The Continued Evolution of Lead Generation

Methods of lead generation continue to grow and change. What was common 10 years ago may have fallen out of favor a few years later only to be making a comeback today. When engaging in lead generation, therefore, it is important to keep up on current trends so as not to lose out to your competition.

Today, there are several ways of engaging in lead generation, with experts homing in on a few that seem to be gaining the most traction for 2018. So, what are those engagement methods and why do they work? Read on to find out.

  1. Automated Processing. Prospects are yearning for a more personalized experience, so marketers are waiting to make personal contact, for example by phone, until they have captured that type of data through inbound traffic. Lead scoring is another example of tasks automation can take over so that salespeople can concentrate on closing deals.
  2. Big Data. Quality data is essential to marketers wanting valuable insights on prospects. Tracking behavior also is critical to understanding what people desire and allows you to understand not only their behavior but where they are in their journey toward making a purchase.
  3. Content Marketing. Content marketing has been shown to triple the success of conventional marketing techniques when combined with these techniques. The key to successful content marketing is to carefully target prospects and deliver content that speaks to specifically to them. Mediocre content designed only to increase SEO will not do the job.
  4. Customized Tools. Boring and tedious contact forms that prospects have to fill out are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Calculators and quizzes are much more interesting for prospects, making it more likely that they will stick around to complete the tasks. These interactive tools have been growing in popularity for a while and show no signs of slowing.
  5. Diversified Channels. While telephone and email marketing are still crucial to most lead generation efforts, now you can diversify and throw some other methods into the mix. This includes things like direct mail, social media and texting. This approach allows for multiple touches without sending the same message over the same medium over and over.

Lead generation is as important today as ever. The key is to make sure it remains successful by drawing in and engaging exactly the type of customers you are looking to target.