What does success mean to you?
We all know what we should be doing but sometimes a quick recap revitalises our focus.
The best marketers channel their efforts at the front end of the sales and marketing process and here are 5 ways to revitalise lead generation in your own business.
Make more time for leads Demand creation is not demand management and most organisations have under-invested in filling the sales funnel. If you can spend time generating and developing leads it will give you a better return than managing the sales pipeline alone.
Keep better score You can measure your effectiveness at creating demand. For most people responsible for sales, creating new leads is only a small part of the job and it is no one’s primary job. You also have to be clear on what a lead is so that you can record accurately and be aware at all times of where you are in the process.
Use timing to improve targeting Many marketers have adopted the “timing is targeting” approach by realising that they can get far more successful results from getting the timing right than simply targeting the right person. Financial service firms are good at this – for example they know that people generally make investment decisions based on life events (marriage, birth, death, retirement) or in relation to market events (interest changes, stock markets). By identifying these triggers they can put the right offer in front of the right person at the right time. Think about this in your own sector – what triggers usually prompt people to buy from you and how can you find these leads?
Look for “white space” growth For the purposes of this post, white space refers to unexploited opportunities. These include under-resourced and new markets and customers, in addition to gaps in the marketing process caused by inefficiencies. To marketers, white space means the places where customer shop, but where existing promotions and media channels cannot reach. So for example, we worked with one client who was targeting people with a high level of disposable income. Instead of advertising in the typical publications we instead developed partnerships with several non-competitive suppliers and found much more effective channels of communication.
Use more interactive direct marketing We have so many channels of contacting prospects available to us, that the key is to choose wisely. Interactive media and promotions can increase revenue at a lower costs because they can reach markets that traditional vehicles cannot. They can accelerate customer acquisition but you need to make sure you research your target audience thoroughly before you start to maximise your campaign’s success. Otherwise you can waste a lot of your budget. The beauty of online marketing is that with a good analytics package everything can be tracked and you get immediate intelligence on what’s working and what isn’t.
If you would like to discuss your own lead generation strategies please contact me.
