Souq.com was an online shopping service site and the largest e-commerce platform in the Arabian continent that’s been popular in the United Arab Emirates and some other parts of the Middle East since its launching back in 2005, until Amazon.com bought them back in March 2017 as a subsidiary.
Obviously Amazon.com bought Souq.com because they are doing very well. And they are doing very well because they were providing the needs of thousands, even millions of people around the continent.
They made things easy. Anyone who needs a new portable chair for a trip to the beach this Sunday could just go online and place an order. Anyone needing some groceries but don’t have the time to drive to the store just has to go online. Souq.com has rendered assistance to so many just by offering the kind of service they have. Amazon.com does that too, and they bought out Souq.com so they could enter the Middle Eastern market as well. It would seem like a big leap but Amazon must have known, digital industries can only grow bigger.
Our takeaway from this story? They are proof of the fact that everything is already being done online even before the pandemic broke out in the latter part of 2019. What’s more noteworthy is that the transition of industries into the digital world has paved the way for the creation of many other industries, as well as the evolution of the way many well-known processes are done.
Take marketing for example– Cold-calls, cold-emails, and even salespeople directly approaching customers are now frowned upon. Those efforts are usually unsuccessful.
And what is the approach that works? Inbound.
Of course, following the whole Inbound approach is concomitant with understanding all the other concepts and processes under its umbrella. Among these, is Lead Generation Marketing.
But what is lead generation marketing, and why is lead generation marketing important, we shall discuss them in the next sections! Read on!
Even in traditional marketing, lead generation marketing is widely used, simply because it is a step that always precedes a sale. The sale is already a byproduct of lead generation.
Put simply, Lead Generation Marketing is the process of drawing potential customers to your product or your brand.
All over the planet there are people who have a need for or may want exactly what you sell. The way to reach them is through lead generation. And Lead Generation Marketing gives us the process for that.
Before we go further, let us first be clear on what a lead is.
In the marketing and business industry, a lead pertains to people who can be a potential buyer or client. Mostly, these are people who fit the buyer persona you have created for your product.
There are billions of people in the world but what separates a “lead” from the rest of the population is that they have a higher potential of making a purchase and you can make this forecast because they do exhibit their interest in your product through certain means like visiting your web page regularly, leaving out their information on your landing page so they can download one of your eBooks, or by engaging with your content on various channels.
Pretty straightforward, right?
Now that we’re clear on what a lead is, and now that we have discussed what is lead generation marketing, the next sensible thing to ask is: what are the channels or avenues to get into this process?
All that is in the next section!
So what are the popular channels used for lead generation marketing? Here they are:
Since lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers to your brand, content marketing has truly become one of the topnotch ways to do this. Content Marketing requires you to build a blog or website. And there, you get to talk about your industry, the common problems in that industry and how to solve them. You package your content in a way that doesn’t sound like you are making a sale.
Lead Generation Marketing through content marketing is a way for you to become a thought leader, a guru, a reliable source for vital information. This is a way for you to nurture leads until they are ready to make a purchase. The pieces of content you publish can also be shared across a variety of social media, giving your internet presence a greater boost.
Social Media platforms that have become pretty popular over the years include Facebook, Instagram, as well as LinkedIn. Facebook is a really great tool for lead generation marketing. They offer specific lead ads that allow you to collect information from people who viewed your ad. This widens your audience reach. Instagram, having been bought by Facebook, offers a similar service too. LinkedIn on the other hand, is great for B2B lead generation, just as Facebook and Instagram are amazing for B2C lead generation.
Being a fundamental part of a variety of lead generation strategies, email forges you a more personal and up close relationship with a lead through newsletters that allow you to regularly relay info on your products, sales, and etc.
So we are clear on what is lead generation marketing. But who needs it?
Well, both B2C and B2B companies need lead generation marketing to be able to reach people who fit their buyer persona and who may truly transition from being a mere lead to being a customer.
Lead Generation Marketing will allow them to target audiences who have a greater potential of becoming a customer.
Having said all that, you probably now have a good understanding on why is lead generation marketing important. But just in case you need further convincing, we’re ready to humor you!
Lead Generation Marketing allows businesses to grow. Truth is, it is the only real way for business to achieve any growth as it is the very step before a sale.
Why is lead generation marketing important? Because companies who aren’t utilizing it these days are passing on a really great revenue, and sadly, great revenue is key to good business.