10 myth vs realities about effective lead generation

effective lead generation
The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. – Peter Drucker
Lead generation is the action and process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business’s products or services. If a business exists, as Peter Drucker says, to create and keep a customer, then effective lead generation is a going to play a primary role.
But there is a lot of fact vs fiction about what works and doesn’t with lead generation.
To clear up the confusion, here are 10 myth vs realities about effective lead generation.
MYTHS

  1. LEADS ARE WILLING TO BUY: MYTH. 73% of all B2B leads are not sales-ready and approximately 96% of visitors that come to your website are not ready to buy. The easiest way to lose leads is to come on too fast and too strong with a sales pitch.
  2. COLD CALLING IS ONE OF THE TOP LEAD GENERATION TECHNIQUES: MYTH. The three most common lead generation strategies are: email marketing (78%), event marketing (73%) and content marketing. (67%). That’s because, when done right, these strategies offer value to a prospect and provide a means for them to get to know something about you. They also cost less than paying someone to call and  potentially scare people away.
  3. NEW LEADS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN RETURNING LEADS: MYTHS. There is a common misconception among many business professionals that more customers are better. In actuality, returning customers are who you should be focusing your attention for effective lead generation if you want your business to be more profitable. According to research, they’re up to 60-70% easier to sell to than new customers, and they’re worth around 10 times their first transaction. Even more convincing, studies show that just a 5% increase in customer retention can boost a business’s profits by 95%.
  4. COST PER LEAD IS A KEY METRIC: MYTH. Marketing departments often work with cost per lead in mind, but should focus on cost per acquisition, cost per up-selling the customer and cost per lifetime value of a customer. Instead of a hyperfocus on the cost per lead of a campaign, consider a formula that measures the true return of your efforts. For example, if you work thinking your best close rate is $50 per lead, you might be overlooking $1,000-per-lead opportunities that close at 80% and are worth 50 times per customer.
  5. FORMS WITH MULTIPLE FIELDS ARE A NECESSITY FOR LEAD CAPTURE: MYTH. One of the biggest assumptions in lead generation is thinking that it is always helpful to make form fields necessary to fill out for potential customers. The reality is, excessive contact forms or modal windows often just annoy them, and they’ll feel as though they’re giving out too much information for something they’re not sure they want.

REALITIES

  1. HIGH QUALITY LEADS DO THEIR OWN RESEARCH: REALITY. 93% of B2B buyers begin with an online search. 70% of B2B buyers use three or more channels when researching a potential purchase. A lead worth pursuing probably already knows something about your company. Treat them with respect for being a smart buyer.
  2. CONTENT MARKETING IS THE MOST WIDELY USED LEAD GENERATION STRATEGY: REALITY. Content marketing is used for lead generation by 83% of B2B marketers93% of B2B companies say content marketing generates more leads than traditional marketing strategies. 70% of B2B marketers claim that videos are more effective than other content when it comes to converting users to qualified leads. Content marketing provides an interactive platform with many forms of content that make it the most widely used vehicle for effective lead generation
  3. SOCIAL MEDIA GENERATES BETTER BUYERS WITH HIGHER CONVERSION RATES: REALITY. Social media lead conversion rates are 13% higher than the average lead conversion rate. B2B buyers most active in using social media to support the buying process are more senior and have 84% bigger budgets, make 61% more purchase decisions, and have influence over a greater span of purchase decisions than those buyers who did not use social media to support their purchase process. Companies using social media for lead generation are likely to find leads that make better customers
  4. NURTURED LEADS MAKE BETTER CUSTOMERS: REALITY. More than 79% of marketing leads don’t convert into sales with the lack of lead nurturing as the leading cause. Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads. Make sure you nurture leads. It’s one of the best investments you can make in an effective lead generation program.
  5. STRATEGIC LANDING PAGES ACQUIRE BETTER LEADS: REALITY. 68% of B2B businesses use strategic landing pages to acquire leads. Take the time to make the landing page your lead lands on welcoming, personalized and relevant. It’s likely to give you a better return.

Do these myths vs reality help you understand what makes lead generation more effective? Is your business looking to get started with an effective lead generation program?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *