Lead Generation is the most critical activity of all businesses. Lead generation is nothing but the process of identifying specific prospects for the products / services sold by the business. This is the beginning of the sales process. Large companies and organizations classify the lead generation process as part of the Marketing domain. Note that the large companies look at Marketing and Sales differently, though the differences are blurring nowadays.
Lead Generation Sources and Channels
Traditionally, leads (and sales) were generated through the following channels:
- Print media (Yellow pages, Newspapers, Magazines, etc.)
- Electronic Media (Television and Radio)
- Telephone (Outbound Call Centers)
- Direct Marketing (Mailers, Door to door selling, etc.
- Brick and Mortar Stores (Retail outlets, Distributors, etc.)
- Trade Show Marketing
Online Lead Generation
With the adoption of Internet as a mass communication medium by the masses, lead generation and sales techniques have undergone tremendous changes during the past decade.
Online marketing (or digital marketing) is growing at exponential rates. The importance and ad spend on traditional marketing and lead generation channels are declining significantly.
Digital Marketing Techniques
The following lead generation and digital marketing techniques have taken root during the past few years.
- Email Marketing
- Blogging (Web 2.0)
- Social Media Marketing
- Search Engine Marketing (SEO and PPC)
- Display Marketing
- Webinars, Whitepapers
Inbound Marketing
In the above list of online marketing techniques, Email Marketing is classified as part of the Outbound Marketing as the emails are pushed out to the prospective customers. In the current scenario, outbound marketing produces least results. Email Marketing is not dead yet, but the importance is declining fast, due to the privacy concerns and spam issues.
All other online marketing techniques (web 2.0, social media, PPC, CPA, SEO, etc.) can be categorized as Inbound Marketing as the prospects are raising their hands and reaching out to you based on the content provided by you.
Inbound Marketing is most effective online marketing strategy for all types of businesses. Whether you are in B2B or B2C segment, small or large business, or a non-profit organization, inbound marketing, if done right, can provide excellent results.
Let us see more details on these inbound marketing techniques in future posts.
