Lead generation is a fundamental element of business. Successfully converting prospective leads into customers requires forward thinking and well-thought out lead generation strategies. However, many businesses struggle to execute effective lead generation activities, wasting valuable time and money on unqualified leads.
There are a handful of common lead generation mistakes to avoid, and we’re here to provide helpful, actionable solutions. At EM360Tech, we provide expert-backed lead generation strategies, thought-leadership marketing, connecting you with high-quality MQLs to help you reach your targeted audience.
Common Lead Generation Mistakes and How To Fix Them
Lead generation activities can take some trial and error to get right for your business, and it’s only natural to face challenges along the way. Here are a few of these challenges and how to overcome them.
1. Not defining your target audience
Marketing your solution to everyone results in generic messaging that doesn’t strike a chord. The goal is to attract high-quality leads and persuade them to take action. And to do this successfully, you need to know exactly who your target audience is and what they need.
Figuring out your target audience
Develop a detailed Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) through market research and data analysis. You can utilise CRM systems, automation tools, and data visualisation to your advantage here. Define the key demographics of your intended audience, such as business size, industry, location, and buyer behavioural patterns. Who is your product for? What pain point does it solve?
Identifying your target audience in as much detail as possible helps you further down the line to tailor your content to suit specific consumer needs. Alongside other lead generation practices, you can increase the quality of the leads you get and convert Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs).
2. Ignoring content quality
Content is king, right? Whether it’s an interesting blog post, podcast, or landing page, it pays to create high-quality, useful content. After all, it is how you attract potential customers and retain them.
Consider if your material does the following:
- Provides value and relevance to customers.
- Demonstrates your industry expertise.
- Supports organic search rankings (optimised content is important for SEO).
- Enhances brand trust.
A massive 81% of consumers consider brand trust a deciding factor when making a purchase. High-quality content that positions your brand as the expert helps to build the rapport your leads need to convert.
At EM360Tech, we create content that aims to do exactly the above — position you as an industry leader. By collaborating with industry leaders and analysts, our expert creators produce engaging podcasts to build authority and lead generation for your business.
Turn your focus to producing valuable, well-researched, and well-written content that addresses your ideal customer’s problems. You should aim to do this for every stage of the sales funnel to further enhance your credibility. Not only is this effective in building trust, it supports SEO practices to drive more organic traffic to your website, too.
3. Not repurposing content
We see businesses make this lead generation mistake — limiting content to one format. They forget about the other opportunities that attract high-quality leads.
Every potential lead is different, and people consume content in various ways, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to lead generation strategies. So, how do you make sure your material suits a variety of consumer preferences? By repurposing content, of course.
A blog post can be turned into an engaging podcast episode, video, or visual infographic, for example. When you’re next creating content, think outside the box. Get creative. This approach caters to different audience preferences, so it doesn’t matter if they prefer reading, watching, or listening.
Repurposing content (new or old) helps to maximise your reach and improve conversions. It also increases its longevity, enabling you to generate leads more effectively and adhering to the ‘quality over quantity’ mantra. Give it a go by identifying your current top performing material and see how it can be reused.
Our top lead generation tip
Remember to include a call-to-action when transforming content into a new format. You don’t want to miss out on any high-quality leads from other channels.
4. Neglecting to personalise your messaging
Personalisation within your lead generation activities is key to generating leads. Remember that email from your favourite brand where the copy made you feel heard and valued as a customer? Content like this is memorable and helps to retain customers.
A report by Segment into personalisation revealed 77% of consumers experience frustration when receiving irrelevant promotional materials. It’s true; generic messaging lacks relevance, provides little value and doesn’t path the way for effective lead generation. With so much competition in the industry, going the extra mile to make it personal matters. It shows your brand’s attention to detail and consideration of each lead.
Segmenting your target audience
To incorporate personalisation into your efforts, start by segmenting leads based on key attributes like industry, company size, and behavioural data. Consider how users interact with content and use these insights to develop more personal targeted campaigns. Personalised messaging feeds into the trust building element of lead generation, helping develop stronger relationships and boost conversions.
5. Focusing on the wrong channels
Time and money go to waste if lead generation strategies aren’t aligned with how the intended audience consumes content. A successful strategy includes how you plan to distribute your content and where. There’s no use in publishing something to a platform your target age demographic doesn’t use, for instance.
Identifying how your customers interact with your brand
To overcome this lead generation challenge, it’s important to determine the channels you will use through data-informed insights. Look into your business's customer behaviour and engagement metrics to gauge where they spend their time. Which platform yields the best results?
Let’s say your target audience is predominantly on LinkedIn, you might invest in LinkedIn ads, sponsored content, or professional networking.
Another useful practice is A/B testing. When used as part of your lead generation strategy, you can compare content variations to identify where it works best and where it falls short. While this method takes time, it can help you pinpoint where to place different types for the best engagement and higher conversion rates.
6. Weak CTAs
Calls-to-action (CTAs) play an important role in conversion rates and lead generation strategies. Ineffective CTAs may have generic messaging such as “sign up” or “read more here”, be placed poorly on-page, or fail to tell the user what they need to do. These have the power to turn potential customers away.
You want leads to fill out a contact form, sign up to email marketing, or listen to the latest podcast episode, but if your CTA isn’t clear and strong, leads won’t always convert. Remember, your goal is to direct your potential customers to where they need to go and how to progress to the next stage of the sales journey.
How to craft a compelling CTA:
- Write in simple language for user accessibility.
- Make sure the copy is direct and action-based (avoid vague phrases like “Learn More”.
- Consider where the CTA is placed. For example, a CTA at the end of a blog post can incentivise leads to take the next step.
- Include an element of urgency to drive faster actions.
7. Not following up with your customers quickly
Perhaps one of the biggest lead generation mistakes you can make is failing to follow up your leads. This can look like not responding to an email, phone call, or a contact form. You may miss out on some great qualifying leads as a result.
A lead is expressing an interest in your brand for a reason. They may want to know more or move forward to the next stage in the sales funnel. It’s more than that, though. How you interact with leads, and when, can influence a potential customer’s perception of your brand and their future interactions. It may be the difference in them purchasing a product or looking elsewhere for a solution.
Engaging with leads increases the chances of the user converting into a paying customer. So, ensure your team is responding timely to their leads and reaching out to those interested in your business.
How to avoid missing out on lead opportunities:
- Implement a business-wide structured follow-up system with defined touch points across different channels.
- Personalisation your communications (refer back to our personalised messaging section).
- Take the time to nurture leads by providing additional useful content, such as relevant product information or reminders to purchase, etc.
We streamline this process at EM360Tech by providing tele-verified, pre-screened leads, which ensure businesses engage with promising prospects at the perfect time. Then, all you need to do is manage converting your MQLs to SQLs and measuring your lead generation success.
Creating a Lead Generation Strategy That Works with EM360Tech
A successful lead generation strategy combines high-quality content, targeted outreach, and data-driven insights. By avoiding the lead generation mistakes we’ve addressed, you can work on improving the quality of the leads you attract and boost conversion rates.
EM360Tech provides businesses with an extensive catalogue of lead generation services: guaranteed high-quality MQLS, expert thought-leadership content, a global network of C-suite and IT decision-makers, and performance analytics.
Are you rethinking your lead generation strategy? Get in touch with our team to get the ball rolling.