Why Lead Generation Doesn’t Just Mean Sales

Many of our client’s businesses and sales processes are relationship-based so traditionally that they have not engaged in specific marketing or lead generation programs. As the B2B world, like the rest of the world, becomes increasingly digital, internet marketing — of which lead generation can be a subset — is becoming the new sales. But lead generation programs and relationship-based sales and marketing need not be mutually exclusive. Instead, they can help a relationship-based approach by identifying additional potential clients and enable your company to initiate a relationship rather than waiting for your potential client to reach out (which could take months, which is more like years in internet time).

In addition, there are easy ways to incorporate lead generation and analytics into your website in ways that benefit your company but don’t necessarily affect your sales process.

Lead Generation for Recruiting and Human Resources

One off-the-cuff idea for lead generation usage is if you have a particularly demanding or traffic-driving careers section of your website. If you’ve taken the time to build out a platform to collect job applications, then tracking each submission and subsequent conversation manually is a waste of time.

By building and tracking your online application forms in terms of lead generation, you can:

• Compile a comprehensive, one-stop list of applicants for each position
• Track the website statistics of each applicant (pages viewed, number of visits to the site, when they first found your site, etc.)
• Create a database of all applicant contact information
• Easily send out response emails to individual applicants or designated groups
• Funnel qualified applicants through an application and interview process
• Track HR conversations with applicants and the status of their application

Using this strategy, your HR department can cohesively work through a position application process, keep up with communication with applicants, and have all necessary information readily at hand.

Customer Feedback and Inquiries as a Lead Generation Vehicle

Some clients of ours have opted to add links to their site pages that open an email browser and allow the visitor to contact an upper-level employee or manager. This is sometimes done to discuss a certain product, service, or solution the company provides. Instead of doing this, why not put a personalized form in front of it? This lead generation tactic can be just as personal as an email (which will still go through to the identified person), but still captures these inquiries as leads for:

• Maintaining a clean customer database for future communication (including email and newsletters)
• Tracking response rates of employees to customers
• Establishing what actions visitors to the site are taking
• Establishing recurring customer inquiries and visits

Deloitte uses an online RFP to track inquries
through a lead generation tactic

Contact Us can be a Lead Generation Tactic

Similarly, many Contact Us pages provide email addresses, phone numbers, and other contact information, but not a form that can track contact us inquiries in a non-manual way.

As a first step, creating a form for your contact us page will lead to better monitoring of:

• Visitor reasons for contact or other inquiries not addressed elsewhere
• Number of contact requests from the website vs. other channels
• Repeat visitor contact requests over time
• Funneling the visitor through receiving the information they have requested

RainCastle and Innosight, an innovation consulting firm,
created a comprehensive contact us form for their
About Us section that also lists phone numbers
and office locations

Without changing the relationship nature of how you sell, you can use your website and analytics even more effectively to increase your flow of leads. The results of these efforts will engender larger discussions about potential lead generation campaigns to increase sales and expand your client database.

Is your company using any lead generation campaigns? Do you want to start? Contact RainCastle to discuss creating and implementing lead generation campaigns that align with your marketing goals.