What is inbound lead generation?

Posted by Katie Coombs on July 2,2019

Creative sign with the text - Lead GenerationFirst, let's start by defining what a lead is. A lead is a person who has indicated interest in your company’s products or services in some way. When a lead hears from your business, they’ve already opened a line of communication and are aware of what you do.

For example, let’s say you filled out a survey about vacation preferences for your family. You then receive an email from the company that hosted the survey, containing various vacation packages that might suit your family’s needs. It would feel far more relevant and far less intrusive than a cold-call from a travel agent, out of the blue, with no knowledge that you were even researching vacations.

From the perspective of the business, the information you’re submitted about your family’s preferences helps them to customize their opening communication, in this case an email, to entice you, specifically. Say you want a beach vacation, the email won’t be full of vacation packages for the mountains.

How do we generate online leads?

In general, a visitor will first become aware of your business through one of you marketing channels. These channels include your website, blog, social media page, digital or traditional advertising, etc.

Once on your site, that visitor then clicks on a call-to-action or CTA. Dictionary.com defines a call-to-action as a piece of content intended to induce a viewer, reader, or listener to perform a specific act, typically taking the form of an instruction or directive, for example “buy now” or “click here. ” CTAs are often clickable images or buttons, encouraging your visitor to act.

The CTA then directs your visitor to a landing page. A landing page is a page of your site that contains a form. These pages are designed to capture the visitors contact information, in exchange for an offer.

What is an offer, you may ask?

An offer is something of value that is being “offered” on your landing page, in exchange for your visitors’ personal information. Some examples of offers include:

  • Ebooks
  • Guides
  • Webinars (Live & Archived)
  • Slideshows
  • Kits
  • Industry Case Studies
  • New Industry Research
  • Templates
  • Free Tools
  • Free Trials
  • Product Demos
  • Consultations
  • Coupons

The offer itself must have enough perceived value to your visitor, that they are willing to give you personal details, in exchange for access to it. The more valuable the offer, the more information visitors are willing to divulge. This translates to the more form fields your visitor will be willing to fill out.

Once a visitor fills out the form on your landing page, you have a new lead! Now it’s time to nurture that lead and promote your offer on your social channels, through paid search and on your website, to bring in more.

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Topics: Inbound Marketing, Online Lead Generation