In digital marketing today, not understanding the concept of lead generation is an offense. Generating leads is the number-one task for the vast majority of marketing managers, but few workflows are followed by activities that grasp how this work will function as a whole and steer these leads toward conversion. Lead generation is just the starting point for strategies that must be calculated based on the costs, team, tools, and campaigns available at any given time. Is your lead base sitting idle on some platform, with no exponential growth and no idea where to go? Start with costs. Cost per lead and cost per acquisition How much is each lead worth to you? What metrics have you been using to capture these leads, and what actions did it take to get their name, email, and other valid information? This needs to be your first concern. Measuring CPL and CPA monthly leads to better return on investment (ROI) and allows you to steer lead nurturing strategies more realistically. In your cost calculation, you should forecast how much you spend on lead generation plus the costs of taking that lead through to acquisition. Have you been doing this? Lead nurturing Digital marketing isn’t just about generating leads; it’s about knowing what to do with each of them. Companies that nurture leads generate 50% more sales at a 33% lower cost than companies that don’t, according to Forrester Research data. Nurturing your leads means putting each contact into a buying process, so that they move through the awareness, consideration, and decision stages until they finally purchase your service or product. Although most nurturing paths are done through email marketing, this isn’t the only content flow option for winning over your customer. Nurturing flows will prioritize the leads most engaged with your brand through actions that connect content to context. Lead scoring is a great way to do this. For example: a lead who viewed content about the company’s services earns 10 points; if they opened the email and clicked the free consultation CTA, they earn another 20 points; and if they got in touch through the website, they earn another 20 points. This score will tell you where to invest your time, that is, which leads are most ready to buy.
This way, the salesperson (outbound calling) doesn’t waste time approaching contacts who aren’t ready for it yet, and instead engages with people who have already provided valuable information and are genuinely interested in the service. This saves time, staff, and money, and brings greater precision to digital marketing. It’s not enough just to know trendy concepts and make the minimum effort. Lead generation is the tip of the iceberg in the sales process; you need to dive deeper to find what is bigger, what makes your customers arrive and stay.
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