13 Lead generation strategies that help capture quality leads

Today, the average user is already being bombarded with products and services as soon as they leave their house. Due to myriad options, if your first interaction with a prospect isn’t good enough, you’re more likely to lose them forever. 

Today, users want businesses to earn their attention and certainly not demand it by stalking them on every social media account they use.  

Imagine yourself searching for headphones on a search engine. And the next moment you’re getting the same suggestions on Facebook, Instagram, or even in YouTube ads.  

This process may work for a chunk of users who are desperate to buy or access a product or service. But for the rest, it’s just a pile-on! 

Therefore, we can conclude that lead generation isn’t an easy path to walk. Especially if you aim to generate leads with a higher conversion rate. At the same time, bothering your clients the least.

A whopping 79% of generated leads don’t convert into customers.

The real challenge is selling something while staying in customers’ good books. It requires you to tailor an approach that caters to your product/service, audience, and industry.

So, let’s start with the meaning of lead generation.

What is lead generation?

Lead generation is the process of cultivating a stranger’s or prospect’s interest in your business, nurturing them using gated and ungated resources to collect their information.

Interaction between a lead and a business is initiated when they open a conversation with a business.

Generally, they offer their personal information for an inquiry or sign up for a newsletter or free trial/demo.

So, if you wish to brew a genuine relationship with your potential customers, lead generation is the only healthy way.

Also there are lead generation CRM available in the market to help you automate your process and make it easy for you.

If your existing lead generation strategies aren’t effective, don’t skip out on the next part! I have shared 13 lead generation strategies that can help you generate leads with little effort.

13 Game-changing lead generation strategies to try in 2024

There are plenty of lead generation strategies; however, not all will apply to your business. Hence, you must experiment with a few strategies and approaches to find the right one.

1. Landing page copywriting

In terms of online marketing, a landing page is also known as –

• Single property page
• Static page
• Lead capture page
• Destination page

A standalone page that lands a user from a link on a digital channel or email. Its main objective is to get a visitor to open a conversation with your business.

To achieve this, one can interlink eBooks, whitepapers, and datasheets or add CTAs in their blogs, guest posts, videos, and more.

A prospect can access the same in exchange for their personal information such as email, phone number, and company name.

In a nutshell, a trade-off between the prospect and the company.

Landing pages differ from other website pages as they’re designed as a part of a more extensive marketing campaign.

Hence, it’s important to prioritize the end goal and set up your content.

Example:

Calm is a SaaS health and wellness app that covers everything one can explore with its landing page.

The headline “Meet Calm” instills a feeling of tranquility just by reading it. The other things that stand out about the landing page are:

• It speaks about what they offer (better sleep, lower stress, and less anxiety) without overwhelming them with excess information. 
• It informs you of what you can get while not revealing all their services.
• It reassures you by mentioning that this service has helped millions on their path to wellness.
• One can almost experience a sense of calm with its soothing wallpaper in the background. Blue is one of the warmest colors; it creates a wave of serenity within– something we already crave.

2. Free/Paid trial or demos

Free trials or demos are among the best-performing CTAs for B2B lead generation.

A free trial is a limited-period offer for prospective customers to try your product or services.

Companies that want to target qualified leads also use paid trials.

A free demo assists a user in understanding a service or product compared to what they currently use. This tactic can help in generating leads and improve your customer base.

For example, Salesmate offers a 15-day free trial without seeking a payment commitment.

One can also schedule a demo to learn about the product features and how it can grow your business.

So, a prospect can simply get a 15-day free trial and see if Salesmate is the right fit for their business.

3. Live chats & chatbots

An average user spends about 15 seconds on a webpage. So, your business has to make an impression in these 15 seconds or less.

This is an ideal way to learn about your users and help them find what they want.

Chatbots can be used to spur conversation, and once you learn what they’re looking for, they can be switched to live chats.

Live chats offer a human-to-human connection, while chatbots set the tone and connect users with the right personnel.

Example:

Are you looking for a chatbot that –

• Works as a superhuman customer service agent that is available 24*7 
• Assists with lead generation by saving contact details
• Increases your website engagement
• Helps automate email marketing campaigns

Then the chatbot from Salesmate can do that exactly.  

With Salesmate’s Live Chat and Chat Journeys features, you can easily engage with web visitors at any time, and capture quality leads.

Connect with your web visitors in real-time

Start using Salesmate's Live Chat & Chat Journeys to engage with your visitors at every step.

Explore Live Chat

4. Scheduler/Calendar

Businesses generally break down their development in quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly cycles.  

To achieve the same, one has to plan activities in advance, using functional scheduling software or a calendar app.

Scheduling software can be used to manage your internal and external tasks. 

Here are some of the use cases of a Meeting Scheduler.

• Help your prospects by allowing customers or clients to schedule meetings from your web or landing page.
• Schedule free demos, training sessions, or webinars, and remind users about the same.
• Plan interviews, assignment deadlines, and other HR activities for your candidates and employees.
• Plan and track events for your marketing and sales campaigns.
• Observe a higher success rate with your scheduling software by automating your emails.

Example:

Schedule.cc is one of the finest examples of the convenience a scheduling assistant can introduce to your daily routine. 

Schedule.cc helps you schedule intelligently using its AI-enabled personal assistant. 

A virtual assistant that saves you money and time by learning your preferences and scheduling appointments for you.

5. Web forms

Web forms are the bedrock for inbound marketing. Various types of web forms are designed for specific purposes.

Usually, to acquire user information and offer something in return.  

Here are different types of web forms that you can try. 

• Registration/sign up forms 
• Order/purchase forms
• Feedback forms
• Membership forms
• Free trial/demo forms
• Contact forms

Example:

A web form works best in tandem with your SaaS product or service.  

Below is an example of the Salesmate’s Web Form, which helps you capture data right inside the CRM. Moreover, you can also check which page is bringing in more leads and conversions.

6. Advertisements

Ads are like veterans for every marketing strategy. No matter how much we hate consuming ads, it can be an effective lead generation tool if used wisely. 

They serve a company by collecting important data about their users.

For example, if one searches the query ‘buy headphones under $1000,’ they can be targeted with relevant ads on YouTube, Instagram, and other social channels.

Facebook and Google are A-players when it comes to lead gen using ads.

They help businesses inculcate a deeper understanding of their users, discover potential clients, provide high-granular analytics, and increase conversion rates.

Example:

Most people like LinkedIn as a platform to help connect with the right professionals.  

Which it is!

But it’s used by more than 650 million people. And this makes it a perfect platform for advertisements.

It’s the need of the hour that a business offers a seamless mobile experience to its users.

LinkedIn portrays how they have excessively worked to create a functional mobile and desktop experience.

We observed above is a classic example of how LinkedIn prompts new users to try its platform with advertisements.

7. Coupons, offers & discounts

No matter how wealthy you are, getting something for free or at a discounted price always makes you feel special.

A marketing offer is when a business offers a service or product for free or at a discounted price.

For instance, if Amazon plans to offer a 10% discount on its selected products on Good Friday.

They can share a coupon code ‘GoodFriyay10’ on their website, app, and other social media platforms.

Apart from this, you must be aware of the offers and discounts apparel companies give, calling it ‘the end of season sale.’ This can be a successful lead generation campaign and can also help improve revenue.

Example: 

Observe how Shoes.com creates a mystery with its flash sale campaign.

You love it the moment you set eyes on it. Even if you don’t plan to make a deal, you are curious to learn what deal you might get.  

Also, the bright-colored CTA is a bulls-eye that stands out in contrast with the black backdrop.

8. Email marketing

Email marketing offers the highest ROI of all the different lead gen tactics marketing teams use.

You can offer ungated content such as a free trial, demo, eBooks, whitepapers, and more to engage with your prospects and convert them into leads.

Once a prospect offers their email, you can send a welcome email and eventually start with lead nurturing activities.

Remember, timely follow-ups can very well convert a prospect into a qualified lead and, eventually, a customer.

Therefore, one must be selective with their direct mail. One can surely invest more time in the attachment they send with the email.

Create impactful email marketing campaigns

Salesmate gives you detail insights of how your prospects are engaging with your emails.

Explore Email Marketing Automation

Example:

Wayfair, an online home goods company, works with the United States Postal Service.  

When a citizen requests an official address change and receives a confirmation letter in the email, it includes a 10% off coupon for Wayfair purchases.

A perfect place to meet your client just when they’re thinking about shifting to another place.

9. Remarketing

Remarketing is a marketing tactic that targets users who have already visited your website. It aims to educate users who are already aware of your brand.  

Your marketing campaigns might generate a lot of impressions but have a low conversion rate.

This is because your users might want to learn more about your business. Remarketing helps you to reengage with those prospects.

A thumb rule for every paid marketing campaign you launch is to have a remarketing campaign as a safety net.

Example: 

Have you bought your Spotify premium yet? One of the best examples of remarketing for music lovers is Spotify.

If you observe: 

• Spotify’s design team has nailed this poster with the perspective it offers and the choice of colors.
• The concentric placement of headphones clearly speaks volumes for the message they wish to convey.
• The poster clearly emphasizes the ‘3-month free’ phrase by reversing the colors of its font.
• We must appreciate the creativity they infuse while they’re annoying you to buy their premium subscription.

10. Affiliate marketing

In simple terms, affiliate marketing is commission-based earning by promoting other people’s products or services.

This process comprises two individuals, i.e., the retailer or advertiser and the affiliate.  

A simple rule is an affiliate only earns a commission when a lead is converted into a customer.  

Affiliate marketing offers high returns while investing less effort. Your business would be available to a large audience instead of targeting individual customers.

Also, learning about a product or service from a trusted individual can effectively increase your sales.

Example:

Skillshare, an online education portal, offers various courses on business management, photography, and visual arts.  

Their affiliate program attracted a lot of attention due to its promotion by many social media personalities on their channels.

11. Competitor comparison pages

Competitor comparison pages are a great strategy to convert bottom-of-the-funnel leads into customers.

It helps them understand if they’re a right fit for your product or service instead of adding customers that’ll eventually fall out. 

Remember, the aim behind creating these pages is not just to promote your competitors in a negative light. Or only portraying how your product or service is superior.  

It’s to offer exact and notable differences that help a lead connect with the right business and vice versa.

Creating competitor comparison pages has become a necessity for businesses. They’re developed to have a say in how your product or service is better than your competitors.  

Such pages can benefit businesses with minimal brand recognition and search traffic.

Example: 

Below is an example of Salesmate’s comparison page – Salesmate vs. HubSpot

It shows a clear comparison between the two platforms and provides quick glance into values provided by Salesmate to capture attention immediately.

A badass alternative to HubSpot!

Check out how Salesmate is a better choice compared to HubSpot.

Salesmate vs. HubSpot

12. Design a dedicated social media strategy

Humans are social creatures. And most individuals do follow at least one of the existing platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

Having an active social media presence can increase your brand’s visibility. And this can be done by implementing a strategy of lead generation in digital marketing. But one must set definite objectives when creating content for the same.

You must choose the right tool and methods to implement your content effectively. 

One of the most effective lead generation strategies in 2024 for increasing awareness among prospects is posting short videos.

But social media also has an ever-changing landscape. So, you must timely optimize and measure your campaign’s effectiveness.

13. Post relevant content consistently

One can rest assured that their content will stay in the top SERP rankings as long as it’s relevant and well-optimized. One of the best strategies for lead generation is content marketing, as high-quality content is always rewarded by search engines.

Search engines appreciate websites that offer quick and informative answers to user queries.  

Your website will rank organically on search engines. For instance, if you create posts that answer a subject’s who, what, and how queries.

In addition to this, you’ll dominate the local market as a benefit of lead gen tactics that show results based on physical location.

Example:

Here are the non-ad results observed when we search for the ‘best craft beer shops in NYC.’

One might get instant results compared to other lead gen strategies mentioned above. But content can surely set you up for the long run.

We recommend you invest at least a year or two before expecting results using this tactic.

And if you are planning to implement a lead generation software, I would insist you to check out our blog on best lead generation tools and select the right one for you.

Afterword

One can try different lead generation strategies depending on the business industry they serve. 

If you want more information about lead generation, check out our detailed guide on lead generation.

But the trick is to implement strategies based on their results and longevity.

We hope our read serves you right in deciding your next lead generation strategy. If you want to optimize your lead generation strategies, you also need certain tools to execute them.

Salesmate is an all-inclusive CRM, and customer journey platform that offers various lead generation features such as live chat, web forms, meeting scheduler, lead management, and more.

Get a 15-day free trial and see if Salesmate is the right solution for your business.