Lead generation: what is it

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Lead generation is the core of product and service promotion, the efficiency of this process directly leads to increased profits. In this article, we will tell you what successful customer acquisition should be.

What are leads and lead generation
In marketing and sales, a lead is a potential customer who has expressed interest in a company's product. Leads can be attracted from various sources: websites, contextual advertising, taiwanese phone numbers social networks, email newsletters, offline events, etc.

Lead generation is the process of attracting the interest and “capturing” potential customers with the goal of converting them into leads. Lead generation is an important factor in successful sales, as it provides a constant flow of potential customers for salespeople.

The key performance indicator of leadgen is CPL (cost per lead), which is calculated as follows:

CPL = Cost to Acquire ÷ Number of Leads

There are different channels and methods for lead generation, including:

Paid advertising: placement of targeted and contextual digital advertising in search engines, social networks, etc.
Social Media Marketing: Using social media to connect with potential customers and generate leads.
Email Marketing: Sending emails to potential customers to provide information and offers.
Content Marketing: Creating and distributing valuable content that engages your target audience.
SEO: website optimization to improve its position in search results.
Effective lead generation requires understanding the target audience, using various sources and constantly optimizing strategies based on data. The end-to-end analytics system is responsible for the latter . With it, marketers track the effectiveness of all lead generation channels in one window - the cost of a lead and other indicators, up to the return on investment, as well as communications with clients from all sources.


Call tracking

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End-to-end analytics
Classifying leads by interest
To effectively distribute advertising costs, leads are usually classified according to their level of interest and readiness to purchase.

Cold
Cold leads are people who are interacting with your business for the first time or have not yet expressed a clear interest in your products/services. These leads can be obtained from cold calls, emails, form submissions. They require significant effort to warm up and encourage further interaction.

Warm
Warm leads are more interested in learning about your brand. They may visit your website, download content, sign up for webinars, or engage with you on social media. Warm leads have already moved past the initial stages of the sales cycle and are closer to being ready to buy. Engagement efforts should focus on providing valuable information and building trust.

Hot
Hot leads are on the verge of making a purchasing decision. They have expressed a tangible intent to purchase the product and are likely to complete the sales cycle in the near future. Proper lead generation requires that interactions with hot leads be prompt, aimed at overcoming any remaining objections and accelerating the sale.

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Classification of leads by quality
It is important to say about lead generation that it is a process that requires classifying the results (leads) by quality and compliance with your target indicators.

Targeted
Target leads are those who match your customer profile. They show interest in your products or services, have a need you can meet, and have the ability to pay. Target leads are the most valuable asset in your sales funnel.

Non-targeted
Non-targeted leads are those who don’t fit your customer profile. They may show some interest in your product, but their needs or demographics don’t match your offering. Non-targeted leads can still be valuable, and you may learn information about your target market through them. However, they require more vetting and qualification before they can be considered as prospects.

Empty
Empty leads do not contain sufficient information or have incorrect contact details. They can be the result of filling out fake forms, spam, or human error. Empty leads have no value for the business and should be removed from the database immediately.

Leadscoring
Lead scoring is the assignment of points to potential customers (leads) based on their actions and characteristics. It allows you to assess the level of interest of leads, prioritize sales efforts, and direct the most promising leads into the sales funnel.

Here are some common factors that help leads score higher in lead scoring:

Industry affiliation: leads from target industries.
Position: Leads in management or decision-making positions.
On-site behavior: leads who spend a lot of time on the site and visit specific pages.
Content engagement: leads who download content, register for webinars, or engage on social media.
Purchase history: leads who have previously made purchases.
Effective lead scoring allows companies to:

prioritize leads based on their interest;
automate the lead qualification process;
improve targeting and personalization of marketing campaigns;
increase your sales conversion rate.
What is a lead generation channel
A channel is an advertising source or other type of marketing activity through which a company directly generates leads. Most often, a business uses several channels on the Internet at once, which make up omnichannel marketing. Below we describe the lead generation channels that are used to attract customers.

SMM
Usually, SMM is not used as direct lead generation, but as a tool for warming up clients, increasing audience loyalty, and working in the long term. However, SMM can also stimulate the growth of requests through sales posts in the feed containing a link to a product or landing page. In this article , we write about how to correctly design a group on VKontakte so that it works both for recognition and lead generation.

Targets
Targeted advertising is a popular lead generation method that allows you to show ads to a specific audience based on their demographics, interests, behavior, and other factors.

Unlike traditional advertising (e.g. outdoor advertising), which is broadcast to everyone, targeted advertising uses complex algorithms to show ads only to those people who meet specified criteria. For example, on VKontakte, lead generation through targeting can be aimed at community members, users who are active in thematic groups, etc.

There are various platforms for targeted advertising, including social networks and advertising accounts. Each platform offers its own targeting options.

Contextual advertising
Contextual advertising is a highly effective source that displays ads to users based on the content of the web pages they view or the search queries they enter. This is how lead generation brings in potential customers who are actively searching for information about relevant products or services.

The most common type of contextual advertising lead generation is search engine advertising - ads appear on search results pages when users search for keywords related to your business. Other types of contextual advertising include ads that appear on websites and in mobile apps.

Newsletters
Email marketing helps businesses build long-term relationships with their audiences and can encourage new leads to convert. Emails are an effective way to nurture leads by providing valuable content and sending personalized messages with calls to action that move leads down the sales funnel.

Exhibition stands
What does offline lead generation mean? Unlike sources that rely on digital interactions, trade show booths allow you to establish personal connections with your audience. This creates a more engaging and memorable experience that generates leads and business connections.

Lead exchanges or CPA networks
These platforms connect companies with publishers who promote their products or services and generate leads for a commission.