The top lead generation mistakes to avoid include:
- Investing in inefficient marketing channels
- Improper audience targeting
- Skipping qualifying leads
- Ignoring marketing data
- Poor leads nurturing
- Using low-quality landing pages
- No clear call to action
- Not tracking results
Although it's an essential task for business success, many struggle with lead generation. A survey by Hubspot found that 61% of marketers report lead generation as their number one challenge.
Some common problems marketers have with lead generation include:
Lead generation is so hard because it requires a diverse skillset. Lead generators need to have a solid understanding of human psychology and sales. They need to have solid research capabilities and be able to measure and interpret data to make decisions. They need to know how to create successful digital marketing campaigns. These campaigns should attract the right audience with high potential to convert into customers.
I've been doing lead generation for over a decade already. I have generated leads for both local and international campaigns. I've used various marketing channels for lead generation, including SEO, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads. In the following article, I'll discuss some of the most common lead generation mistakes I've seen over the years and how you can do this successfully.
1. Investing in inefficient marketing channels
There are many marketing channels you can use to generate leads. Just a handful are billboards, events, paid advertising, and content marketing. However, not all channels are equally efficient. Some perform much better than others. For example, Google suggests the average ROI for Google Ads is 100%, earn $2 for every $1 spent. Less conservative estimates report that Google Ads can provide a return of upward of 800%. In contrast, businesses report that SEO generates an ROI ranging between 550% - 2,200%, according to data from digital agencies TeraKeet and Sagapixel.
Besides ROI, it’s also important to consider the longevity of a marketing channel. Pay-per-click advertising methods like Google Ads stop generating leads once you stop funding the ads. On the other hand, SEO can continue generating leads well after you invest into the SEO work to be performed. I have websites that I set up over 5 years ago still generating leads today because of the SEO work I performed early on.
2. Improper audience targeting
An effective lead generation campaign requires that you understand your target audience. It’s difficult to choose the marketing channel without understanding your target audience. Consider generating leads for a service where the typical demographic is people age 50+. You probably wouldn’t want to use TikTok to generate leads. Only 6.2% of TikTok users are aged 55+, according to SOAX. You would be better off using radio to reach your target audience. Data from Pew Research shows that 55% of adults aged 50 - 64 listen to radio for news. Without understanding your audience, it’s easy to create lead generation campaigns that attract the wrong group.
3. Skipping qualifying leads
Qualified leads are much more valuable than leads that have not been qualified. That’s because qualified leads convert at a much higher rate than non-qualified leads. Companies that prioritize qualified leads can experience an ROI 5 times higher than those that do not, according to MagicPitch. Qualifying leads entails providing enough relevant information and screening questions. This data should help you understand whether the leads will convert when they make it to the point of purchase.
One lead generator on Reddit notes that qualifying leads can entail filtering frugal prospects. This is accomplished by including pricing on the landing page.
4. Ignoring marketing data
Lead generation marketing campaign decisions should be based on data. That’s because data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, according to Mckinsey Global Institute. They are also 6 times more likely to retain customers and 19 times more likely to be profitable. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console provide this type of data. Leveraging this data enhances lead generation performance.
5. Poor leads nurturing
Companies that don’t nurture their leads through the marketing funnel miss out on business opportunities. Companies that excel at nurturing leads generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost, according to Marketo. Furthermore, it’s estimated that nurtured leads spend 47% more than non-nurtured leads, based on data from Annuitas. Leads nurturing is simply guiding potential prospects towards a sale who aren’t yet ready to make a purchase. Leads nurturing entails relationship building with prospects. It's accomplished by providing relevant information and encouraging engagement.
6. Using low-quality landing pages
A high-quality landing page is essential to lead generation performance. Most leads enter the sales funnel through a landing page. A relatively good conversion rate for a landing page is considered to be around 12%, according to Keywords Everywhere. Lower-quality landing pages can expect to perform worse than this. Many would say 12 people converting out of 100 is already less than ideal.
A good landing page communicates the intended message and is simple. Data from Sender shows that one less field on a landing page form can increase conversions by 50%. A high-quality landing page should also be optimized for speed. A one second delay in landing page loading time results in a 7% decrease in conversions.
7. No clear call to action
A clear call to action is essential in leading prospects to complete the desired action. Most marketers recommend using just one CTA on a landing page to avoid confusion.
A digital marketer in the PPC marketing Reddit forum comments that it’s important to limit anything that distracts a potential customer from converting.
An client case study by FulcrumTech supports this sentiment. FulcrumTech sent out a regular newsletter for their client. Each newsletter contained a survey, alongside other content and CTAs. However, survey responses weren’t optimal. In response, FulcrumTech sent out a dedicated email about the survey with a clear CTA for the audience to take the survey. This dedicated email with a single CTA increased the survey response rate by 27 times.
8. Not tracking results
Setting up proper tracking for lead generation initiatives allows you to collect the necessary data. This data helps you to understand where you can improve your marketing funnel. For example, the Google Analytics Explorations feature can show you where most prospects are falling off. You can get a clear view of how each step of a funnel is performing to know where adjustments are needed.
Tracking results also makes sure you are hitting your key performance indicators (KPIs). Many companies set expected KPIs and fire marketers who don’t successfully meet them. The KPIs for lead generation are:
How to be successful at lead generation?
- 1Set clear objectives - Define what you want to achieve from the lead generation campaign, such as revenue goals or number of leads.
- 2Understand the target audience - Create an ideal customer profile and research their pain points.
- 3Choose a suitable marketing channel - Formulate a marketing strategy that leverages the channels where the target audience is most likely to see the offer.
- 4Design optimized landing pages - Create landing page variations that each focus on a single CTA.
- 5Set up campaign tracking - Record marketing data by setting up software to capture marketing data, such as connecting a website with Google Search Console to track clicks.
- 6Implement A/B testing - Test the landing page variations to see which one results in the most conversions to fine tune the campaign.
- 7Nurture leads - Help move interested prospects towards the point of sale by setting up a series of customer touchpoints, such as email automations or direct messages.
- 8Evaluate and adjust - Successful lead generation campaigns require regular monitoring to ensure the pre-defined objectives are met. If they are not, the campaign should be adjusted to optimize performance.
What are the most common small business lead generation strategies?
The most common small business lead generation strategies are:
- Organic SEO
- Google Business profile
- Social media marketing
- PPC ads
- Third-party lead generation platforms like Angie’s
- Local events
Is lead generation legal?
Yes, lead generation is legal. However, lead generators need to comply with marketing regulations and data protection laws. Examples include GDPR in Europe and CAN-SPAM Act in the USA. Buying and selling leads is also legal. For example, major companies like Angie’s List and Thumbtack legally sell leads to thousands of companies for a profit.
Conclusion: What is the best strategy for lead generation?
The best strategy for lead generation is search engine optimization. Investing in SEO provides a long-term marketing channel with optimal performance. For example, SEO drives over 1,000% more traffic than organic social media. As such it's superior for getting an audience to your landing page where they can covert into a lead. SEO leads also have a higher close rate because SEO leads are actively looking for a product or service. That's why SEO leads have a 14.6% close rate compared to the average 1.7% close rate of outbound tactics like cold calling and call emailing, according to SalesMate.
We teach our students how to generate leads using SEO in our local lead generation program. Our local lead generation strategy is ideal for local business owners and digital marketers who want to set up a stream of consistent leads. You'll learn how to rank websites and GMB profiles at the top of Google to supply a business with long-term opportunities. We have been fine tuning this strategy for over a decade already. Thousands of students have experienced incredible success using this model.
