When we get started in business, our first customers or clients tend to be people we know.
But if businesses want to grow, they will eventually need to expand beyond this small customer network.
And to get more customers, you need a lead generation strategy.
What is lead generation?
Lead generation is when a business attracts a prospective customer.
The goal of lead generation is to create an extensive database of prospective customers.
What is lead nurturing?
That customer may not be ready to buy yet, so to ensure you are in the best position to make the sale when they are, lead nurturing comes into play.
The goal of lead nurturing is to maintain a connection with your newly acquired leads beyond the initial contact point right up until the moment they are ready to buy.
How do you create a lead generation strategy and lead nurturing strategy that will lead to more sales?
It all starts at the heart of your business.
Why choose you? Be clear about your ‘Unique Selling Proposition’
When business owners first start out, they naturally feel a tendency to want to please everyone.
After all, if you are good at what you do, you should have no problem offering a broad service.
But, as the saying goes, ‘if you do everything, you’ll be good at nothing.’
This is why every business should focus on defining its Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
Your USP helps you stand out from your competitors. It’s something that you do better than anyone else and helps answer the question of ‘Why choose you?’
Having a clear USP means that the leads you generate are better qualified.
It might be that you best serve a specific target market or your products cater to a particular niche. Whatever it is, the people who resonate with your USP are much more likely to choose you over your competitors.
Lead generation strategies
Events
Running events that give your prospects a taste of the value you have to offer will attract people interested in finding out more about your products.
The key to a successful event is making sure attendees walk away with a taste of your services or a free sample of whatever you offer.
Free tools
Free tools are another great way to provide value to your prospective customers, who in turn will be more receptive to your lead nurturing messages and sales offerings in the future.
Examples of free tools could include pricing guides for your industry or how-to guides that help demystify what you do for prospects.
Referral system
If you already have a loyal customer base, why not take capitalise on that?
Create a referral system where current customers are rewarded in the form of discounts or free deals if they refer a new customer to you.
You can also utilise referral partners. These are businesses that offer a complementary service to yours. The idea behind a referral partner is simple: because you both have a similar target market, you can work together to cross-promote your businesses to each other’s databases.
And the best part is that not only are the set-up costs minimal, but it also creates a group of customers who do your marketing for you!
Coupons
There are countless studies on why people gravitate towards discounts – for example, 64% of shoppers will wait until something goes on sale before buying.
And offering a coupon is worthwhile even if customers don’t want to buy straight away. Once they have a coupon, they are much more likely to buy from you than a competitor.
Lead nurturing strategies
Regular content
The more content you create, the more regularly your leads will interact with your business.
Create content that gives your leads valuable information and insights into what you do.
There is a multitude of content you can create, including:
- Blogs
- Videos
- Social media posts
- Events (Although ensure you distinguish lead nurturing events from lead generation events: Lead generation events get prospects in the door, whereas lead nurturing events keep them there.)
Email newsletter
Email newsletters are a great way to stay in contact with your database.
In fulfilling this important function, newsletters provide an excellent outlet to regularly communicate your value.
Email newsletters can integrate content from your website and social media accounts in a way that feels more personalised to your leads.
Timely follow-ups
To keep your leads engaged and your business top of mind, it’s fundamental that you follow leads up after any interactions with your business.
For example, when prospects attend a lead generation event, I will follow them up a day or so after. In these calls, we discuss the event and I answer any further questions they may have about it or what services I provide.
Follow-ups are a very personal approach, and while they are more time consuming than other lead nurturing strategies, are among the most effective as they give you the chance to build a personal relationship with your prospects.
Case study: How a carpenter built a lead generation strategy
A carpenter came to me in search of new business.
They got all of their business through word of mouth, and while they handed out a lot of business cards and had done their fair share of letterbox drops, there were no actual results to show for their efforts.
They needed a better strategy to generate and nurture leads.
So, we went online.
Firstly, we worked on building out the content on their website.
We also created coupons for discount carpeting services, which we encouraged customers to share on social media for an additional discount.
The coupons required the user’s email address to access the discount. From these sign-ups, the carpenter built an email list.
We also created a monthly email newsletter filled with DIY tips and inspiration, which we sent to the database of people who had downloaded a coupon.
With just a simple referral strategy, coupon offer and email newsletter, we had created a lead generation ’machine’ that constantly generated new leads and nurtured them until those leads became new business.
Every business is unique, and so too is the lead generation strategy that works best for it.
Do you want to create a lead generation system of your own.
If so, I’m here to help.
Get in contact with me to book a complimentary lead generation strategy session.