Small businesses face challenges in generating leads for their company. Nowadays, it can be difficult for small businesses to differentiate themselves and catch the attention of potential customers amidst online competition. However, there are strategies for lead generation that small businesses can employ to take charge of their marketing and increase their number of leads.
Lead generation
Lead generation is the procedure of obtaining the contact details of potential customers for your business. Typically, it requires several interactions with a business before an individual becomes a customer. Therefore, by having their contact information, you can start these interactions and ensure they leave a lasting impression by offering valuable content.
Lead generation is crucial for businesses that involve in order to establish trust and remain memorable, thus increasing the likelihood of being chosen when these leads are prepared to make a purchase.
- Big ticket purchases: real estate, financial services, solar
- High returns on new leads: law firms
- Slower sales cycle: B2B SaaS
- Ecommerce: coupons
How to generate leads: The basics
Regardless of the business, every lead generation strategy will vary in appearance, but there are four fundamental principles that universally apply.
1. Offer
Make sure that every lead generation strategy includes a lead magnet, which is something of value that prospective leads will be willing to exchange their contact information for. Additionally, ensure that the lead magnet is relevant to your products and services in order to attract high-quality leads.
Some examples of offers are as follows:
- Content (reports, checklists, guides, cheat sheets)
- Free tools (calculators, graders, quizzes)
- Newsletters
- Swag
- Free trials
- Demos
- Free consults
The most attractive deal will differ based on the platform you are using to promote it (like your website, search engines, or social media), the specific group of people you are targeting, and their intentions and mindset.
2. Landing page and form
Here are some tips for your lead generation landing pages. The landing page is the page that a person arrives at after clicking the call to action button for the offer. It includes all the features and benefits of the offer, as well as the form that the user must fill out in order to acquire it.
- Make sure the messaging is the same as the ad or piece of content leading to it.
- Keep form fields to a minimum.
- Test your forms to make sure they populate leads in your CRM.
- Use anything BUT “submit” as your CTA button language
3. Thank you page
The qualities of a good thank you page include being the landing page for users after they submit their contact information. This can be accomplished by setting the URL for the form submit button as the thank you page.
- Confirms for your potential customer that the transaction is complete.
- Thanks them for their interest in your business.
- Contains the offer such as a link to a PDF or the steps to obtain it (like check your inbox).
- Promotes a secondary offer.
- Tracks conversions.
4. Tracking and CRM
The initial step is to generate leads. However, it is essential to subsequently follow up and nurture these leads in order to convert them into customers. While a spreadsheet may suffice for small businesses, it can still be challenging to maintain a record of each lead’s individual progression.
Automated personalized and meaningful communication can be facilitated by utilizing a customer relationship management (CRM) or lead management software. This is crucial because it allows you to tailor your communication to their current stage and the touchpoint that led them to your business.
What is small business lead generation
Lead generation involves the identification and assessment of potential customers for a product or service. This can be achieved through various methods, such as online marketing, participation in trade shows, and making cold calls.
The objective of lead generation is to establish a collection of potential customers that can be reached out to in the future for selling your product or service. This necessitates creating captivating content and offers that convince individuals to share their contact details.
In order to determine if they are a suitable fit for your product or service, you must assess potential customers by inquiring about their requirements and preferences.
Best strategies for small business lead generation
Once you have acquired a basic comprehension of lead generation, let us now delve deeper into various strategies that can be employed to generate leads for your business.
1. Establish a referral system that employs incentives as motivation.
One effective method of generating leads is by providing encouragement for your existing customers to recommend new customers to your business.
By providing a discount or another form of reward, you have the opportunity to encourage your loyal customer base to refer new customers, which can be particularly advantageous for your business.
2. Send targeted advertisements to your specific target audience through broadcast channels.
Broadcasting advertising to your niche audience is another effective method of generating leads. This can be achieved through various forms of advertisement such as TV and radio. However, it is important to note that this type of advertising can be quite costly, meaning it may not be a worthwhile investment for businesses with limited budgets.
If you choose to use broadcast ads, ensure that you target an audience that aligns with your company’s branding to maximize the effectiveness of the advertisements.
3. Adopt a fresh approach to sending physical mail.
Just because many people don’t consider direct mail as a lead generation method, it doesn’t mean that this strategy is outdated or ineffectual. Sending letters or postcards directly to customers’ mailboxes through direct mail marketing allows for personalized targeting, making it more personal than traditional advertisements.
You can adjust your marketing strategy over time by tracking the number of recipients who open and take action on your mailings.
4. Enhance the performance of your website and employ CTAs for improved results.
In order to generate leads online, it is crucial to optimize your website for lead generation. This entails incorporating clear and precise calls to action (CTAs) across your website, ensuring that visitors are aware of the specific actions you expect them to take.
In addition, it requires guaranteeing user-friendly navigation and relevant, well-written content for your target audience.
Consider deals and discounts again with careful thought.
When trying to generate leads, offering deals and discounts can be counterproductive if they are too enticing, as it can redirect customers from your company’s website to a deal site where they can find better bargains.
It is still acceptable to provide deals or discounts, but it is advisable to make them less attractive or less frequent.
6. Acquire knowledge in search engine optimization (SEO) through learning.
Lead generation strategies typically do not prioritize SEO as a primary method, yet this marketing technique has consistently proven its effectiveness.
Create high-quality content and make it available to the public.
Generating leads requires quality content, making it crucial for any website.
By posting high-quality content on your website, you can attract not only new customers but also demonstrate your company’s expertise in its field. Moreover, integrating social media sharing buttons into your content can aid in making it go viral and reaching a broader audience.
8. Be innovative when using social media.
In order to generate leads, being active on social media is necessary in addition to having quality content. This includes utilizing strategies such as influencer marketing, developing interactive quizzes, and organizing contests. Furthermore, it is essential to utilize social media platforms to guide traffic towards your website.
9. Initiate the creation of a business newsletter.
An effective method to generate leads is to establish a business newsletter. This task can be handled internally or outsourced to an email marketing specialized company. By consistently sending newsletters to your clientele, you can keep them informed about your newest offerings, services, upcoming events, and promotions.
10. Generate assets that can be downloaded.
An additional effective method for generating leads involves the creation of downloadable resources such as whitepapers, eBooks, or case studies.
By offering this opportunity, potential clients can acquire further knowledge about your company and its products or services without needing to exit their computer. Furthermore, you can keep track of the number of downloads for your resources and utilize this data to focus on future marketing campaigns.
11. Offer an evaluation or documentation
To demonstrate your expertise to potential customers, a recommended approach is to offer them an evaluation or report. This can be a complimentary report available on your website or a more comprehensive assessment that requires payment.
By providing this type of information, you will differentiate yourself from competitors and showcase the benefits of collaborating with your company.
12. Organize special events or seminars that are one-of-a-kind.
If your goal is to generate leads offline, hosting distinctive events or seminars is one of the most effective strategies you can utilize. By doing so, you provide prospective clients with an opportunity to gain deeper insights into your company and the offerings it delivers, all within a more personal environment.
13. Incorporate a live chat function into your website.
Live chat is a cost-effective method for generating leads from your website, as it incurs little to no expense.
With the addition of this feature to your website, you will have the capability to interact with visitors and assist them in resolving any issues or inquiries without the need for customer support or dependence on obsolete FAQ pages.
More ways to generate leads offline
Capitalize on events
- Sponsor local events: Sponsor events that are applicable to your business, such as a bike shop sponsoring a local race. Include your contact information on your signage and swag, or set up a stand where interested prospects can interact with you and sign up for your newsletter.
- Attend industry events: Industry trade shows and networking events can connect you to a large number of new potential prospects that you can follow up with and nurture in the days and weeks afterward. Building relationships with other business owners and industry professionals can also help you in your lead generation efforts—just don’t make that the goal of the relationship. Follow our networking strategies and tips for more on that front!
- Host your own events: Host events at your location or partner with a brick-and-mortar business if you don’t have one. Think tutorials, seminars, free sessions, family fun nights. Have a signup sheet at the event for your email list or collect contact information for a giveaway that night.
Reach out to local media outlets
If you are a small or local business, consider the opportunities within your community that you can take advantage of.
- Local radio ads: Similar to online ads, you can target by audience and even time of day.
- Local TV: Local news outlets regularly feature small businesses on their morning shows … often for free! Reach out to local TV and radio stations and find out how to get on air.
- Local press: Have a story-worthy event or cause to talk about, a unique take on a current event, tips for your community, or just a cool founding story? Pitch to the press and see if you can get some PR, whether through a press release or feature story.
Send direct mail
To differentiate yourself from your competitors, it would be advantageous to create a well-designed and appropriately targeted postcard or care package. However, ensure that you incorporate a clear call-to-action (CTA) such as utilizing a coupon in-store, visiting a designated landing page on your website, or employing a specific promo code.
