7 Out-of-the-Box Ideas for Improving Lead Generation Process

When most business owners talk about business goals and processes, isn’t improving lead generation process one of the first items on the list?

Improving lead generation process

This one goal sidelines everything yet most organizations face trouble with their lead generation process. According to a lead generation report, for 68% professionals, generating quality leads is the topmost priority. In the same report, you’ll also find that for 59% professionals, generation of quality leads is the major challenge.

Lead generation, in simple terms, is a process of converting unknown prospects to warm leads, who are interested to know more/buy what you are offering.

However, if you only rely on traditional methods such as cold emailing and making lists, then the bitter truth is, most of these targets don’t want your services. So, it is time for you to try some fresh ideas for improving your lead generation.

If you want to find quality leads and enhance the process, then here are some fresh ideas for improving lead generation process in your organization.

1. Idea: Try Issue Resolution Videos.To understand this, let’s see an example- if your target audience is people who need web hosting, then offer videos that solve customer problems related to hosting.It is not feasible and almost always too cliché to directly market your brand to generate leads. Instead, take a swift turn and start by solving customer issues so that they remember you in the future. This way these leads will come back to you when they actually need hosting.On the YouTube channel of one of the leading web-hosting providers, InMotion, you’ll find various videos targeting customer issues. Here’s a video that explains what is CMS? The answer to the question in this video is easy, but it is answering the queries of customers who want full knowledge on the subject.
2. Idea: Make A Quiz.One lesser-known way of lead generation is via an intuitive quiz. You offer something in the result of a quiz to gain new lead information. It is basically a bargain that you make with your users. You give them an appealing outcome for the information they are providing you.The Elephant Pants is a successful retail provider, however, before they were famous, they wanted to raise funds for launch. In order to accomplish this, they came up with a quiz ‘Which Pair of Elephant Pants are You?’ At the end of which users were directed to Kickstarter funding page.
3. Idea : Utilize Customer Reviews.Customer reviews have great power, and these can help you maintain an organic SEO presence. The logic behind is very simple, there are numerous review platforms and these platforms naturally have a strong organic presence. Whenever we want to search for an organization or company, we directly look on Glassdoor, isn’t it?This is because we know many people write reviews on these platforms. So, encouraging your happy customers to leave a review on such platforms can work in your favor. When people would search for services or products related to yours, these reviews would help in increasing prospect traffic on your website and generating more leads.
4. Idea : Share Your Story.We all naturally relate to personal experiences. So, when you share your story, you can connect with your audience. Well, this does not include telling what you did, how you did, and what changes you made. This should include something relevant to your prospects.If you target small businesses or organisations, then you can give away information on how you came out of a situation in the initial stages.Check out this blog post from Classy, a tool for fundraising for non-profits and social enterprises. They have explained how, over the years, the company’s content marketing strategy evolved. How this will help your potential audience?Small businesses or startup can rely on this personal experience to improve their strategy. Further, in the end, they have given a CTA, which works as a lead generation tactic.
5. Idea: Leverage Google Login.Think about it- isn’t it easier for all of us to login from an existing account. Most content marketers, SMEs, entrepreneurs, and startups have Google login. If you offer your audience easy sign-in options with their Google account or Facebook account, you can generate more leads.For instance, we all know about Pinterest and also that they allow signing in with Google or Facebook. Since Pinterest has adopted this strategy, they have seen an increase in the number of users.
6. Idea: Specialized Team for Lead Generation.A mistake that many organizations repeatedly make is not separating their lead generation and sales team. First, let’s understand the definition of lead generation and sales.Lead generation team captures, stimulates, and encourages interest in the service or product, which then leads to a sales pipeline.Whereas the sales team is concerned with selling, they exchange services and products for income. Sales team additionally look after customer satisfaction and utmost experience for customer retention.By definition, lead generation team doesn’t sell, and sales team doesn’t stimulate interest. And that is why it is necessary to separate and specialize your sales team and lead generation team.
7. Idea: Give an Irresistible Offer.This is the most important point because ultimately we are working for lead generation and worried about it because we want the customers to say ‘Yes’. And if you look at it, then you’ll recognize that most of the times, lack of quality leads is due to lack of a compelling offer.You need to fill this gap and give your prospects something that is exclusive, scarce, and high in demand.The best example for this is Domino’s Pizza. We have all ordered Pizza from Dominos, and there’s no need to even explain why.Domino’s was on the verge of bankruptcy when the company came up with 30 minutes or less otherwise the pizza is free strategy. A single irresistible offer changed the condition of the company, and now, you can find domino’s outlet everywhere. Since then, the company has also evolved the 30 minutes policy, added various terms and conditions, and even removed it all together in some places.

The Bottom Line

We worry about lead generation because we want to attract more customers and get more quality leads. If you’ll keep using outdated methods, you’ll keep getting lousy results. Change your lead generation strategy and see the change yourself. Generate Leads with a powerful Content Marketing Strategy

Atul Dhakappa

Atul is Founder & CEO at Xenia Consulting. He has over 22 years of experience in marketing, across corporates as well as SME,start-ups. Over the last 5 years, he has gained significant expertise and has helped several companies drive growth leveraging digital marketing