Marketing

10 Ways To Generate Qualified Leads In 2023

By Constant Contact Lead Gen and CRM

Published on 24 February 2023

Generating qualified and sufficient amounts of leads remains a significant challenge for marketers, according to the latest study, “The State of MarTech Report” by research firm Ascend2. The report found that 37% of marketers consider generating quality leads to be their biggest challenge, while 25% struggle with generating enough leads. These challenges highlight the ongoing need for innovative solutions and strategies to help marketers achieve their goals and drive business success. Here are 10 ways to generate quality leads.

1. Personalised Emails

When contemplating the option of cold emailing to connect with potential customers, one may have reservations about its effectiveness, given the prevalence of email spam filters and the general perception that it has low engagement and efficiency. Nonetheless, numerous B2B companies that have invested in cold emails have discovered that it is a proven strategy for generating leads.

So what did they do differently? It all comes down to one key factor: personalisation. By customising the email subject line and body with unique information that’s relevant to the recipient, such as their name, details about their needs, and the name of their company, businesses can increase the effectiveness of their cold emails. Tools like marketing automation and CRM can be leveraged in digital marketing to scale up outreach efforts with tailored messaging and targeting.

2. Short-Form Video Content

In recent years, short-form videos on social media channels have become increasingly vital to marketing strategies in terms of engagement and lead generation. Short form video content may also come as user-generated content and it is one of the most trusted forms of marketing and it will continue to thrive in 2023. The reason for this is largely due to the perception that peer experiences with a product are more trustworthy than advertising. As a result, businesses have increasingly turned to short-form videos as a way to tap into this trust and build stronger connections with their audience. It’s worth noting that the optimal length for short-form videos can vary depending on the platform. To maximise reach, it’s important to consider the ideal length for each platform when creating short-form video content.

Facebook: below 60 seconds
Instagram: 15-60 seconds
LinkedIn: 30 seconds
Tiktok: 7-15 seconds
Twitter: 44 seconds

3. AI Tools

AI technology application has already evolved from basic communication and assistance on tasks to understanding peoples’ behaviour. AI tools make processes of lead generation easier and faster so that your business can focus on other processes.

AI tools are especially useful when it comes to:

Lead Sourcing
Lead Capturing
Lead Qualification

For instance, an AI chatbot could gather data on your website visitors and suggest booking a call with your sales team for qualified leads. Additionally, AI is increasingly being integrated with marketing automation tools, making it easier to track lead behaviour and leverage predictive analytics to identify high-potential leads that warrant extra attention.

4. Chatbots

Incorporating chatbots into a conversational marketing approach is becoming an increasingly popular strategy for lead generation. Chatbots can be particularly effective in generating top-of-the-funnel leads for businesses. As consumer demand for quick responses to queries outside of standard office hours continues to grow, chatbots have become an important tool for engaging with website visitors. These bots can be placed on business web pages and are designed to interact with visitors by answering frequently asked questions in real time.Paired with automation, advanced chatbots can also qualify leads and proceed with the next action as notifying a sales member.

5. Webinars

Did you know?

Webinars are one of the most frequently used lead generation methods, with an adoption rate of 44%.

Source: MarketSplash.com, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a significant increase in online event participation, making webinars a valuable tool for attracting high-quality leads and converting them into customers. By providing an opportunity to establish deeper connections and answer prospects’ questions, live online events can help build trust and credibility with your audience. After a face-to-face meeting, webinars represent one of the best opportunities to engage directly with leads. Moreover, organising webinars can help to establish your business as an expert in your field, which can have long-term benefits for your brand.

6. Lead Magnets

Providing something of value is one of the most effective ways to capture someone’s attention. If you have educational content that may be useful to your target audience, take the time to collect and design it in a suitable format (such as a white paper, video course, or e-book). Then, offer it to your audience in exchange for their contact information, which your sales team can use to nurture the lead. Alternatively, if you have already implemented CRM and marketing automation software, you can automate the entire process up until the meeting booking stage.

7. Influencers

Influencer marketing is a rapidly growing trend in which brands collaborate with influencers to promote their products. With a market value of $16.4 billion, the influencer marketing industry is expected to continue expanding in the years to come. Customers tend to place more trust in influencers than in traditional brand advertisements, as the promotion is coming from a third-party rather than the brand itself. In this regard, influencer marketing shares some similarities with a user-generated content approach, in which promotion and sales are delegated to third parties. One way to promote your product or service through influencer marketing is by leveraging the influencer’s live streams, which are currently one of the most engaging formats in the industry. By hosting a real-time video session and directly interacting with their followers, the influencer can help you reach your audience in a highly engaging manner.

8. Account-Based Marketing

The use of account-based marketing, or ABM, is on the rise in the B2B industry. This strategy involves a collaborative effort between the marketing and sales teams to focus on targeting the most suitable accounts and converting them into customers. Rather than relying solely on marketing channels to generate leads, ABM begins by identifying and targeting accounts with the greatest potential for generating revenue for the business. By leveraging technology, marketers can then personalise their messaging to decision-makers at these accounts on the channels they are most active on. If it aligns with your business model, ABM may be a valuable approach to consider.

9. Lead scoring

Lead qualification, also known as lead scoring, involves evaluating the probability that a lead will become a customer based on their online interactions with your brand such as website visits, email submissions and form completions.It is a crucial aspect of any successful lead generation strategy and has been a reliable technique for many years, continuing to be a top priority in 2023. The significance of lead qualification lies in its ability to increase close ratios, preventing you from pursuing leads that are not a good fit for your product due to various reasons.

10. Community Marketing

Last but not least is community marketing, also known as collaborative marketing. It is an effective way to generate a steady flow of leads by prioritising the customer through non-intrusive engagement. This customer-focused approach involves bringing customers together over a topic related to the brand in a way that emphasises customer satisfaction. This strategy is particularly important when targeting Generation Z, as they value authenticity and seek deeper connections with brands. While this approach requires more commitment and a long-term perspective, it can yield powerful results through increased brand awareness.

What's next for you?

In 2023, leveraging digital lead generation tactics can be a crucial marketing strategy for your business. However, not all suggested methods may be suitable for your specific business model. Therefore, it is important to identify the most effective ways to invest your resources and consistently develop those tactics. By doing so, there is a high probability that your efforts will pay off in the long run.

Meanwhile, If you are new to this topic, we recommend taking a few minutes to review our Lead Management infographics which covers the basics of managing communication with leads.

Marketing Automation for SMEs 2022 infographic v2

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