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When it comes to targeted lead generation, a good lead is not just any lead. A good lead results in a customer conversion, providing a steady income stream over the life of that business relationship. As the saying goes, quality is always better than quantity. 

Every business thrives on a consistent influx of customers to grow. But not all leads are created equal, nor will they mature into customers. Low-quality leads might look good on paper in terms of numbers but waste your time and money. 

In this customer generation guide, we aim to help you understand what good leads are, and what they are not. By the end of this article, you will be equipped to build leads and convert them to customers that you are proud of. 

What Are Leads and Sales? 

What are leads? In the simplest terms, a lead is a potential customer. This could be an individual or another company. 

They have shown some degree of interest in your services or products, but have not yet purchased from you. They are therefore a prime target for offers from your sales team. 

Companies generate leads in a number of ways, primarily through advertising and referrals. Other ways to gain leads may include social media campaigns, promotional events, and an email marketing newsletter. 

Companies usually categorize their leads by the level of interest and the likelihood that they may become a customer. It is then up to the sales team to pursue these leads. They attempt to sell your products to them, thus resulting in a successful customer conversion. 

Lead generation is also a useful tool for understanding your target customer base. If you know who is buying from you, and what interests them, you can leverage that to your advantage. 

Targeted Lead Generation: What Are Good Leads? 

As we said at the outset of this article, not all leads are created equal. A person who accidentally clicks on the link for your ad is not a good lead. But a person actively in search of your product is. 

The problem is, analytics are incredibly difficult to tease apart. Let’s discuss a few general characteristics that tend to be true about the best leads. 

Relevance and Qualification 

The beauty of modern marketing and advertising is that we can leverage AI to our advantage. Gone are the days of shotgunning the web with an ad in the hopes that it sticks. We can now target the customers that we want. 

Good leads fit the profile of your target customer. If you sell a privacy-focused email, then you want a privacy enthusiast who has concerns about their online data. The less relevant your lead is to the product, the less likely you can make a conversion. 

Many companies, as a result, will create a “profile” of their ideal customer. This describes key demographics, such as age, occupation, income level, and so on. 

With this profile in hand, you can identify your target audience. Your target audience may live in a single town or state, or may span the entire country. It’s up to you to find effective ways to reach this target audience so they know about you. 

Intent and Engagement 

It’s not enough to have a customer that fits your profile. There needs to be an intent for them to give you a chance. The best way to identify this intent is by tracking their engagement. 

Engagement comes in many forms, but most often means that they have interacted with your website or visited your store. They may already be familiar with your product but haven’t pulled through. Oftentimes, they may have doubts that need resolving before they can commit to your product. 

However, generally speaking, high engagement means there is a good chance that you can convert them into a customer. 

Build from Your Current Customer Base 

Referrals are invaluable almost anywhere that you find them. Referrals provide informal opportunities for sales that one might not typically find through official channels. When it comes to targeted lead generation, referrals are essential. 

Birds of a feather flock together, so your customers are likely affiliated with other businesses that have similar needs. Their employees may know people who require your services. Gaining referrals gives you access to leads you might not have generated otherwise. 

“Nurture” Your Leads 

So you have an interested customer. They meet all the above criteria and seem to be a promising prospect. It might seem like they will come to a conversion on their own. 

However, it’s your job to nurture that lead through the process that eventually put them in the buyer’s seat. This means following up with them, giving them offers, and inviting them to meet with sales staff. If you neglect your leads, you risk alienating potential longtime customers. 

Mistakes to Avoid in Lead Generation 

Now that we’ve covered what makes a good lead, it’s important to understand what pitfalls may stand in your way. By knowing what to avoid, you focus your energies on strategies that are truly effective. 

The following are all bad techniques for lead generation: 

  • Failing to define a target audience 
  • Playing the numbers game and focusing on quantity 
  • Failing to nurture those leads from curiosity to customer conversion 
  • Generating leads only via outdated methods, i.e. newspaper classifieds and bus stop posters 
  • Failing to analyze the data from your results during the generation 

Generate Leads with Accumulate 

Targeted lead generation makes use of modern machine learning to home in on your target audience. However, we are a long way away from computers doing all the work for you. It is up to you to craft quality leads that have all the characteristics of a soon-to-be customer conversion. 

At Accumulate, we help you get the most bang for their buck with a marketing budget and acquire customers, not leads. Get in contact with us today and let us craft high-quality customers for you tomorrow. 

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