Why a good funnel has to be the base of your lead generation strategy.
After my previous post, I assume you now know what a lead is, which types of leads are mainly accepted and what lead generation is about.
So, I think it’s time to dig a bit deeper into this very interesting subject… Why is lead generation important for your business? What is a lead generation funnel and how do you optimize it? And what exactly is the lead generation process potential customers go thru?
All important questions I will answers here for you…
Why is Lead generation important for your business?
If you want to expand your business, you will need to acquire new potential customers regularly. Everybody knows that’s the foundation of any healthy copy.
But this not all a good lead generation strategy can do for you:
✅it will help you get more visible to your target audience
✅it brings a constant, healthy stream of new prospects
✅It creates e new and valuable pipeline
✅It targets ready to buy (or hot) clients
✅It rises sales and profit ratios
✅It enables you to focus on real interested potential customers
✅It will help you spend your marketing budget on the right audience
The lead generation funnel
A funnel is a marketing term that stands for the journey a potential customer follows to become a paying client.
Specific for a lead generation funnel there are 3 stages a potential customer goes thru. It’s important to understand those, so you can adjust your content to each stage.
Let’s have a closer look at these 3 stages to help you guide your prospect along a joyful buyer’s journey and become a client.
The awareness stage
This stage is also known as ‘the top of the funnel’, where an anonymous person first discovers your business. This can be thru any of your marketing campaigns like social media advertising or networking.
It is highly recommended in this stage of the funnel to give away free content that educates people on their needs without any mentioning of your solution (product, service).
A few examples of content that fits in this stage:
💥How to video’s/guides
💥Ebooks with good content
💥educational webinars
💥checklist to bring structure
💥tip sheets
The evaluation stage
This stage is also known as ‘the middle of the funnel’, where people are aware of their needs and are searching for a solution. At this point, the potential customer is comparing your offer with that of your competitors to see which fits them best.
This is the perfect moment to give more detailed information on your business, your product, or your service.
A few examples of content that fits in this stage:
💥Video’s with a more detailed explanation of your product or service
💥Case studies that show previous results
💥Demos are recommended for digital products/software
💥Samples are high converting for physical products
💥Product webinars will grow a band with potential customers
The purchase stage
Also known as ‘the bottom of the funnel’, where people have progressed into a state of being ready to buy your product or service. The client is more convinced about your offer and is only a little push away from converting into a paying client.
This is the perfect time to give them content that is created to give a compelling reason to buy from you.
A few examples of content that fits in this stage:
💥A free trial offer is proven by many competitors to convert very well
💥Coupons that give a decent discount also are very attractive
💥Live demos that give a deeper look into the offer can accelerate your sales drastically
The way to optimize your lead generation funnel
To be able to generate qualified leads for your business, you absolutely need to know as much as possible from the people who choose to buy from you. Especially their pain points are needed to know information within marketing strategies. What is their concern at this moment? What needs do they have that need to be fulfilled? Which motivation do they have to buy?
Having a clear vision of the pain points of your target audience
The best way to gather this information is by looking at your website analytics. Here you’ll have access to demographics, best scoring search terms, and sources. These insights will help you define your target audience. Also, take surveys, examine and follow up comments on social media or just reach out personally to people.
TIP: If you are just starting out, go and have a look at your competitors to learn which audience they are targeting.
Cherish existing and new leads
Once a lead is in the first stage of your funnel and you gained the basic information, guide them through the following steps of your funnel. Keep leads engaged by reaching out frequently and sharing more details about your offer. An excellent way to do this is by using email marketing. To stay on top of their mind, you can send out newsletters, targeted promotions and even ask them to fill in surveys so you gain more insight into their interest for example.
Use the right strategy when leads reach the third stage
This is a critical step, so you must be 100% sure you have the right strategy to convert leads into clients. Highly recommended approaches are free trials, demos, discounts, or in-person meetings.
If you are not sure of your strategy, you can consider outsourcing this part of your sales strategy.
Re-evaluate your funnel constantly
Lead generation is a continuous learning process so it is advised to re-evaluate your funnel or strategy regularly. Keep in mind that your audience and your offers are constantly shifting and you’ll need to keep up by fine-tuning your approach to attract, cherish, score and close leads.
A practical look into the lead generation process
Now you know the theory behind lead generation, let me give you a handy guide you can follow to get started right away.
The first step is driving traffic to your website by using different marketing strategies like search engine optimization (SEO), paid advertising, forum marketing, email marketing, or social media marketing to name a few…
After attracting people to visit your site and they land on your homepage, a well-placed banner or call to action button is a must. You must encourage people to take any kind of action that will take them to a dedicated landing page.
Once they are on your landing page it’s essential you offer them something of value like a free ebook, guide, or video. Something to convince them to register and leave you their email address thru your opt-in form. That way you can proactively start sharing your offer.
This is the point where a visitor becomes a lead.
Now you’re at the stage to convert leads into clients. This can be done in many different ways such as content marketing, discounts, or targeted promotions.
Like always, I tried to explain everything in a way anybody can understand, but if you have a question, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.
But actually, I hope I succeeded in raising your interest in this interesting part of the process of building your own online business, more specific lead generation. If this is the case, please keep an eye out for my next blog where I will go a step deeper into the subject of marketing strategies to use with lead generation.
Meanwhile, feel free to have a look around at our website, you can get some useful free guides there.
Also, check out our cool lead generation software Leads 2 Shine!
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