Effective Lead Generation

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We’ve said it before – many times – and we’ll say it again. The most important factor in marketing is the human element. Success, very often, is found in way marketers help people connect with each other by building on the relationships they’ve fostered.

 

Successful lead generation is no different from conscientious relationship building. In fact, in an economic downturn, where advertisers are constantly met by technology that blocks their aggressive outreach techniques, long-standing relationships can provide a buffer and a competitive edge at the same time.

 

Inbound Marketing

 

Over the past decade or so, advancements in technology have created a significant padding between ad-saturated consumers and marketers. The TIVO helps weed out an endless barrage of video ads. Caller-ID took care of blocking cold calls many, many years ago. Emails are equipped with strong filters to block spam.

 

 

Clearly, push tactics have little room to make an impact. Instead, inbound marketing is making inroads into peoples lives by producing content that attracts clients instead of adopting a one-way mode of communication with them.

 

Think SEO tactics, Google AdWords, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube videos. Think key-word rich blog posts. In an ideal world, our potential clients would lift a rock, discover us and then put us on a pedestal. Until then, we’ll have to put in a little more effort to make sure we attract the right clientele.

 

How do you move forward if newer leads are running out or if the company’s facing a dry spell?

 

1.    One of the best ways is to fall back on your existing network to generate future leads. This is also why relationship building is extremely important – at some point in our careers, we all need a little help from our network and people are more likely to help us along if they’ve left the last meeting with a pleasant memory.

2.    Keep an ongoing, open dialogue running with existing clients.

3.    Ask for client referrals and attach a reward or a “thank you” gift in exchange.

4.    Tweak your message to help your organization focus on leads that aren’t able to turn into a long or short-term commitment. Focus groups and message testing help in determining the impact of your message before you release it to a larger audience.

 

Running on a tight budget? Make your coworkers and employees your focus group. There’s nothing like a good brainstorming session to get the creative juices flowing.

 

Before we leave, we’d also like to say “thank you” to everyone who’s been reading our weekly blog posts. We truly appreciate your interest in stopping by and beginning a conversation with us.

 

Let us know in the comments how you’ve generated new leads for your company, whether you were successful in generating business from those leads and how you were able to emerge from a dry spell.

 

We always look forward to hearing from you!

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Tiffany

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