the place–from social media interactions, subscribers to your blog, or even organic searches that create traffic on your site.
So where does the sales funnel play into all of this? When prospects show an interest in your product or service, they are rarely ready to engage in a relationship or purchase what you’re offering the first time they visit your site or comment on a social media post. Every lead could be at a different phase in the sales funnel–from just researching and becoming aware of your product or service, to considering starting to develop a relationship with your firm. As a perceptive business owner, you know that leads can be captured at each stage of the sales funnel, so you’ll need ways to target those leads accordingly. Let’s look a little further into some of these lead generation ideas that you can employ to capture leads, convert them to sales, and grow your business.
Lead Generation Strategies for Each Stage of the Sales Funnel
What your B2B can do to target leads throughout the course of the sales funnel
Having strategies to target leads at each stage of the sales funnel will increase your conversions and lead to more customers.
In order to get the most out of your lead generation ideas, it’s important to broaden your strategy to encompass and engage with leads at each step of the sales funnel. There are plenty of potential leads out there who haven’t heard of your company that might be interested, but there are also those out there who have heard of your business–they just aren’t aware you can meet their business challenges yet. You need to reach leads no matter where they are in their buying process.
Awareness
At the top level of the sales funnel, you’ll want to focus on lead generation strategies that build on your brand awareness and how you can potentially solve the business challenges of prospects. Work on getting your company in front of the right eyes and start to develop that crucial sense of trust.
Lead generation ideas to focus on:
- Create a website with appropriate SEO so that your business is found in organic searches.
- Take advantage of paid advertising options such as PPC that target keywords and will bring visitors to your site.
- Utilize social media, such as LinkedIn, to get your name out there. Once you know where your potential leads are, target that platform and create the kind of content those leads want to see.
Interest
At this stage, your leads have shown an interest and have perhaps signed up for your newsletter or blog. Now that you have an access point to a lead (email address), it’s crucial that you use that to your advantage. This is when you want to focus on retaining their interest and engaging with them on a regular basis with content that they care about.
Lead generation ideas to focus on:
- Using an email drip campaign that sends leads information about your product or service, or case studies where you’ve been successful in the past. This type of content can also focus on the benefits of your product and how it solves key industry challenges. You may also consider developing comparisons of your product/service with competitors and what sets you apart.
Consideration
Moving towards the middle part of the sales funnel, leads are exploring their options and maybe close to the point of making a decision. At this crucial stage your leads now already know about your brand and how your firm can meet their business challenges. Now is the time to continue to engage with them, let them know how your brand stands apart from the rest, and even offer them something extra as well.
Lead generation ideas to focus on:
Action
At this point, leads are ready to develop a business relationship with you and utilize your product or service. It’s time to turn those leads in the decision phase into conversions and eventually happy customers.
Lead generation ideas to focus on:
- Your sales pitch shows leads at the end of the sales funnel that your company can meet its business challenges.
- Offer to provide them with references of customers pleased with your product or service.
As you can see, lead generation is something your company should take advantage of at every step of the sales funnel. Even after the sale is complete, you can still work on lead generation. Ask your satisfied customer to leave a review, or if they’d consider offering their testimonial. Another great lead generation strategy after the sale is a referral program that will incentivize customers to recommend you to their colleagues. See how fast you can grow your business with lead generation at each stage of the sales funnel!