The more leads you have, the more business you’ll get, right? Not necessarily. Spending the time and energy to get qualified leads is more important than just amassing a huge number of leads likely to go nowhere. According to LinkedIn, the average B2B company spends more than half of its marketing budget on lead generation. Think of the difference it would make to your bottom line if you could increase the number of leads who eventually purchased from your company. While high quantity lead generation has its place, quality lead generation should never be forgotten.
Methods of Lead Generation
Lead generation coincides with the first step in the buyer’s journey – awareness. This is why both quantity and quality have a stake in lead generation.
There are a number of ways to generate leads. You can buy a booth at a trade show. You might insert a “for more information” widget on your website. Or, you can buy lists (not recommended) and launch an email or direct mail campaign, detailing the benefits to the recipient of your product or service and asking them to contact you. All of these methods will generate names and contact information. However, not all of these methods will garner you quality leads. You could end up with a large list of unqualified leads.
However, quality lead generation takes this process a step further and attempts to qualify the lead before the contact information is turned over to the sales team. A quality lead is one with a greater than average probability of turning into a customer. For example, you might consider a quality lead one that not only has a need for your product but the authority to make the buying decision.
Do Quantity Leads Become Quality Leads?
B2C marketing wisdom maintains that the more leads you gather, the more sales you will get. However, emphasizing quantity over quality means your sales team will likely waste valuable time chasing tire-kickers and leads that are not ready to buy.
Modern marketing focuses on quality is exponentially better than sheer quantity. Your sales team will waste less time and energy. Thus, they’ll be able to engage with those leads that have the need and the power to take action without being burnt out or discouraged. By providing sales teams with quality leads, they’ll be better at their job.
Determining Lead Quality
How can you tell if a lead is “quality” or simply “quantity”? There are two criteria to look at to determine whether your lead is quality or just quantity. First, is the lead likely to lead to a sale? This means the person should have a need for your product and be in a position with the authority to make that purchasing decision. This means different things to each sales department.
Do you have an SDR (sales development rep) layer that is tasked with pre-qualifying your leads before they can talk with sales? Then, you may have layers of criteria.
Quality marketing leads require highly targeted campaigns with messaging that appeals to each target’s situation. This includes images, jargon, terms, and suggested solutions. One-campaign does not fit all.
Generating High Quantity of Leads
If your product is novel, it’s relatively easy to get a large number of leads. You can cast a wide net and hope for enough sales to justify your effort. B2C companies usually take this approach and need consistent marketing and advertising to maintain brand awareness. Some strategies for getting a lot of leads include:
- Free offer ads
- Contests – where all leads get an opportunity to win something
- Product trials on your website
- Buy a list
Generating High Quality Leads
Generating high-quality leads takes more effort and time. However, the results are worth the extra effort.
- Segment your target audience down to a very specific group of people
- Launch a lead generation campaign on a social media platform that is more likely to attract people within your buyer persona. “Entrepreneur” magazine recommends B2B companies market their products and services on LinkedIn for more qualified leads.
- Use conversion bait that works for their level of their buyers journey – quizzes, guides, ebooks, webinars
- Continue to nurture their specific interests via email and offer more opportunities to engage
While amassing a large number of leads may seem initially rewarding and beneficial to your business, spending extra time to make sure the leads you are generating are people who are likely to make a purchase will pay off in the long run. Not only will you get a better return on your marketing investment, but you’ll have a happier sales team, with people who are more likely to stay and grow with your company.