How it works
The purpose of generating leads is to find consumers
who may need or want to buy the product a business is
selling. Sales teams do not want to waste resources on
people who have no interest in the product in the first
place, so the process of lead generation helps to define
and capture the potential customers who seem most
Lead generation
inclined to become actual customers—known as
high-quality leads. To generate leads, marketing and
sales departments typically collaborate on a campaign,
offline or online, designed to identify and recruit
promising customer prospects. Acquiring contact
information is the first part of the process. Converting
leads into sales is the next step (see pp.238–239).
Plan the approach
Set goals and parameters, including
expected return on investment (ROI)
and number and quality of leads.
Identify target customer
Define the characteristics of the
customer the business is aiming to
capture in as much detail as possible.
Design campaign
Craft a multi-channel message to
entice the lead to opt in and give
contact information.
audit
Assess current
lead generation.
review
objectives
Check that they
are realistic;
compare with
previous efforts.
Planning
Ensure that sales,
marketing, and
customer service are
working together.
systematize
Integrate customer
relationship management
(CRM) software to
manage the leads.
research
Ascertain which
media and customer
touchpoints are
most effective.
big idea
Devise a compelling
message to engage
and entice leads.
Produce campaign
Create and deliver materials
for each medium involved in
the campaign.
advertising
Generate broad
interest with ads
on selected media.
seo/PPc
Integrate search
engine optimization
(SEO) efforts and
pay-per-click spend
(see pp.230–231).
email blasts
Include a benefit
for the recipient
and a call to action
(see pp.216–217).
telemarketing
Review key
message and
call script
with customer
service team.
trade show
Invite potential leads
to visit the company’s
stand and meet face
to face.
Lead-generation process
Generating leads is a multi-step process that involves sales,
marketing, and customer service teams working together
to plan, design, produce, test, and refine a campaign.
For a business to grow, one of its basic goals is to acquire new
customers. Lead generation is the strategy it uses to locate, target,
and nurture leads (potential customers).
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How sales and marketing works
Business development
Test campaign
Monitor the initial hours and
days of the campaign and make
any corrections that are needed.
Refine
Fine-tune the filtering process to
ensure that leads being generated are
high quality and likely to buy.
RESPONSE RATES
Tally how many
leads have been
generated so far.
%
of B2B companies
that say each tactic
is most effective
at generating
leads
QUALIFIED LEADS
Determine percentage
of initial contacts with
purchase capability.
ONLINE
CONVERSION RATES
Calculate percentage of web
visitors converted to leads.
Measure
Track and measure the response
from the various campaign activities
to gauge effectiveness.
39%
Outbound
marketing
(direct sales,
telemarketing)
27%
Live events (trade
shows, webinars)
17%
Online marketing
(web content, SEO)
10%
Traditional
advertising
(radio, TV, print)
5%
Social media
2%
Other
ANALYZE
PERFORMANCE
Identify adjustments
needed to keep campaign
on track.
TOP FIVE STRATEGIES FOR LEAD GENERATION
Create content such as a viral video
or a newsworthy business report
that takes leads to a sign-up page.
Use both online and offline
channels, as most customers
will respond to just one channel.
Trace the customer touchpoint—
the point at which a customer
comes into contact with the
product—before, during, and after
purchase. Touchpoints may range
from online reviews to billing.
Tailor the call to action to the
channel, such as inviting trade show
visitors to enter a competition.
Design effective opt-in web forms
to capture data, such as asking
customers to sign up for updates.
Owned media Channel owned
by a business, such as a website,
blog, or social media profile
Attention, interest, desire,
action (AIDA) Model for
effective marketing messages
Cost per lead (CPL) Amount
it costs the company to acquire
one potential customer
NEED TO KNOW
B2B LEAD GENERATION
Most businesses selling to other businesses (B2B) identify lead
generation as one of their most important digital marketing
priorities. But which tactics do they find most effective?
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