Lead The Way
We’ve been pretty heavily focused on web design for the last few months, and while this blog isn’t going to totally stray from that topic, it will be a little different. Last month we discussed different web design trends that have been popular so far in 2023, and in February, we had a whole breakdown of all the areas that fall under the umbrella of web design. This month we’re talking about leads and lead generation. This concept isn’t totally limited to the online space, but your website and how its structured can play a large part in moving leads forward.
What is a lead?
In the simplest terms, a lead is a person who shows literally any interest in a company’s product or service. Yes, this is a super broad definition and appropriately so. Leads are a part of the marketing and sales cycle, and there are different types of them which we’re going to explore a little more below.
What are the different types of leads?
It’s not unusual to hear the terms hot, warm, or cold used to describe leads. Those terms usually denote how familiar a potential customer is with your business or its products/services.
Here are a few other terms that you might use to categorize your leads:
Information Qualified Lead (IQL)
An IQL is a lead who is looking for a solution or answer to a problem they’re experiencing. Basically, they’re looking for information to solve whatever their problem might be. These types of leads might be interested in downloading an e-book or attending a webinar that addresses their issue.
Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
A MQL would be somebody who has engaged with some form of your marketing strategy. They usually keep up with your brand and you probably already have their email address from a newsletter signup, content download, or from filling out a form on your website.
Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
A SQL is a lead who has clearly expressed their interest in your company’s products or services. Basically, these are people who are pretty interested in becoming a paying customer. These are the ones who should receive your direct sales pitches and deserve your immediate attention.
What is lead generation?
Essentially, lead generation is the process of attracting leads to your business and increasing their interest in your company and its products or services. The end goal is to convert this interested party to an invested, happy customer, and it’s usually accomplished through a step-by-step nurturing approach.
What are some ways to effectively generate leads?
If you were to google “ways to generate leads” then you would have a thousand results. This is not a new topic and there are plenty of ways to get there. However, we are going to outline a few key ways here.
1) Through Existing Customers
Satisfied customers are the best. Truly, if some person or company loves you and the services or products you provide, then they will usually tell someone else about it. Word of mouth can work to your favor and bring along new leads. You can also incentivize it for existing customers by offering them perks or discounts for referrals.
2) Through Relevant Social Media Networks
I stress the word relevant here because depending on your business and the products or services you provide and your target audience, some social media networks will be more useful to you than others. For example, if you are targeting younger demographics, then Facebook may not be the most useful social media network to use. It’s not that younger generations have completely spurned it, but only 18.4% of its users fall between the ages of 18 and 24.
However, the right social media networks can be a useful tool. Social media makes it easy for leads to take action - that can be through Instagram stories or a link on Twitter. Additionally, social media is also an easy way for you to connect, have current clients post testimonials or good reviews depending on the platform, and also offer a convenient way for people to ask your business questions.
It should also be noted that you have the opportunity to pay for advertising on these platforms, which could be a good move depending (once again) on your business and its target audience.
3) Through Content
Another great way to generate leads is through solid content. If you keep sharing helpful information on your blog or through free resources, people will keep coming back. You can also add offers at the end of your blog posts to help generate more leads.
I do want to note that for all of these broad categories of ways to generate leads, your website is key. Your website is your online hub and usually the place where people can read the specifics on your products and/or services. Sharing something on social media (maybe something like a great blog post) will hopefully lead people back to your website, which is why it’s so important to have a compelling call-to-action or next steps easily laid out for visitors.
So, what have you tried to help generate leads for your business? What has been most helpful for you? We want to hear it.
We’ll be talking more about calls-to-action next month, so be sure to check back here in May. Until then, if you need any help with creating a custom yet simple website, you can find out more here.