Lead generation is the process wherein businesses use various strategies to identify and attract potential customers. An ideal lead generation strategy culminates in potential customers turning into paying, loyal customers. Over the years, lead generation has evolved from basic emails to data-driven practices for evaluating potential clients’ purchase intent and interests. Today, there is no shortage of choices for customers, so businesses must constantly find new ways to improve their long-term user experience.

Lead generation process
Most modern lead generation strategies follow a similar structure. First, a business ideates and develops a website to promote its products/services to customers or other businesses. When clients looking for those products or services visit the website, they are asked to create an account, sign in, and fill out an online request form. Their information becomes invaluable consumer data for the business. After data checking, the business sends this collected information as a “verified lead ” to their sales team.

Although different businesses may have their own ways of going about it, here is a standard step-by-step procedure for lead generation:

Research target audience
Businesses need to scan their market and identify potential leads. This step involves identifying the type of people that visit the business website, their needs, and their pain points. Finally, companies need to assess how their product or service can satisfy their potential customers’ requirements.

Attract leads with engaging content
Digital content marketing is about two to three times more effective than standard advertising. Therefore, businesses need to put out effective and engaging content on their website, social media handles, and partner sites. The content can be in the form of blogs, videos, images, infographics, case studies, whitepapers, reels, or others. Most importantly, the content must talk about the reader or viewer’s pain points and how buying certain products or services can help them meet their needs.

Increase traffic across channels
Once the content is created and published, businesses need to promote it by driving traffic across various digital channels. As customers may consume content across any device or online location, businesses can use emails, social media tools, or targeted ads to bring potential leads to their content or landing page. Businesses can use certain tools and software to help promote their content across different channels or devices. In the long term, driving traffic helps business increase the number of visitors on their websites and build effective marketing campaigns.

Capture lead information
Once the content attracts leads, the next step is to collect their data. As specified earlier, data collection can be done through an online form. Otherwise, the website could also ask leads to subscribe to the business newsletter. Video calls, chatbots, and other interactive options make information collection more organic for the leads and businesses.

Convert visitors into leads
With the information collected, the sales team can use lead generation tools to let potential leads know about their user journey if they choose the products or services sold by the business. Apart from that, customized landing pages, free samples, and other avenues could be used so that online site visitors find real value in buying those products or services. When visitors find this value, they are more likely to turn into leads and, eventually, customers too.

Rate each lead
Not all leads are equally valuable for businesses. Therefore, the sales and analytics team in businesses can rate leads based on factors such as their number of website visits, their frequency of interactions, the amount of content consumed or downloaded, their responsiveness to promotional emails and ads, and others. After giving the ratings, businesses will know the leads that will most likely turn into customers.

Turn leads into customers
After capturing leads, businesses need to nurture the top-rated ones by building long-term relationships with them. This can be done through customized emails, product trials, a dedicated sales funnel, and other ways. Ultimately, providing a convenient, personalized, and rewarding experience to each lead can turn them into customers.

Lead generation advantages

It helps businesses collect large amounts of user data to improve their market research and analysis.

It helps companies expand their market in the long term, from a few hundred customers to potentially millions of loyal users.

It helps businesses boost their visibility and revenue exponentially to achieve extensive growth and diversification in a few years (instead of decades).

Most importantly, businesses using lead generation tools can automate the process. Automated lead generation helps them use their time and resources more efficiently.

Best tools and software for lead generation
Some of the most popular tools and software for lead generation are Leadfeeder, Overloop, D&B Hoovers, Leadpages, OptinMonster, Hunter.io, Voila Norbert, Hubspot, EverWebinar, Datanyze, AeroLeads, Skrapp.io, Drift, Hello Bar, and Qualaroo.
Small organizations or freelancers trying lead generation for the first time can check out any free trials offered by these companies, among others, and make their choice accordingly.