“
Lead generation
” refers to the “acquisition of prospective customers” that lead to the purchase of products and services.
In recent years, the business environment has changed significantly and information acquisition through the Internet has become mainstream, making lead generation increasingly important for companies.
As market competition intensifies, conducting your own
marketing
activities efficiently and generating leads through highly accurate measures is an important challenge for companies aiming for growth, and is an essential marketing process.
In this article, we will explain what exactly lead generation is, its meaning, how it differs from
lead nurturing
, and lead generation techniques that marketers should know.
What is lead generation?
”
Lead Generation
” is a term often used in marketing.
A “lead” in lead generation refers to a “prospective customer.”
A lead is a word that describes the state of a customer before contracting or purchasing a product or service, and is managed subdivided into various types and stages, as shown below, for example.
In reality, the way customers are classified and their names differ from company to company.
Lead classification example
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)
→Leads generated through marketing measures.
SAL (Sales Accepted Lead)
→Leads created through marketing measures that have been approved by the sales department/sales person and whose follow-up has been taken over.
SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)
→Among SALs, leads that are likely to lead to the purchase of products or services, and leads that are directly connected to sales.
SGL (Sales Generated Lead)
→Leads generated directly through the activities of the sales department/sales staff without going through marketing measures.
What is lead generation?
Lead generation means “to get a clue” in English. In other words, it means acquiring lead information (prospective customers) from untapped customers.
Many companies take lead generation measures as the first step in their marketing activities. This is an activity to increase awareness and interest in products and services through effective and efficient lead generation using various methods. By strategically approaching many people, we collect untapped leads that can become future customers.
Rather than just blindly generating a large number of leads that will not become your customers, it is important to establish a clear market and
target audience
persona
in advance.
In addition, the overall activities of acquiring, nurturing, and narrowing down leads are sometimes collectively referred to as demand generation.
Note that “demand” is a word that means demand or activities that create demand. The term demand generation is used because activities to acquire, nurture, and narrow down leads all lead to demand creation.
Relationship between lead generation, nurturing, and qualification
Lead generation is the creation of prospective customers, and the process of marketing activities for customers to purchase products and services can be divided into three stages: lead generation, lead nurturing, and lead qualification.
1.Lead
generation
<br/> Creation of prospective customers, customer attraction, customer acquisition activities
2.Lead nurturing
<br/>Customer nurturing
3.Lead Qualification
<br/> Narrowing down customers with high purchase intent
This three-step process is called “demand generation,” which involves “creating sales projects and sales opportunities.” Demand generation is a term that marketers will be familiar with, and it is a three-step process that is essential for increasing sales efficiency and accelerating business growth. It is important to understand that lead generation is an activity that strategically increases purchase desire by stimulating the customer’s psychology and sensibilities after becoming aware of the product or service.
What is the difference between lead generation and the two measures?
Demand generation can be divided into three stages: lead generation, lead nurturing, and lead qualification.
I will explain the differences between each in detail.
Difference between lead generation and lead nurturing
”
Nurture
” in lead nurturing means “nurturing” in Japanese.
Connecting leads (prospective customers) to purchase products or services through a nurturing process such as marketing measures. This activity is called lead nurturing.
In lead nurturing, the key is to accurately understand the status of leads and communicate with them over the medium to long term. In order to increase the purchase intent of customers created through lead generation, we screen the purchase probability in stages and apply effective approaches suitable for each.
If you build a relationship of trust through nurturing, even if it takes a long time to make a purchase decision, you will not become a dormant customer and will be able to maintain constant contact with them.
In the nurturing process, it is important to follow up with appropriate timing and quality communication so that customers do not lose the opportunity to purchase products or services.
After nurturing customers, clearly define the nurturing stages and take a continuous approach so that you can smoothly lead to lead qualification (selection of potential customers).
Difference between lead generation and lead qualification
Lead qualification is a marketing method used to target leads with a high purchasing mindset. In other words, lead qualification is the process of nurturing acquired leads through lead nurturing and narrowing down to only those leads who appear to have a strong purchasing intent.
For example, if a prospective customer inquires about your product or service, or if they access
your website
and
download
materials, you can determine that they have a strong intention to purchase.
The information on the narrowed down leads is provided to the sales department and they are encouraged to make purchases. The information provided to the sales department would be more useful and helpful if it included not only the customer’s attributes such as job type and position, but also the customer’s behavior history from the first contact to the present.
Lead generation, on the other hand, is the activity of acquiring leads.
This targets leads who are not sure whether they are still interested in purchasing or are interested in the product, service, or company itself. It is necessary to nurture the leads acquired through lead generation to a stage where they can be qualified.
[Online] 5 methods for lead generation and nurturing
Lead generation and lead nurturing can also be carried out
online
. There are five main methods:
1. Web advertising/SNS advertising
2. SNS marketing
3.Webinar
/online seminar
4.
Content marketing
5. Approaching unknown leads using
MA
tools
We will explain each method.
1.Web advertising/SNS advertising
Many people use the Internet as a way to obtain information. By placing ads on the web or SNS, you may be able to create points of contact with potential customers.
Additionally, even if people are already aware of your company’s products and services, viewing web advertisements and SNS advertisements may increase their interest and desire to purchase.
For example, why not consider listing advertisements on major
portal sites
or display advertisements?
Listing ads are posted for search keywords for which needs have become apparent, so you can attract potential customers who are at the “comparison/consideration” stage, which is close to receiving an order or negotiating a deal.
On the other hand, display ads are displayed on content sites, allowing you to reach potential customers who may not be aware of their own needs.
In recent years, the number of people using SNS to search has increased. It is said that the relatively younger generation tends to use SNS searches.
SNS advertising visually appeals to leads with videos and images, and is effective as a measure to gain “awareness.” This is a method of lead generation that you should especially focus on when the awareness of your product or service is low.
2.SNS marketing
SNS marketing is a method of providing your company’s content on Twitter, Facebook, etc. You can provide content on your blog or your own homepage, but using social media can help you reach more potential customers because viewers can spread the word.
Among them, Twitter is equipped with “like” and retweet functions, allowing information to be spread with one click.
It can be viewed even by those who are not logged in, so why not use it when you want to deliver information to more potential customers?
We also recommend Instagram. Since you can post just images or videos, you can create impactful videos and aim to spread the word.
In addition, the number of people searching on TikTok, which specializes in videos, is also increasing. Carefully research user needs and create posts that are easy for potential customers to find.
3.Webinar/online seminar
Increase interest in your products and services by delivering seminars online that meet the needs of potential customers.
Please note that delivering a seminar online is called an online seminar or webinar.
As we will discuss later, there is a method of renting a venue and holding a seminar, but with webinars and online seminars, the recorded content can be used as video content, so it can be used as many times as you like without the hassle of one time.
Another feature is that prospective customers can view it at any time by simply accessing the URL, so they can view it at any time.
You can also show prospective customers and customers the content you create, such as webinars and online seminars, as materials about your company’s products and services during sales.
4. Content marketing
Content marketing is a method of posting content on your company’s website or blog and guiding users through
search engines
, SNS, etc.
SEO
is required to create articles using keywords that users at the comparison stage will search for and aim for high rankings.
Also, many people search for videos on search engines and social media. It is also necessary to focus on video content and implement video SEO (VSEO).
In addition, with video SEO, not only does the content of the video meet the needs of potential customers, but also the title of the video and the text display of the content are evaluated. If the number of views is not increasing, please take a look at the text part.
If you want to implement content marketing using videos, try uploading videos to YouTube as well. YouTube is not only used for searches, but it is also highly linked to Google search, making it easier to appear higher in search results. Another feature is that it is easy to increase the number of viewers because it can be spread on LINE, Twitter, etc. with one click.
5. Approaching unknown leads using MA tools
MA tools are marketing automation tools, which are essential tools for increasing marketing efficiency. By using MA tools, you can identify unknown leads (customers whose phone numbers, email addresses, etc. are not disclosed) who visited your website, and approach them according to their behavior.
MA tools can also be used to create blogs, LPs (landing pages), registration forms within LPs, etc. Another feature is that you can create landing pages and registration forms without specialized knowledge, reducing the burden on online marketers.
Recommended MA tools are described below. Please use it in your online marketing to increase efficiency and realize more effective lead generation and lead nurturing.
[Offline] 4 methods for lead generation and nurturing
Although online lead generation and lead generation are increasingly being implemented online, it is important to implement traditional offline methods as well.
Not only do some potential customers not use internet devices much, but others feel more reliable when approached face-to-face or through paper materials. Therefore, by using both online and offline methods, you can reach more potential customers and reduce the number of potential customers.
The main methods of offline lead generation and lead nurturing include:
1. Seminar
2. Events and
exhibitions
3. Send DM
4. Teleappointment
We will explain each method.
1.Seminar
Lead generation/lead nurturing using seminars is a method of holding seminars about your company’s products and services and collecting lead information in the form of business cards, questionnaires, etc. Because you can meet and explain to leads directly, lead generation and lead nurturing can progress all at once.
Also, similar to the events and exhibitions introduced below, seminars are characterized by the fact that you can expect to obtain leads with a relatively high probability of receiving orders. However, unlike webinars and online seminars, it is a time-consuming method as it must be prepared each time it is held.
2.Events, exhibitions
Lead generation and lead nurturing using events and exhibitions is a method of exhibiting your company’s products and services at exhibitions and collecting lead information from visitors in the form of business cards and filling out questionnaires.
As with seminars, you can meet leads directly and provide explanations and inquiries that meet their needs, making it easier to progress from lead generation to lead nurturing.
Another benefit is that exhibitions and events with a narrow theme attract users who are highly interested in that genre, making it easier to obtain leads with a high probability of receiving orders.
The same can be said for seminars, but when holding an event or exhibition, it is important to clearly narrow down the theme and target.
Since you’ll be asking potential customers to go out of their way to visit your event, it’s best to set out the theme and target in an easy-to-understand manner so that they don’t get the impression that the event wasn’t what they expected.
3. Send DM
Another method is to send direct mail (DM) directly to the lead by mail or fax. Enclosing invitations to exhibitions and events, postcards for requesting information, etc. in the materials will make it easier to lead people to contact points with your company.
Leads that participate in events or request information can be used for lead nurturing as leads with a higher probability of purchase. Additionally, giving a coupon that can be used at the time of purchase as a thank you for attending an event or requesting information may make it easier for the lead to make a purchase.
4.Tele appointment
Tele-appointment is a method of approaching potential customers over the phone and obtaining an appointment to send materials, conduct face-to-face sales, attend seminars, etc.
On the one hand, there is an advantage that it is easier to start work immediately if you have the personnel, but on the other hand, there is a disadvantage that the success rate will be low if you call out at random.
Another disadvantage is that increasing the number of rejections causes psychological damage to salespeople.
In order for a teleappointment to be successful, it is necessary to prepare multiple patterns in advance so that you can flexibly change the content of the conversation depending on the person you are talking to. You can also improve your lead acquisition rate by anticipating the other person’s reaction (e.g., “I’m busy right now,” “I don’t accept sales calls,” etc.) and preparing a response in response.
The success rate of teleappointments greatly changes with advance preparation. Be sure to imagine a variety of scenarios and prepare sales pitches and counterattacks.
5 points to improve lead generation results
The ultimate goal of lead generation is not just acquiring leads. The purpose of lead generation is to convert acquired leads into sales.
To improve your lead generation results, pay attention to the following points:
1. Collect lead information that aligns with your business objectives
2. Analyze lead information and design
points
3. Identify targets that are likely to lead to orders
4. Determine the timing of your approach
5. Repeat the PDCA cycle and implement it as a continuous measure without worrying about short-term results.
I will explain each point.
1. Collect lead information in line with business objectives
You won’t be able to achieve results by just blindly collecting lead information. By collecting customer information related to your products and services, you are more likely to lead to business negotiations and orders.
For example, if you are selling an attendance management system to corporations, it is important to know the lead’s position within the company, the number of employees, and whether a flextime system has been introduced. However, if you ask about Reed’s annual income or family composition, they may wonder if the purpose is to obtain personal information.
Also, asking too many questions to answer can put a strain on your leads. Even leads who are interested in your company’s products and services may think, “I’ll buy from another company” if the burden is too heavy, and you could end up missing out on a sales opportunity.
Make sure to limit your questions to only those that are truly necessary, so as not to overwhelm your leads.
2. Analyze lead information and design conversion points
For lead generation initiatives, you need to design conversion points that suit your goals.
Note that a conversion point is the timing and place at which a lead takes a certain action expected by the sales side, such as requesting information or making an inquiry.
In order to achieve results, it is important to analyze which types of customers and how to approach them to achieve your goals based on the lead information you have collected. The higher the relationship between the lead generation method and the lead, the more appropriate conversion points can be designed and the higher the lead generation conversion rate can be expected.
Accurately managing vast amounts of lead information is essential to designing appropriate conversion points. Use MA tools to accurately understand information leaks and timing of approaches.
3. Identify targets that are likely to lead to orders
In order to get results from the leads you collect, it is effective to identify targets that are likely to lead to orders early on.
In addition, if you analyze the characteristics of leads based on information on leads that have led to orders in the past, it will be easier to tell whether the target is likely to lead to orders.
When you determine that the target is likely to lead to an order, take a proactive approach and hand it over to your sales representative. However, even in this case, it is important to choose an approach method that suits the lead.
4. Determine the timing of your approach
When communicating directly with customers via email or SNS, the timing of your approach is important.
For example, when a new feature is added to an existing company service, you may be able to further arouse the interest of your leads by approaching them at the right time.
To find out when to make an effective approach, analyze the lead information that led to orders in the past. By using MA tools, analysis from past lead information becomes a simple task, reducing the burden on marketers and increasing efficiency.
5. Repeat PDCA and implement continuous measures without worrying about short-term results.
Lead generation doesn’t always work. Even if you hold a seminar or exhibition, people may not gather, or you may not receive any approaches from the lead side such as requests for materials or inquiries.
Even when you are not getting the results you expected, it is important to analyze improvements based on current measures and reactions, and repeat the improvement and effect verification (PDCA), rather than resting on your laurels. By repeating the PDCA cycle, it becomes easier to find effective approaches and marketing methods.
MA tools are also useful for analyzing areas for improvement. By recording past approach methods and timing in the MA tool, it is possible to display the effects of the methods and timing in numbers. Let’s use MA tools to carry out efficient lead generation.
In order to improve the accuracy of online marketing, it is necessary to accurately understand the basics of
web marketing
. You can download the Web Marketing Handbook for free from the following
link
. Please feel free to use it.
How to measure and improve lead generation effectiveness
When implementing lead generation, it is necessary to proceed while checking whether the results are being achieved. If you continue to generate leads using ineffective or low-quality methods, you won’t be able to make sales, and you may end up losing leads because it takes too long.
We will explain how to measure the effectiveness of lead generation and how to improve it. Please try it out. It is important to repeat the measurement and improvement process. Repeat the PDCA cycle: regularly measure effectiveness → find improvement measures → implement improvement measures → measure effectiveness.
Measure the number of leads generated and conversion points for each channel
Try measuring the number of leads generated for each lead generation channel.
Allocate budget and resources to channels that are generating leads efficiently and scale them. For example, when lead generation for webinars/online seminars is high, you can create videos of online seminars on different topics to obtain more leads.
Also, measure the conversion points (lead generation points) for each channel and check which conversion points are contributing to lead generation. Once you identify the most effective conversion points, you will be able to know when to approach leads, and you will be able to conduct more efficient lead generation.
Select measures to continue based on degree of contribution
We determine which measures are actually leading to purchases and contracts, and decide whether to continue or discontinue them.
However, there are few cases in which a single conversion leads to an order, so it is important to carefully consider the lead’s behavior (downloading materials, attending a seminar, signing a contract, etc.). By using MA tools, you can repeatedly measure effectiveness and achieve efficient marketing that focuses on measures that have a high degree of contribution.
6 MA services that support and accelerate lead generation
By using MA services and MA tools that support lead generation, you can achieve more efficient marketing. We will introduce services that can be used for lead generation, lead nurturing, and lead qualification.
1.Switch Plus
Switch Plus is a service that combines MA functionality and
CMS
. It has the following features that are essential for everything from lead acquisition to sales.
With Switch Plus, anyone can easily create their own website even without programming skills. Additionally, updates can be easily performed, allowing efficient web marketing with a small number of people.
Another feature of Switch Plus is that you can receive support from dedicated personnel. You can receive friendly and practical support not only when you don’t know how to use it, but also when your web marketing isn’t effective.
Switch Plus is a service that can be used at a low price of 20,000 yen per month, but if you are unsure whether you can use it properly, please issue a trial account and try it out. Trial is free.
2.Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot)
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) is a marketing tool that specializes in BtoB. It is equipped with the following functions.
Another feature is that by linking with the company’s SFA/CRM service “Salesforce”, you can seamlessly proceed with marketing from lead generation to sales. The usage fee for Marketing Cloud Account Engagement starts from 150,000 yen per month. There is also a free trial.
Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
3.Adobe Marketo Engage
Adobe Marketo Engage is another service that can be used for lead generation. It has the following characteristics:
It is strong in cooperation with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics365, and there are diverse applications that can be added, so highly flexible customization is possible. In addition, you need to contact the usage fee for Adobe Marketo Engage. There is no free trial.
4.Optio
OPTIO is a tool for
BtoB
Reed Generation that utilizes interactive content. The following features are:
In addition, the usage fee of Optio requires inquiries. There is a 14 -day free trial.
5.Professional Port
Professional Port is a tool that allows you to build the largest research network in Japan specializing in corporations. The main features are as follows.
Inquiries are required for the Professional Port usage fee.
6.alliance Cloud BDR
Alliance Cloud BDR is a tool that aims to maximize the number of new business talks. See below for the main features.
Alliance Cloud BDR usage fees depend on the number of negotiations and sales tasks. Let’s start with inquiries and marketing basic designs.
Alliance Cloud BDR
Utilization case of lead generation nurse
Here are some examples of the Utilization of Reed Generation and Readner Chaling that Profuture Co., Ltd. actually supported you. Please refer to it as a hint for marketing strategic design.
“Tanabe Consulting Co., Ltd.” Realizes stable lead
In the past, Tanabe Consulting Co., Ltd., a management consulting pioneer, has previously implemented marketing mainly for one -off advertising measures and leaflet creation. However, although the advertisement temporarily increased the lead, he seemed to be suffering from the task of not getting a stable lead.
Therefore, in order to rank marketing, we believe that knowing the site, knowing the customer, and knowing the products is essential, and introducing the HR Pro of the human resources portal site to make comprehensive improvements. I did. We have acquired a stable lead and are promoting activities for orders.
“Sam Total Systems Co., Ltd.” Improvement of on -round media
“Sam Total Systems Co., Ltd.”, which provides global management solutions globally, felt the need to shift from conventional events and seminars to
digital marketing
. While using SNS etc. to see if marketing with low cost, HR SEO was encountered.
In HR SEO, you can create
an owned media
with a simple step, and you can easily measure the conversion rate. If you are aiming for effective digital marketing, why not pay attention to owned media?
“Puff Co., Ltd.” Improve matching rate by using web marketing
Puff Co., Ltd., which provides job hunting support services, has established an efficient marketing that allows you to acquire large projects without selling.
The reason for this is the introduction of HR Pro. Puff Co., Ltd. has been working on Web marketing using HR professionals for more than 10 years. In addition, the matching rate between companies and students is high, leading to the trust of companies.
“Kirin Beverage Co., Ltd.” Built a new marketing scenario on a zero base
Kirin Beverage Co., Ltd., a leading food manufacturer in Japan, has launched Kirin Naturals, a welfare service that delivers smoothies and health seminars to the office. Due to the completely different scheme from the existing channel, it seems that at the beginning of the launch, approaching the company was unable to obtain a desirable reaction.
Therefore, by using HR professionals and management professionals, we expanded the target not only for large companies but also to small and medium -sized enterprises, and started a large marketing. In addition, we conduct seminars and questionnaires for a large number of leads acquired by large -scale marketing, and promote negotiations.
“Jake Co., Ltd.” Created DM from a customer perspective and gained a lead
Jake Co., Ltd., which provides employee education and job hunting support businesses, has been paying attention to changes in corporate employment.
If the recruited human resources were not active, if they were, they would have to adopt a new new talented human resources, but now the birthrate is declining, so recruitment is easily achieved. you can’t. As a result, the establishment and education of existing employees is a urgent issue for many companies.
Therefore, Jake Co., Ltd. has developed seminars and programs in line with the flow of educating and establishing existing employees and growing them into active employees. In addition, we have succeeded in acquiring a lead by using HR professionals to attract customers and transmitting them to many companies.
Reed Generation is the first step in marketing activities
Reed generation means “acquisition of prospective customers” and is an important process that is the first step in marketing activities.
The relationship with the leadner charging, which means the development of the earned lead, is closely related, and efficiently manage information by approaching customers using a method that suits each company, and introducing MA tools. Is also a point to achieve results.
Understand the characteristics of lead generations and leadership and use them for their own marketing.