Lead generation is applied in marketing to generate orders for products or services by collecting contact information from potential customers. It is simply making sales leads that may translate into a sale for the firm. Lead generation is the most important goal of any marketing dep1artment. It is a form of direct marketing, which involves using measurable approaches and activities. This process can be under the advertisement wing. Leads can be created digitally through the Internet, making calls, through commercials and list building. Other possible ways of creating leads are through referrals and telemarketers. It is a very common exercise in the world of Business. Unlike demand generation, it deals more with actual prospects than creating a demand (Berry and Linoff 63).
Turning a Lead into a Customer
The response speed is one of the vital elements in converting a lead into a customer. Customers decide quickly and change their loyalty easily. Even though they go price-shopping to try and get the cheapest price in the market, the probability of going back to the salesperson who called them first is high. Therefore, placing the call as soon as possible is crucial. Another important element is responsibility. The manager should put someone in charge to monitor and ask for reports on every lead process. The person responsible for monitoring should make sure that the leads are entered, assigned, and distributed. They should also ensure that all the requested materials by the customers are delivered on time. The third element is to simplify the lead management process as a way of exploiting opportunities. The administrative works of complex forms and software should not be left to salespeople. The entity should hire personnel with expertise in the administrative field.
The process of assigning, distributing, and updating leads on time should be straightforward to save time. The fourth way is to take advantage of technology developing a good website where customers can look up the company and making sure that they can get solutions to their problems easily, and then guiding the salespeople to handle these customers well. They can establish their stage in the buying process by meeting or calling them, and there are chances that they will change from leads to customers. The development of lead management software can go a long way to ensure timely, relevant, and consistent communications to customers are made. The fifth significant element is clearly defining the goal of lead management. Agents should know that the goal is to get the customer. These will motivate them in convincing clients to be comfortable with the company’s products and services (Scott 21).
Recommended Lead Nurturing
The lead nurturing is recommended for the company assisting people in buying not selling to them. Nowadays, customers already have the information they need about a product from the internet. Therefore, clients do not need an agent to influence their requirements. They need a firm in which they can invest their money and a place where their loyalty will be returned. The way to achieve this is by the salespeople asking the relevant questions that will help them know the buying process stage of the client, and then they can guide them from there. Clients feel that their needs are important when the person handling their cases is well informed of the stages they have already covered.
Works Cited
Berry, Michael, and Gordon Linoff. Data mining techniques for marketing, sales, and customer relationship management. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Wiley, 2004. Print.
Scott, David. The new rules of lead generation : proven strategies to maximize marketing ROI. New York: AMACOM, American Management Association, 2013. Print.