7 Strategies for Lead Generation in B2C That You Can Copy

Lead Generation in B2C Marketing

First things first: Let’s figure out how B2C lead generation differs from B2B lead generation.

By the way, if you are looking for strategies for your B2B lead generation, look at our blog 20+ strategies in lead generation for B2B business. And who knows, maybe some of those strategies can help your B2C business as well!

The Customer Journey

The B2C lead generation process is quite straightforward, as individual consumers are usually well aware of what they need, want, and can afford, unlike business customers who need to really evaluate the purchases. 

Swooning consumers works a bit differently than swooning business leads. Businesses want exact numbers, evidence, practicality, and guarantees that the product will benefit them. 

Everyday people might want things simply because they seem practical, cool, relaxing, fun, or because their neighbor also has the same product. They might want to relate to their peers, relate to a celebrity, or stand out from the crowd with products that they purchase.

The average buyer’s journey is usually short: the customer sees a product, maybe reads a couple reviews, and makes a purchase. Of course, when it comes to more significant purchases, such as a car or a house, a longer sales process is needed.

Check out these 15 example strategies of lead generation in real estate to get an idea of what it is like to generate leads in case of high-stake purchases such as a home.

Inbound or Outbound Marketing?

Lead generation in B2C business is largely based on inbound lead generation. Generally speaking, individual consumers don’t usually appreciate unsolicited contact, and they do not necessarily believe advertisements. 

If you are able to attract potential customers with digital marketing, content marketing, search engine optimization, social media, effective lead magnets and creative lead generation campaigns, you are able to acquire inbound leads.

That way you let the potential customers find you and express their interest, as opposed to B2B lead generation where you proactively look for and contact high quality leads through a contact database or other tools.

It is possible to adapt outbound lead gen tactics in B2C marketing as well. After all, there are lots of telemarketing companies out there who constantly reach out to customers with cold calls. But cold calling is not the only outbound lead generation strategy out there, as you will soon notice.

Inbound marketing tactics	Outbound marketing tactics
Content marketing Landing page design Earned social media Community building Search engines Word-of-mouth	Email marketing Direct mail Cold calling Advertisements Leaflets Fairs and trade shows

Lead Generation Process

The trickiest part of the B2C lead generation process is the lead capture: how to get the potential leads to give their contact information? 

In order to manage this part of the lead generation process, you need to have a powerful lead magnet that has enough perceived value and lures prospective customers into the sales pipeline. Hopefully the example cases below help you with that.

Lead qualification, however, is quite easy in the B2C lead generation process. Basically almost all individuals who are willing to buy from you are sales qualified leads.

An unqualified lead is someone who

• Cannot afford your product or service
• Cannot buy from you because of location
• Does not meet possible age limit or other ethical restriction

Out of the three reasons, the first is the only universal one, and others depend on the type of business you are doing. As we can see, there are very few limitations that would make your B2C lead unable to convert if they really want to buy from you.

7 Examples of Different Lead Generation Strategies

Next we will take a look at 7 real-life lead generation strategies by different brands. In the examples, inbound marketing stands out as the most used lead generation strategy, but outbound marketing strategy is also present.

Keep in mind the type of business your brand is doing when evaluating which lead generation strategy you could use.

Whatever lead generation strategy you decide to use, don’t forget to capture lead information! In B2C lead generation that usually means email address or possibly a phone number.

Lead Generation Strategy #1: Video Testimonial from an Existing Customer

ExpressionMed makes medical tapes and stickers with fun designs to help keep medical devices secured while doing activities.

The company has a very specific audience: people who have or whose children have diabetes and need to carry pumps.

The website utilizes social proof, including some great video testimonials from existing customers. It is like digital word-of-mouth that encourages people to trust a brand.

This particular example video testimonial is fun to watch. It shows a customer working out at a gym and talking about the product and how it has helped her.

It is good to include a call to action nearby a video testimonial, so that you can drive your lead into the sales funnel immediately after dazzling them with the success stories.

Other ways to lure in potential leads is to utilize written testimonials and reviews.

Lead Generation Strategy #2: Create an Online Community

Another thing that you can copy from ExpressionMed is the sense of a community that they have created on their website and blog.

When you visit their website, you notice that they are all about helping diabetic people and making their life easier.

Here are some things that ExpressionMed does to create a sense of community:

• Publishing blogs about topics related to diabetes
• Providing tips and hacks for using the products
• Celebrating National Diabetes Awareness month
• Making donations and raising money for providing insulin and other resources
• Posting interactive content on social media
• Launching TikTok challenges
• Encouraging people to raise awareness with social media templates

By utilizing the community feeling, ExpressionMed are able to engage more leads and get loyal customers. When they work in multiple channels, the community has more chances of being in touch with the company.

Lead Generation Strategy #3: Social Media Marketing on TikTok

TikTok is hot right now: in 2023 it has 1,7 billion users and in 2022 it was calculated that every minute people consume a total of 167 million hours of TikTok videos. The engagement rate is 5,3% on accounts with over 100.000 followers, whereas on Instagram it is 1,1%, and Twitter 0,3%.

And let’s bust one more TikTok stereotype: Although the app is popular amongst kids and young adults, the popularity is also growing within the adult population. Over 50% of the (U.S.) users are 30+ years old.

On many social media platforms you have to accumulate followers before the content reaches large audiences. But on TikTok, you can get thousands of views overnight – if you get lucky and know how to hack your way in the app.

Not bad for a free lead generation tool, right?

For example an Australian fitness brand The A Life has content both on TikTok and Instagram.

On Instagram they have 10.9k followers and on TikTok 257.9k followers and 930.8k likes, even though the content in both platforms is roughly the same.

The content gives a push to try the exercises and eventually to buy a whole program.

You can find lots of small business success stories on TikTok by searching for the hashtags #business and #smallbusiness.

If your brand has a product or service that can be easily bought by anyone anywhere in the world, I would recommend trying out TikTok. 

However, if location of the target audience is important, social media marketing might not get you lots of actual paying customers, so you need to find a balance to how much time you invest in your TikTok account.

Lead Generation Strategy #4: Online Course as a Lead Magnet

Offer free or discounted online courses where you showcase your core competencies. This way the prospective customer can first get to know how to use your product or what are the benefits of your service.

I can tell you a secret: my email box is flooded with messages from wellness brands that have offered some free service in exchange for my email address. One of them is MBody.info, a one-woman business that offers online courses and tools for body care.

The journey started in 2020 when MBody offered a free Advent calendar on Facebook. The calendar featured a new stretching or mobility exercise every day. On top of the Facebook group, she asked the participants to sign up for a daily email reminder.

I took part in the campaign and have been on their email list ever since, and even bought something from them. Come the right moment, and I might purchase a course again.

In this Facebook post a stretch for chin and neck is introduced. The post has 97 likes and 26 comments: all potential customers!

By creating campaigns like this more often, providing valuable content regularly, and offering discounts, MBody.info has been able to gather a loyal following.

These days, there are also a lot of course builders that you can use to get started quickly.

Lead Generation Strategy #5: Reach out to Existing Contacts

This strategy is almost too obvious, but sometimes we forget to think about the simplest solutions. Maybe that is the reason why I should give an example. 

When the pandemic started, I participated in online sports classes organized by my university on Facebook Live. It was summer and the term was coming to an end, which meant also the end of the sports classes.

One of the instructors held classes outside the university program, and he decided to reach out to the participants who had followed his classes during the academic year and ask if we would like to come to his other classes.

It was a smart move, as he knew we would be interested – now the only question was whether we would like to pay for the other classes as well.

You can adopt this strategy to your business. Do you know people who you know would for sure be interested in your product based on their previous behavior? Contact them!

Lead Generation Strategy #6: Deliver Free Samples

If you have a new product or you are introducing your product to a new market, it might be a good idea to let the people try your product. This strategy works especially well with food, cosmetics, or other everyday products.

Traditionally businesses have given our free samples in supermarkets, at fairs, during events and so on. But how many companies deliver free samples to the customer’s door? In the era of social distancing and home deliveries, this option should be taken seriously.

I received a free sample together with my food delivery. It is not the first time that I have heard of the brand Frankful, but I have not this far purchased any product from them. Who knows if the apple salsa they sent me will become a new favorite?

If you are interested in an opportunity to generate leads via free sample deliveries, you should definitely try to partner with a local delivery service, like Frankful did.

If you combine the sample with a discount code that needs to be activated by giving an email address, you have another marketing or sales qualified lead in your hands. 

Don’t forget to include a leaflet that tells more about your brand!

Lead Generation Strategy #7: Pop-ups on you Landing Page

This is one of the classics. When site visitors land on your website, you can show them pop-ups that promote different content, discounts, products, and so on. 

When the pop-up flashes on your face on a website, there’s no way you will miss the message.

Time goes straight to business and encourages me to buy one year of access with a nice discount.

Other things that you can do with pop ups include:

• Lead generation forms
• Chatbots
• Quizzes
• Surveys
• Sign up for a newsletter
• Get access to gated content
• Book a demo
• Sign up for a free trial
• Reviews
• Testimonials

As you can see, the possibilities are pretty much endless.

Pop-ups do not need to be as aggressive as above. You can also add them to the side of your landing page, create slide-ins, or set them to react to certain triggers. Have a look at our widget library you can pick and choose your favorite from!

Conclusion and Next Steps

We saw 7 great examples of B2C lead generation tactics which included both inbound lead generation and outbound lead generation strategies, online and offline.

Hopefully these examples help you get inspired and help you generate leads for your business.

If you are a person of action and want to boost your lead generation game today, I have just the right solution for you.

A great lead generation tool that you can adopt immediately is Trustmary.

With Trustmary software, you can 

• Create your own lead generation forms
• Set lead generation pop-ups
• Collect reviews and testimonials
• Create surveys
• Showcase your reviews and testimonials on your landing pages
• Set automations for review, testimonial and survey requests
• Track your NPS
• Generate new leads
• Convert more leads into customers

Start generating leads with Trustmary now by signing up for a free trial!

Further Reading

Trustmary Blog

• 20+ Strategies in Lead Generation for B2B Business
• The Ultimate Guide to Lead Generation
• Lead Generation in Real Estate (15 Strategies!)

Other Resources

• TikTok Statistics – Revenue, Users & Engagement Stats (2022)

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