However, with proper planning and the right tools, establishing and managing a consistent lead generation program can be one of the best investments of time and resources for any marketer.
Define the objectives
Be as specific as possible. To do this, asking yourself a few questions at the beginning makes the most sense. What are you trying to achieve with your lead generation program? What are the goals of your program? The more specific you can be in answering these questions, the more effective your lead generation program will be.
Therefore, we need to formulate concrete objectives such as generating more leads, increasing the number of Facebook followers, encouraging sharing content on social networks, increasing sales in general, increasing the average transaction volume per shopping cart, increasing the number of blog subscribers or reducing sales cycles.
To manage a modern lead generation system, you need a sophisticated yet simple application, such as HubSpot's Inbound Marketing platform. This is essential to manage the different pieces involved in lead generation, acquisition, and management to effectively maximize your return on investment.
Understanding the needs and preferences of our customers
Nowadays, there are many options for communicating with users (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram...), and it is essential for the lead management program that we know their preferences, from the channel to the frequency, including the factors that trigger purchases. And if we don't know this data yet, it's as easy as asking them.
You may not be an expert at all of this yet, but with every tweet you publish, every Facebook page update you make, and every email marketing campaign you launch, you'll gain more experience and get more leads.
Just as important as generating leads is managing them once they’re with you. How you do this will depend on your business’s sales cycle. In some cases, you’ll need to pass them on to sales right away, while others will require you to get in touch with them, based on their online and real-life behaviors and what you glean from their marketing interactions.
Quality content
It’s well known that content is the fuel that runs inbound marketing – that also applies to lead nurturing. If your fuel is poor quality, your marketing efforts will be in vain. If no one reads you, no one will buy from you. It’s not enough that your content reaches consumers; on top of that, it has to catch their attention (and the competition is very big) and provoke an interaction. The important thing for your content to be successful is that it is more interesting, relevant, current and useful than that of your competition.
Develop an editorial strategy and calendar
Take a look at all of your content, in all its forms: emails, blogs, videos, LinkedIn posts, guides, ebooks… Then, prepare a calendar that includes a title for each item (or a subject line in the case of emails), a two- or three-sentence description, and the resource you’ll use as material. A steady flow of content means that leads will come in with the same regularity, too, making your lead management program more consistent and predictable.
Metrics Matter: Measure Your Results
Don’t just record random metrics, record the right metrics. To figure out what those are, you need to think about the goals of your lead management program; some examples are:
