Without customers, business owners can’t sell their product or services. Without leads, businesses don’t have any customers. And without lead generation efforts… Well, how can you expect to have any leads? In many ways, attracting and retaining customers is a long-winded courtship. Businesses are expected to identify and, more importantly, intimately understand the wants, needs, and pain points experienced by their target consumer. They are expected to lead the courtship dance by offering value, support, and critical insights that can help to solve the problems customers face; or, at the very least, point them in the direction of a possible solution.
However, it’s important to note that this ‘dance’ begins long before a prospective customer is ready to make a purchase. Businesses are not only expected to proactively identify, understand and appeal to prospective leads, they also have to commit to the process of nurturing those leads into long-term, satisfied customers.
And so, the case for lead generation is obvious. But what should a lead generation strategy look like? If studies show that 61% of B2B marketers think generating high-quality leads is one of their biggest challenges, while 68% of businesses report struggling with lead generation, what’s missing? And now, in a post-pandemic world, we are faced with yet another conundrum – if “times have changed”, shouldn’t our marketing and lead generation efforts follow suit?
Rather than adhering to practices that worked in the past, brands must now adjust their strategy according to those trends which have emerged on the heels of a global pandemic. And so, we arrive at the ultimate question: How can businesses leverage high-level content to effectively attract prospective clients and cultivate those relationships at the beginning of the sales funnel, even in the COVID-19 era?
Better yet, what type of content is best positioned as lead generation material in this dynamic and changed marketing landscape?
And the survey says…..
Our team at Knowingli Market Research fielded a short marketing lead generation survey in early September of 2020 to find out the source of best conversion rates and lead quality in this dynamic marketing environment.
We had over 200 respondents – ranging from marketing managers and social media influencers to C-level execs and entrepreneurs who shared their valuable insights with us. The respondents also covered a wide range of industries, B2B and B2C – and included both small organizations and large corporations.
When asked the question, “What types of lead generation content generate the highest conversion rates, Research Reports came in at number 1, with 46% of those surveyed citing it as the most effective. Videos came in second, with ….
And not surprisingly, our own first-hand experiences supported these results as we tested different types of content, on different platforms, and included both paid and organic campaigns.In fact, market research reports, regardless of industry, converted about six times better than other content and inspired an average of 25% more website traffic.
For businesses, continued lead generation is the key to long-term success. Sure, it may not be the only key, but the prize waiting behind the door it unlocks directly impacts a company’s bottom line. With the right lead generation tactics in place, a brand can effectively identify their target audience, generate more traffic to their website, improve conversion rates and, more importantly, establish meaningful relationships with prospective new clients.