Lead generation includes any activity that constitutes a sales opportunity for a customer in both the short and long term. It can be described from both inbound and outbound perspectives, at the beginning, middle or end of the sales process in the same way that it can be viewed at the top, middle or bottom of the funnel.
Difference between demand generation and lead generation
Demand generation is often confused with lead generation and they are different terms, particularly in their scope. Demand generation covers all marketing activities that can create awareness about a particular offering , company or industry and includes a mix of inbound and outbound marketing.
However, when we refer to lead generation, we are talking about a subset or a certain area of demand generation . Demand Gen is a marketing operation that serves to create a demand or interest in a product. However, lead generation is used to collect specific information about potential customers, converting them into leads for the sales process.
If we take an example, an ABM project is an activity of more or less massive demand generation, depending on the type of ABM we are going to carry out. On the other hand, the generation of leads in a given vp safety email lists ABM project consists specifically of the conversion of visits or contacts into leads and then into prospects, which may well be through a conversion form, a click2call, a callback, a subscription to a newsletter, a download of a paper or similar. In all of them we can obtain information about that lead and, from there, focus on a next stage of the process very oriented towards conversion.
Trends in lead generation
Since the 1990s and even before, B2B professionals used to rely primarily on outbound activities - particularly telemarketing - to generate leads. These leads could be either internal or external from third-party information with a very sales-oriented approach, where Sales Reps contacted a list of potential client names and presented the value proposition through a script. Until not long ago, specifically until the definitive application of the GDPR policies, this type of activity has been used in a massive, invasive and even harmful way for the reputation of the marketing profession and the B2B activity - not to mention the B2C world.
Today, things have -fortunately- changed and companies have improved their commercial processes and have opted, forced, not to abuse the trust of their potential clients motivated by GDPR restrictions . But even with that, there are still certain bad practices in the market. These not so desired behaviors are being reduced by the value that digital processes bring to the lead generation activity by connecting both the offline and online spheres and incorporating new automation platforms that allow for better tracking of the lead activity.
Lead generation has been influenced by changes in the behavior of many of the new buyer journeys with changes in the way customers access and consume information. Because of this, not only has there been a drastic increase in the information available, but the lead is more demanding in the information they consume and is more prepared for that digital consumption to meet their expectations.
To be successful in lead generation, B2B marketers need to take into account all these changes and also manage to capitalize on the way in which vehicles and content of different formats can be digitally distributed both in the awareness journey and in the decision journey. This has meant that several years ago, it was rarely reported that social networks could be lead generators and today, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, etc., have matured dramatically and have become very effective channels for lead generation, for their treatment, for their nurturing and for being key moments within the decision journey. They are, therefore, very effective tools in identification, first, and in capture and enrichment, second.
Challenges that impact lead generation
Lead generation activity increasingly requires more precision and sharpness from marketing professionals, especially in B2B. Information overload, massive spam blocking, GDPR restrictions, the need to create valuable content that interests potential buyers, all of these create key challenges in lead generation activity.
Achieving the right quality in leads. When lead quality does not meet sales requirements and we have to discard leads, even before processing them, this can lead to poor follow-up and sales support processes, lack of productivity in sales teams, or even the need for the sales team to intervene in the generation and nurturing of leads.
Loading and processing time. This is the time that elapses between the moment in which the lead has been captured and the time it takes to load and prepare that lead for the sales team to follow up. When this delay between one stage and another becomes unacceptably late, the chances of that lead being available are minimal. At Sum and Insurama we are very clear about this concept and, therefore, we strive to ensure that leads, in projects such as those of tuseguromóvil.com, are processed in no more than two seconds from when the lead has interacted with a formulation, a contact channel or even with the chatbot.
Late sales follow-up. When the lead is loaded on time and is available for processing, but the sales team delays processing it within what would be reasonable, we would be facing a problem similar to the one described above. In this case, the lead will become increasingly cold until it cannot be used for the sales process.
Lack of enrichment process. When there is no specific process to achieve the commitment and link of the lead (known as engage ), when it is not qualified, when a score is not applied for its prioritized treatment, when it is not followed up, when it is not fed with more content, when that necessary conversation is not generated, in short, when it is not enriched, that lead will not advance with all its potential throughout the funnel and will not become a good prospect with possibilities of conversion to a final client.
Misaligned sales expectations. If the sales team's expectations regarding leads have not been set correctly, in terms of volume, lead quality, qualification process, true interest, etc., we will have a potential misalignment process between marketing and sales both in the execution of lead generation and in the detection of business opportunities. This will undoubtedly lead to a lack of trust, friction between departments and one of the great fears of any B2B marketing and sales professional: fights between the two departments.
Available resources. If marketing fails to align with sales expectations and needs and the sales team's resources are not adequate, we will be faced with a serious operational execution problem in the processing of leads. This can occur either when the teams have not correctly designed the scope, speed or volume, or when there is not enough flexibility to adapt to the generation potential by marketing. In these cases, unfortunately, a large number of leads will be lost because we will not be able to address their processing.
