Wondering why your digital marketing campaign is not generating returns?
Why is the Lead–Customer conversion ratio low? Where is the problem?
They do not convert because the lead generation strategies are not targeting the right segment!
When you target your marketing efforts at everyone, you end up talking to no one!
Instead of targeting your marketing efforts on a broad audience, identify your target audience who require your service.
This specific target audience has a need for your product/service, and they will be interested in your pitch.
How to strategise your digital marketing campaigns to generate targeted leads? This blog will discuss the fool-proof strategies that will generate qualified leads. By doing so, your conversion rate will improve, and so will sales.
What are Targeted leads?
Generic messages will not appear genuine to the audience and will not connect with them. What is the solution?
You must segment the whole market into smaller groups based on your customer avatar.
Focus your marketing efforts on a particular customer segment. The leads generated will be genuinely interested in your service. This approach is called targeted lead generation.
Targeted lead generation includes five steps.
1. Identify Your Target Audience
The first step in generating targeted leads is identifying the target audience. You need to define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
ICP is your customer avatar, meaning the customer’s typical characteristics that make them prospective buyers.
Narrow down the large market into a narrow segment based on the ICP. This segment will be your target audience.
2. Build a Database of Relevant Contacts
Step two of targeted lead generation is to collect the contact details of this target audience and build a database.
There are multiple ways to build this contact details database, and one method is to invest in a Sales Intelligence System.
You can also prompt your audience to provide their contact details by engaging them with captivating content.
3. Segment the Target Audience List
Now that you have identified your ideal customers and gathered their details, segment them into groups.
Segment them based on the following criterion.
- Demographic segmentation (Gender, age, revenue, etc.)
- Behavioural segmentation (Pain points, engagement, Purchase behaviour, intent, etc.)
- Psychographic segmentation (Lifestyle, personality, interest, etc.)
- Geographic segmentation (City, country, language, climate, etc.)
This helps you to focus appropriate marketing messages on the right target audience accordingly.
4. Engage the Targeted Audience with Valuable Content
Curate content specifically to engage each segment of customers in each purchasing stage.
Delivering valuable content generates valuable leads and improves customer retention and loyalty.
Content, especially gated content, is also a great lead magnet. It draws in the relevant prospects and establishes thought leadership.
You can promote your lead magnets and capture potential leads with lead generation popups.
5. Nurture these Relationships
Marketing efforts do not stop with sales and service. In today’s digital era, brands must nurture relationships long after sales.
The prolonged communication makes them loyal customers, and they might become brand advocates who can publicly recommend your business with testimonials.
A popular way to nurture leads is to create content and share it in email marketing campaigns and on social media.
Why is Targeted Lead Generation Important?
Targeted lead generation is essential for any business to achieve the following results.
- It makes your business and marketing vision and goals very clear and concise.
- It aids in building deeper relationships with your customers.
- It creates loyal customers
- Attract qualified leads and improve your conversion rates.
- Get honest customer feedback that you can use to improve your product or service.
- With a personalized approach, your brand can stand out from the crowd. This attracts a massive pool of leads and customers.
10 Proven Strategies to Make Targeted Lead Generation Easier
Identifying the ideal target group of the audience will not solely guarantee success.
It is vital to use effective marketing strategies for the right set of audiences.
Let us discuss ten effective strategies to generate qualified leads.
1. Use Blogs to Create Valuable Content
Blogs are essentially used to share thoughts and emotions with people. But it can also serve as a targeted lead-generation tool. How?
Create valuable content with your blogs that deliver education or entertainment. You can convey the brand persona through these blogs and create a lasting impression.
When your blog educates and entertains customers without the intention to sell, they can connect with your brand.
Customers start trusting your brand, which is the main ingredient for a loyal customer base. Sharing this content on social media channels can be a great tool to improve brand awareness.
Generate more leads by investing in a quality blog and converting them into customers.
- Share engaging and relevant content.
- Encourage some form of action like subscribing, sharing, downloading, etc., with a clear call to action (CTA).
- Include subscribe and unsubscribe options for your customers.
- Create SEO-friendly blogs to rank them on the search engine result pages.
- Promote the blog on your social media pages.
2. Use Effective Landing Pages
Landing pages create the first impression with your customer. They are the first web page they view about your brand.
The main goal of a landing page is to make the customers take the desired action that benefits your brand.
The goal could be to capture user data like contact details, make a sale, subscribe to a newsletter, etc.
An effective landing page must have the following elements.
- Landing pages should target a specific audience. It would help if you created different landing pages for different segments of customers. The main aim is to personalize their experience and improve conversions.
- Offer something valuable to the customers for them to do the desired action. Your offers can include a free trial, a free resource like a guide, free webinars, etc. The freebie depends upon the type of product/service you offer.
- Add elements like popups and forms that can have a massive impact on your lead generation efforts.
- Don’t forget to showcase social proof like reviews and video reviews.
Make your landing pages attractive by including killer elements:
- A catchy and click-worthy headline
- Interesting sub-headings
- A powerful CTA
- Highlight your key customers to build trustEmphasise benefits rather than features
- Mobile-friendly landing pages
- Create urgency with a scarce, time-bound offer
- SEO-friendly landing pages
3. Design Optimised Contact Forms
Contact forms can be used to collect information about your leads. This information can be used to segment the customers and decide if they fit your customer avatar.
Optimising the contact forms to collect relevant information can increase targeted lead creation.
Moreover, it must be easy and not time-consuming for the customers to fill out these forms.
Make sure to follow these guidelines to optimise your contact forms.
- Make the contact form short and sweet.
- Include a strong CTA.
- Adhere to privacy laws and incorporate them on the contact page.
- Make the phone number optional.
- Optimise for mobile phones and enable auto-fill features.
- Use easy drop-down menus to fill out the form.
Add some extra spice with social proof. Trustmary offers lead generation forms that impress your visitors with customer reviews.
4. Email Marketing Lead Generation
Email marketing, especially outreach campaigns, involves collecting contact details from customers via an opt-in form.
One way to make your customers opt-in is by providing a valuable offer free of cost. A free e-book, printable checklists, etc., can be offered to get that information.
The lead generated by opt-in forms is more likely to fit with your customer avatar because people who find value in your offering are people who will be ready to purchase from you. Your subscribers know you and your brand’s personality.
Email marketing is a definitive way to improve conversions, provided they are nurtured properly. You are not stuffing your communications with people who are not interested. Instead, you have targeted people who have voluntarily subscribed to your marketing messages.
Optimise your email content for the targeted segment with these tips:
- Create personalised content that is interesting and engaging.
- You can share industry trends, product information, sales updates, market your blog, and so on through emails.
- Curate engaging subject lines that make the customers open your emails.
- Maintain the brand tone in your emails.
- Use simple and straightforward layouts and designs.
5. Speak at Public Events
Events are a great way to meet people with similar interests.
Seminars and webinars are great places to generate targeted, quickly convertible leads.
Moreover, prospects love to connect with the face behind the brand they love.
These public events enable you to display your expertise in your industry. You can utilise the platform to differentiate your brand from your competitors by communicating the value you deliver.
Participating in public events also enables forming of genuine, lifelong relationships.
6. Develop a Referral Program
When satisfied with your products and services, customers will be glad to refer your brands to others.
Word-of-mouth marketing is the best way to create a band of loyal followers. They share positive information about your brand with people in their network.
Make it easier for your high-valued customers to share information about your products. Make sharing by placing a click-to-share button or likewise.
You can also develop a reward policy for referrals so that you are encouraging them to do so. Design programs like cashbacks, offers, discounts, etc., for every referral.
Don’t forget about reviews: people actually trust reviews as much as personal recommendations from a friend or family member.
7. Engage on Social Media Platforms
Brands can engage with customers at a personal level on social media platforms. These platforms have essential tools to generate targeted leads.
You can garner a lot of information about customer demographics and buying behaviour. Segmentation is easier and more accurate with social media lead generation.
Social media platforms offer numerous tools and services for marketers. They offer business accounts that enable you to analyse customer profiles and segment them. The platforms provide statistical information regarding their customers, which is very insightful in marketing.
The choice of the platform also depends on the product/service you are offering.
LinkedIn is one of the best platforms for targeted lead generation. This might be because of the professional nature of the platform.
To make the most of your LinkedIn presence, consider using a bot for LinkedIn to streamline your outreach efforts and connect with potential leads more efficiently. By automating routine tasks, you can focus on crafting personalized messages that resonate with your audience.
8. Interactive Chatbots and Feedback Widgets
Digital marketing enables customers to interact with your brand 24/7.
It is very common for customers to have queries about the offering before purchasing. The brands must clear the doubts immediately for successful conversions.
It is impossible to be available for customer queries all the time. Provide real-time assistance with AI-powered chatbots that are available around the clock.
Chatbots and feedback widgets can also gather customer information for further follow-up by executives.
Pssst…. Remember to collect those raving star reviews!
9. Ads on Various Platforms
You can use platforms like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., for advertisements.
They have paid Ad services that target customer segments. These platforms have millions of users, and you need to be present where your customers are.
You can generate a considerable number of leads by advertising on these platforms.
In addition to targeted leads, you also show your presence and earn the trust of your customers.
Target your campaigns based on your segmentation. Make your ads attractive and clickable to get the most out of the marketing investment.
10. Trial Marketing
Letting your product/service market itself can be the best way to build a loyal customer base.
You can offer a demo period or a free sample of your prospective customers. This way, you give them time to decide if they want to make a purchase.
They will definitely make a purchase if they are impressed with the quality. These customers already know that the product is helpful.
In addition to making a repurchase, they might also spread the word. Marketing your free trial is also important to inform them of the offering.
Final Thoughts
Customers are the lifelines of any business. And lead generation is crucial to reducing your marketing costs and improving returns.
Before deciding on a strategy, identify your target audience and create a customer profile.
The abovementioned strategies can level up your lead generation. Implement multiple strategies to find the best combination that works for your brand.
The article is written in collaboration with digital marketing agency UpBit Digital.
FAQ
Facebook is an excellent platform for lead generation. You can use Facebook Ads and forms to gather customer information and improve conversion. You can promote a well-designed landing page that prompts users to provide information.
Which platform should be used for B2B lead generation?
LinkedIn is a better platform for generating B2B leads. The platform is very professional, and users look for better offers and services. You can also be a part of a like-minded network of people.
Are paid ads on social media worth the money?
Yes, paid ads on social media platforms are worth every penny you spend, as long as they are smartly targeted.