With the emergence of new technologies and their subsequent effects on the general market, new businesses spring up to cover these new innovations, as well as new strategies for lead generation for startups. The demands on new products and services are bound to rise, as are those in existing industries that have become the base upon which these latest changes and technologies depend.
A sudden rise in demand can be seen across various industries, especially those that have access to e-commerce. This is why, in the last few years, we have seen an upsurge in startup companies. This phenomenon is a direct response to the increase of demand across various industries, made possible by the efficient utilization of e-commerce retail stores and various online markets. The environment becomes more often than not quite competitive.
To stay on top, you will need to be smart and know effective strategies that would help your company capture that rise in demand. In this article, we have compiled effective strategies for startups that will help your company produce leads catering to that rise in demand. Before we discuss those strategies, let us quickly discuss what is lead generation.
WHAT IS LEAD GENERATION?
Lead Generation is any technique or action used to draw clients to your organization with the intention of having them engage with it, with the ultimate goal of converting them into customers.
It is particularly important to new upcoming businesses, especially startups, due to the high competition that there is a focus on lead generation. As we have stated above as a startup, usually that means you are taking advantage of a rise in demand. So your company and others are competing for prospective customers. This is the main reason why lead generation is very important for startups. You'd want to make sure that your company would have a sound lead generation strategy. It is therefore very important that you would have some idea of what to do.
15 LEAD GENERATION STRATEGIES FOR STARTUPS
Below we have compiled a list of tips or strategies that we here at XYNC have found to have worked regarding lead generation. Now these are quite a few but are effective. The more of these strategies you apply, the more likely it is for your company to produce more and more leads, hence more conversions.
- Create a system for outreach
In order to interact with potential customers and develop deep relationships with them, outreach strategies are a must. For an outreach plan, your company might employ a variety of channels, such as direct mail, cold calling, email, and social media. Creating your system for reaching out to your prospects is important, especially when you nurture leads.
- Create a strong lead magnet
A lead magnet is a free resource or special offer made available to clients in exchange for their contact information. It could include different products like a coupon code, webinar, white paper, ebook, template, or any other useful tool. This is rather intuitive by offering something of value for free, you attract attention and increase your number of leads. You could offer free trials, and discounts, do a live demo, provide free content such as white paper, and conduct webinars.
- Link Up With Active Communities
Get in touch with active communities to reach a larger audience. During conversations with customers, find out where your prospects get their information from. Find out where your potential customers spend the majority of their internet time and interact with niche-related communities there. This is a fantastic approach to reaching a larger audience or new industries for your content and/or message.
- Create Landing Pages
Landing pages are separate web pages created to encourage visitors to carry out a particular action, such as signing up or making a purchase. Compared to the homepage of a website, which may have multiple topics and distractions. According to an Omnisend study, in terms of sign-up form and conversion rate, Landing pages have one of the highest conversion rates at 23%.
- Use Social Media
You should put a lot of work into social media when generating leads. In order to be found and create trust, a startup should develop and expand its online presence. Make sure to improve every aspect of your company's social media profiles, from the bio to the profile image. Establish rapport and engage with your target audience. Additionally, you can increase your brand's online visibility by using paid promotions and advertisements on sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Google.
- Do A/B Testing
Simply put, A/B testing is a method for contrasting two versions of anything to determine which works better. When trying out various techniques in your lead generation campaign, always try to create at least two approaches and see which one works better.
By doing A/B testing, you will be less likely to waste time, money, or effort on a lead generation strategy. However, before you start to draw firm conclusions, be sure you are aware of what you are testing and why.
- Apply an Incentive-based Referral System
Word-of-mouth marketing is as crucial as ever, and technology has significantly altered the methods in which consumers share information about the companies they love. As per annexcloud, people are 4 times more likely to buy when referred by a friend.
You can create unique referral codes for specific customers and prospects when selling your products and services. These codes can be used to provide new customers discounts on their initial purchases, as well as reward devoted customers for referring others. This is bound to turn your customers into a lead generation machine.
- Use Direct Mail
Direct Mail may seem old school, but it does give off the effect of being personalized. Be picky and target specific customers that you know will probably convert and yield high returns. Additionally, you can provide better special offers, coupons, or other allurements to encourage your recipient to turn into a customer. Instead of being the last stage in the sales process, direct mail may be your first attempt at getting a customer to visit your website or give you a call. According to inikit, direct mail marketing has a 37% higher response rate than email.
- Utilize Deals and Discounts
Consider joining forces with other complementary companies that are more experienced in the deals industry. These websites will locate the attention for you to get your product or service out there with a budget and reach you might not have as their sole purpose is to attract new clients.
Deals sites are a top lead-generating method for companies that just need to get their name and brand out there, even though the margins may not be the highest. Once you get the hang of the strategies for deals and discounts you can start doing it on your own.
- Take Advantage of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Understanding and knowing how search engines work will allow you to create strategies to exploit how they work and get your brand on the first page of various search engines. Make sure that your website contains language that is clear and simple, factual information, and answers to frequently asked questions. How to effectively take advantage of SEO would have multiple means and techniques. You might want to hire an expert regarding SEO to make sure your brand gets picked up by web crawlers of various search engine sites.
- Create Newsletters
When you do email marketing it is good that you do newsletters as well. It's crucial to offer alluring reasons for people to sign up for your newsletter with exclusive deals, opportunities, and information. This should keep your prospects engaged and keep your brand top of their minds, aside from actually converting them into customers.
- Provide Downloadable Material
Push that you are an authority in your industry by providing downloadable material, such as white papers, case studies, ebooks, etc… This creates value for your brand as well as confidence and trust. If your downloadable content is of high caliber, you might discover that peers are sharing it, which will spread the name and reputation of your company far beyond your own on-site marketing efforts.
- Provide Live Chat
Live chat provides direct communication with your company. Having a live chat really goes a long way in creating trust and confidence. It also brings convenience to your prospects and customers. When they go to your site they may have questions and instead of reading FAQs and the like, they just go directly to the chat without having to email or call.
- Employ Retargeting
Retargeting helps a company get in touch with prospective clients who might not have finished a transaction or taken the desired action. Based on the user's prior contacts with your company, you can then further tailor their adverts. These prospects have already shown some degree of interest. According to 99firms, retargeting can increase conversion rates by as much as 150%.
- Employ of Outsourced Lead Generation
Lead generation may be time and money-consuming, especially for startups that may already be understaffed and have a thin budget. For a company trying to boost lead generation and expand its clientele, outsourcing lead creation might be a smart strategy. You can make use of the knowledge and resources of the supplier and concentrate on other areas of your organization by using their sales lead generation services. Additionally, it is a low-cost approach that can be readily scaled up or down as necessary without requiring the expenditure of additional resources.
By clicking here you will be led to an article that should explain why it may be better and cheaper to outsource your lead generation and marketing, especially if you are just starting.
In conclusion, effective lead generation is a key tool for businesses wishing to thrive in the present-day world of intense competition. By utilizing a planned approach and methodologies, startups can draw in and engage their target audience, convert leads into dedicated clients, and hasten the growth of their business.
Keep in mind that the key is to understand the specific wants and preferences of your potential customers, to satisfy those needs and preferences by providing them with valuable services, and to continuously enhance your lead generation methods based on data-driven insights and industry trends. With an effective lead generation strategy in place, startups may pave the road for success, develop a loyal clientele, and capture growing market share for long-term growth. Utilize lead generation's capacity to set your company on the road to success and prosperity.
