5 Proven Lead Generation Strategies that Won’t Ruin Your Budget

Every business has to secure new customers, but finding ways to do this on a tight budget can be tricky. Thanks to the internet, this is now easier and more effective than ever before.

In the past, if you were to buy billboard advertising or even place ads in flyers or magazines, it’s always a guess on the type of ROI you were going to see. In fact, it was more like playing the casino and the odds usually weren’t in your favor. For the most part, this type of advertising would usually fall under ‘branding‘.

On the internet, it’s a whole different ball game, and everything is trackable, down to the finest penny, click, or impression!

Whether it’s online or offline, acquiring a new customer isn’t cheap. In fact, it’s reported that acquiring a new buyer is five to 25 times pricier than retaining an existing one, but you can generate leads successfully with limited resources if you approach it the right way.

What does this involve? Well, for every business it’s different — but there are clearly winning strategies that continue to work across all platforms and markets.

If you are willing to put in the time, work, and effort… here are five powerful strategies you have to try.

1. Automating Your Marketing Process

An effective marketing process puts your brand in front of new customers and makes it appear so utterly tantalizing they just can’t say no.

But, as you probably know by now, achieving such amazing results takes time, money and energy — and having enough of all three to go around isn’t always easy.

Automating your marketing process is a valuable solution.

Multiple tools (some free, some not) are designed for this: you’ll send a marketing email the prospect signed up for and, if they choose to act on it, they’ll end up directed to the relevant landing page. Follow-up emails can be sent according to specific criteria as well, such as if the recipient has read a preceding message (ideal for consistency).

Automating your marketing is a real time-saver, won’t break the bank and frees your employees up for additional lead generation, so give it some thought.

2. Growing Your Email Subscriber List

Actually building a list of prospects to contact via email is crucial, though — after all, who’s going to receive your marketing messages if your subscriber list is blank?

You have to make enough of an impact on visitors to your site that signing up for emails feels like a natural next step. Make sure your website’s visually-impressive, easy to use and offers real value — why should anyone want to hear more from you if you seem to have nothing to say?

Offer the opportunity to subscribe on each page of your site and give a good incentive to submit their email address. A discount on an upcoming purchase or a freebie (such as an ebook or podcast) can help to sweeten the deal.

3. Up Your Content Marketing Game — Blog Often and Create Videos

Blogging is still a solid part of a great marketing game. First and foremost, you’ll add fresh content and more keywords to your website on a regular basis — both key for a good SEO campaign.

Secondly, you can share these across social media to increase engagement and target different demographics within your audience. Blogging is cost-effective too, especially if you build a good relationship with a quality freelancer: the more work you put their way, the better their deal is likely to be.

Videos can be useful in generating leads as well. 90 percent of users cite product videos as major aids to their purchase decisions and 64 percent are more likely to order an item online. Watching videos is more convenient than reading a blog post, more visually stimulating and actually give you a chance to show your products or services off in motion.

Again, producing videos doesn’t have to be expensive: once you have a dedicated ‘studio’ set up and the necessary equipment, you can use them as often as you need.

4. Be Accessible and Organized

When people receive your marketing emails, read your blogs or watch your videos, what will they do if they have questions?

While some will head to your site in search of an FAQ, others will come to you directly. You need to offer multiple communication channels that are convenient and accessible to customers, including live chat, telephone and social media (which we’ll touch on more below).

Live chat software has become one of the most popular interaction methods for businesses, enabling website visitors to engage with support agents in real-time via mobile or computer. They can get the assistance they need in-browser without having to dial a number or draft an email.

The best live chat software makes staying organized and responsive easy, while providing you with helpful data to understand your audience better.

Best of all: it’s free for the customer — making it a risk-free choice on their part.  

Give your prospects multiple ways to reach you, ideally 24/7, when working to generate leads.

5. Fully Embrace Social Media to Drive Sales

Sixty-six percent of marketers using social media for lead generation see real benefits, even on just six hours per week.

Social media has given brands a free, simple, direct way to engage customers at any time, any place. They can reach out to you through their browser or an app in a matter of moments, and an organized company will respond just as fast.

Being accessible is crucial for businesses of all sizes: customers want to feel valued and respected — and letting messages go unresponded to for weeks certainly doesn’t help. A good social-media strategy lets you demonstrate your expertise, build a rapport, show your human side and ultimately convey why prospects need your products in their life.

You can invest in ads on social media too if you can afford it, which make a great complement to organic lead-generation techniques.  

Networks offer various tools for targeting people similar to existing and ideal customers, based on interests etc.

Either monitor social media activity yourself if you’re particularly low on resources, or hire someone to do it for you.

You also might want to consider affiliate software for your social media outreach, as this incentivizes sharing on social networks.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Lead Generation Efforts in 2019

Lead generation is crucial for brands of all sizes, across all industries. The five strategies explored above will help you capture leads in a budget-friendly way, expanding your reach without devouring too much of your finances. Focus on efficiency and productivity to streamline the entire process, leaving your team the time they need for other essential tasks.

With time, you’ll grow your customer-base, increase your brand visibility and identify the lead-generation techniques that work best for you.