Want to excel in lead generation? Here’s some advice: put traditional lead generation techniques on the backseat. A new lead generation technique in town creates quite a buzz.
So, what happened to the old lead generation techniques? They are certainly not dead, are they? Well, no. Good old lead generation techniques are still in business, but they have lost some of their effectiveness due to gross misuse and overuse. Also, the low-trust and short-attention-span world does not have time for those lead-generation techniques anymore.
So, what should you do? Toss your lead generation practices and hope that more people become interested in your business over that of your competitors without any action on your part? Certainly not. But as the world around you is evolving, your lead generation ideology needs to change, too.
The Shift in Lead Generation
In earlier days, small and medium business owners and organizations could enter the marketplace and hunt down new leads and prospects with a targeted approach. The ground rule was to find a message that resonated with your audience and distribute that message through a channel that reached the right people.
Following the advancement of technology and the internet boom, traditional lead generation took a paradigm shift. The internet is where the prospects are; why go anywhere else to generate leads? Of course, traditional over-the-phone lead generation campaigns can still bring good results, but compared to reaching all these prospects at once, the traditional campaign lost its charm.
However, thanks to technological advancements, using the internet for lead generation lost its charm even quicker. Today, your prospects are armed with different ad-blocking tools and technology that allow them to mute any message that doesn’t interest them. Not to mention, social media has created two-way communication between brands and customers.
So, how can you generate new leads in such a situation?
It’s quite simple! Get people talking about your business, and you will have interested prospects. That is how referrals, PR, SEO, and links happen.
However, all you need to ensure is that what people say about your business and brand has a positive undertone. A few negative reviews can be enough to drive prospects away. But how can you get people to write positive reviews or make recommendations for your brand?
According to a recent survey on what motivates customers to make recommendations or get them talking, 93% of respondents cite “a positive experience with the brand.”
Yes, you read that right. And why not? A positive brand experience makes the customers happy. And everyone knows that happy customers are the most potent marketing assets an organization can have. It’s a powerful lead-generation channel.
A positive customer experience and a happy customer are the greatest lead generation tools available. They will talk about their experience and your brand anywhere, online and offline, and make prospects interested in your brand.
In this low-trust world, trust is the new form of lead conversion. When more people talk positively about you, trust can be acquired quickly, generating more leads along the way.
