Lead generation is critical to business development strategy.
However, it’s not just there to bring in revenue for the organization.
It also exists to expand the possibilities that a business has for new leads, opportunities and brand awareness.
Today, we share our views as lead generation services company as we examine the importance of lead generation in your business dev strategy and the dangers of not establishing a robust system.
New Revenue
Lead generation is mainly used for bringing in new customers.
No matter how established a company is and how robust the clientele, there will always come a time where natural changes in the economic landscape and in business cycles can cause a downtrend in revenue.
This is where lead generation comes in handy in bringing in new potential customers to fill the gap.
However, that’s not all.
Since all businesses follow a natural cycle, it’s normal for old, regular clients to “die” out, so a company will need to keep filling its list of new people to provide solutions for.
Related: Success Stories in the Age of Digital Marketing
Creating New Markets for Growth
The lack of lead generation means the lack of new markets for a company to grow.
When a company wants to start expanding its market share or start selling to new industries, they need to have a lead generation in place to lead the charge.
Sure they can opt for old fashioned advertising and marketing, but having a focused lead generation team in place ensures that there are new clients in new markets.
Brand Awareness
One of the best indirect benefits of lead generation is that it improves brand awareness and people’s perception of the brand.
Even the most personalized marketing campaigns will reach people who aren’t part of the target market, and every time content goes viral it affects everyone it reaches.
The larger the investment in lead generation, the more money is spent in marketing, and the more the brand sticks out.
We see companies that have no active brand awareness campaigns benefit from their lead generation efforts indirectly because of the marketing materials that are put out on various platforms.
This is important because brand recognition helps boost a company’s prestige and if an indirect prospect one day needs the solution you provide, you’ll probably be the first organization they hit up.
Related: 5 Examples of Brilliant Personalisation from your Favourite Brands
Business Opportunities
Lead generation doesn’t just bring in prospects that are essential to bringing in revenue, but they can also be a source of future business opportunities.
There are a lot of stories of former customers that have become partners in different businesses allowing entrepreneurs to leverage new talent and resources to scale their businesses. Although this doesn’t happen all the time, you shouldn’t be robbed of the opportunity.
Some companies even have specific lead generation campaigns set up to look for partnerships and opportunities for expansion in their own industry. Think of how smaller startups have dedicated teams that do outreach for partnerships and investments.
This forward facing approach allows them to take advantage of the multiple growth opportunities that exist by collaborating with other people.
The absence of active lead generation could cause opportunities to start drying up for an organization.
Related: Top Lead Generation Success Stories in Australia
Personalized Lead Generation is Efficient
Outbound lead generation is one of the most efficient ways of bringing in leads.
Using methods such as account-based marketing, a lead generation team can swiftly bring in leads especially for businesses with solutions that have shorter LTVs.
In comparison, active brand awareness campaigns might not be worth it for companies who are just starting up or have limited marketing budgets that they can depend on.
By employing proper lead generation strategies, organizations can use their resources properly and build growth efficiently.
A good lead generation strategy is also vital to improving conversion rates, this means less waste when it comes to time, money and efforts.
Related: Email Personalization: What to Do When You Have Limited Data
Lead Generation Leads to Lead Nurturing
Proper lead generation is key to getting people to convert faster, guiding them through a pipeline, or even remarketing to old clients to increase their LTV.
In today’s age, lead nurturing is an essential part of any pipeline, especially in the B2B space, and having a proper lead generation strategy in place usually includes a lead nurturing strategy that’s equally robust.
Lead nurturing allows for better customer experiences and a more meaningful customer journey, and this helps boost the company’s brand.
Related: Lead Nurturing Marketing Automation Statistics Every Marketer Should Know
Takeaway
The lack of a proper lead generation strategy in business development is dangerous because it threatens the potential livelihood of the organization.
However, as you can see from the examples that we’ve laid out it goes beyond maintaining a positive cash flow, it also helps with the way a company normally functions.
When crafting a business development plan, don’t skip out on electing good lead generation strategies, they’ll help the company with sales and supercharge its potential to grow and scale.
