Top Tips for Business Lead Generation in 2015
When we think of lead generation, the first thing that comes to mind might be direct techniques such as cold calling or direct mail. The problem with these methods is that in today’s marketplace, they don’t really work that well.
We live in a world where people have little time and decisions are made quickly. People don’t like to be interrupted and this is why more traditional ways of trying to generate leads don’t work so well any more. The key now, is to reach people that are actively looking for what you do.
Our top tips for generating leads online:So, if people are looking for your services, the big question becomes – how can they find you. Here are our top tips:
Local Listings
Even if you aren’t a ‘local’ business, sign up with Google and claim your company’s Google+ page and map listing. If someone is searching for what you do + the town/location in which you are based OR they are located in your area and are making a more generic search you want to make sure you appear in the local results.
Responsive
Make sure your website is mobile friendly.
The new Google algorithm that launched in April 2015 basically means that if your website isn’t easily viewed and isn’t navigable on a mobile or tablet, then you are unlikely to appear in the search results on those devices. With 30% of all traffic coming via those formats, it really is in the interest’s of every business to make sure that their website responsive.
To check your website click on the link below to test in in Google’s tool.
https://developer.chrome.com/docs/lighthouse/overview/
Write for your audience
Make sure the information on your website is aimed at your audience. It can be easy to get into the trap of writing what you want to say, rather than the things your visitors want to find out about. Your content is the most important thing in terms of attracting visitors to your website. Make sure it is well written, quality content and relevant to your business. The days of uploading hundreds of pages of poor quality or spun pages are long gone.
Keep in touch
Keeping in touch with people will help nurture contacts into leads. You can do this in a number of ways. Email marketing works really well if you do it correctly, in the same way that you need to ensure your content is targeted at your audience, the same is true of emails.
There is no point simply telling everyone how fantastic you are, you need to be adding value to him or her in some way. Think about the kinds of issues your customers have and how your products or services help solve those issues. By encouraging people to sign up to your email newsletters you then have the ability to turn those contacts into valuable leads.
You can also keep in touch using social media platforms; this is a great way of engaging with an audience and reminding your contacts that you exist. Ask them questions and share your knowledge and expertise, ask opinion on related subjects. Try and remember that it is a two-way conversation and not a way of broadcasting adverts, you will simply turn people off completely.
Have a website that works
Sounds simple but if someone gets to your website and has no idea what you do, they aren’t going to hang around for long. You need to make sure that these three things happen:
- the website loads quickly
- it is immediately obvious what you do
- it is easy for a visitor to find the information they want
If your website is slow, difficult to navigate and tricky in terms of finding information then not only are visitors likely to leave, but search engines are less likely to display your website in the search results. This is because they are ultimately trying to ensure that people have a good experience and to be honest as a business looking to generate leads, you should too.
