If your business has struggled with getting leads and clients, there is a high possibility that you might be a victim of one or more of these significant lead generation strategy mistakes.
Generating new leads through content marketing, SEO, and advertising has been (and always will be) the main priority for any marketing team. This is what propels your business towards continuous growth – but many business owners find that the constant search for new potential clients and customers is extremely challenging and draining.
According to HubSpot's research report, generating more traffic and new leads remains a top marketing challenge year after year. Over 60% of businesses state that it is the hardest part of their job.
Unfortunately, this leads many business owners to make excuses for their lack of results. Many blame it on a lack of funding, their team is too small, or the sales team is dropping the ball with following up and nurturing the leads.
But the truth is business owners have more tools and resources than ever before to discover and connect with clients all over the globe – so why are so many businesses struggling to drive in qualified, converting leads?
If your business has struggled with getting leads and clients, there is a high possibility that you might be a victim of one or more of these significant lead generation strategy mistakes.
1. You don't understand your audience
Understanding your audience is the basic foundation of any marketing strategy. But unfortunately, many businesses are simply missing the mark.
Many businesses just have a general idea of the people in their target market – or know the basic data, like age range, overall location, or even average household income.
But do you understand the intent behind their actions?
Why do they need your product, and what will make them want to buy from your brand specifically?
One significant aspect of intent is understanding the underlying reasons that drive people to purchase. Generally, there are three main reasons:
- Necessity
- Cost
- Brand association
It is best to create audience-focused content that hits on all three of these marks to cover your bases.
One great way to do this is to leverage reviews to create trustworthy content that drives leads to your website. Reviews help to hit all three incentives because they show new clients why they need to purchase something and whether it is worth the price while improving your brand's reputation.
You can also use this strategy to integrate ratings and testimonials into your website to establish social proof through verified reviews. This also helped the website rank higher in the SERPs and drive in more leads, especially since most potential clients seek out reviews when purchasing from a new company.
Online reviews seem to be getting more powerful when it comes to swaying purchase decisions. While I don't have a crystal ball that tells us the future, I can confidently say that a strong client review management system will be a huge factor in gaining leads in the foreseeable future.
2. You're using outdated keyword data
Another killer mistake many businesses are victims of is slacking on keyword targeting.
Generally, businesses will conduct keyword research once, so they have a general idea of the phrases and words that drive in relevant traffic – then do their best to incorporate those into all of their content from that time on.
Unfortunately, keyword research is not a one-time project; you need to constantly refresh your list of targeted words to see if there are any new ways to drive in leads through different types of queries.
It is essential to know which metrics to look for when conducting keyword research. While search volume is important, it is not necessarily the end-all, be-all – especially if you target more niche groups.
Don't forget to measure:
- Keyword difficulty
- Keyword value in CPC (cost-per-click)
- Keyword intent
- Related keywords
Without conducting consistent keyword research, you are likely missing out on valuable audience segments and potential leads. You should also be checking your previous list of keywords to see which terms are no longer driving in converting leads and consider removing or reframing the content.
3. Your sales and marketing teams are not aligned
One of the biggest reasons your leads are simply not converting is because there is a disconnect between your marketing and sales teams.
According to research from Super Office, nearly one-third of teams found it challenging to ensure that all leads were nurtured with follow-ups – this even outranked closing those deals.
A lack of alignment can mean a lot of your leads slip through the cracks – and all of your marketing team's hard work is wasted! But according to Act-On's report, businesses with a solid sales and marketing alignment are 67% more likely to convert leads and were 27% more profitable on average.
It is best to utilize integrated technology that keeps track of all interactions to achieve alignment, so sales and marketing teams know exactly how to nurture specific leads.
Conclusion
Don't let excuses stand in the way of your lead generation strategies. There could be a very simple reason why your numbers are struggling!
Thankfully, these common mistakes are relatively easy to recognize and correct – and you can expect to see payoffs almost immediately.
