Lead generation when you’re a small business…it’s hard. You not only have to get customer enquiries, but you have to make sure they’re the right ones, all on a teeny-tiny budget.
It’s enough to make your head spin!
The good news is that there are lots of ways to generate leads for your local business, and we’re going to show you how to do it.
So let’s look at 13 of the easiest, most efficient, and most cost-effective ways of bringing in those leads for your small business.
1. Understand your target audience
The first step when it comes to lead generation for your small business is to understand your target audience. Who are you trying to appeal to and get those all-important contact details from?
(And don’t say “everyone”!)
When you know your target customer, you’ll be well-equipped to create a lead generation strategy that draws them in.
Think about their age, where they live, their job, and the marketing channels they’re most likely to use.
2. Know how you’ll qualify your prospects
Not all the people that respond to your lead generation campaign will be the correct type of lead. Skip to the next bit to see what kind of leads you might come across.
How can you see which leads are the right ones? By qualifying them. This is when you ask a series of questions so you can determine their suitability.
For example, let’s say you want to work with businesses in a specific part of the UK. You can ask your prospective customers what region they work in when they give you their details.
Want to work with larger businesses? Ask your prospect how many employees are at their company.
Qualifying your prospects at the source makes it easier for your sales and marketing team to go after the right people.
3. Nurture your warm leads
When you assess your leads, you’ll see three different types. “Hot” leads are the ones you pass to your sales team to contact, while “cold” leads are the ones you can disregard as ones that aren’t a good match for your business.
However, what do you do with the ones in the middle?
‘Warm’ leads are people that are a good fit for your product or service, but aren’t in a position to buy just yet. When it comes to lead generation for your small business, you need to nurture and engage these leads until they’re ready to convert.
Follow up with your warm leads regularly, whether that’s through email or social media. You can even use a PPC retargeting campaign to remind them of your business. That way, when your warm leads want to buy, they know where you are.
4. Take advantage of free lead generation tools
It’s easier to generate leads than ever, and there are many brilliant lead generation tools for small businesses just like yours.
For example, Canva lets you create stunning videos, eBooks, and checklists for free. Just choose a template, tweak the colours, add the text, and download. Hey presto, you’ve got yourself a lead magnet! (More on lead magnets later.)
You can use Mailchimp to send emails to your warm leads, keeping them up to date with what’s going on in your business.
And finally, HubSpot offers free CRM software you can use to manage your leads and the contact you’ve had with them.
Lead generation doesn’t have to be expensive. As long as you’re creating something that generates results, it doesn’t matter if it costs you £1,000 or £1.
5. Consider the journey
You want to get prospects to your landing page so they can give you their details. But how will they get there?
It’s important to think of all the different ways people can get to your landing page, whether that’s through email, social media, or a search engine like Google. Make the journey as effortless and friction-free as possible; otherwise you may find prospective customers give up.
And don’t forget to look at the paths people are taking to get to your lead generation content – more on that at the end of the article.
6. Provide value to people’s lives
People aren’t going to hand over their valuable contact details for no reason. You need to give them something in exchange.
This could be a free trial of your product or service or what is known as a ‘lead magnet.’ This is a piece of content that informs, entertains, or educates your prospective customer.
A lead magnet could be an eBook, a webinar, a white paper, a quiz, or a checklist. Choose something your target audience will want to get their hands on and will be happy to give you their email address for.
Half of marketers use lead magnets to get contact details for their business, so if you’re not using them, you’re missing out!
7. Try some A/B testing
Making little tweaks to your landing page can make all the difference to the number of leads you receive. Even changing the title of your page or the colour of your call-to-action button can have a significant effect.
A/B testing can be an excellent way to see what works and what doesn’t when it comes to lead generation. A crucial part of conversion rate optimisation (CRO) A/B testing is when you offer two nearly-identical web pages with one thing that’s different.
For example, one where the call-to-action button is red and one where the other is green.
You make the two pages available to web users and monitor which one brings in the most leads as a result. You then know what resonates most with users and can implement the changes on other pages.
8. Avoid buying leads
We’ve all seen the emails in our junk mail folders that promise lots of lovely leads for a low price.
Put down the credit card – it’s not the solution.
The main issue with buying leads is the high-churn rate. Up to 30% of an email marketing list can go out of date each year, due to people moving jobs and business contact details changing. This means extra hassle for your sales team as they’re dealing with incorrect data.
Not only this, but you’re going in colder than a polar bear in a freezer. It’s highly likely that the people on this list will have never engaged with you and might not have even heard of you. Even more work for your sales team.
Generating your own leads is not only more cost-effective, but you’re getting the most up-to-date contact details from people who are interested in what you do.
9. Implement a referral strategy
Did you know that 65% of leads come from referrals?
This can make a referral programme a valuable tool when it comes to lead generation for your small business
A referral programme is when you encourage current customers to recommend new customers that may be interested in your products or services. You can even throw in a free gift to sweeten the deal.
The key benefit of referral strategies is that loyal customers that already like what you do are advocating on behalf of your business. Their word is their bond, and they’ll drive more sales to you as a result.
10. Join forces with other businesses
You don’t have to do lead generation alone. Combining your efforts with other small businesses in a similar or complementary niche is perfectly acceptable.
Two heads are better than one, after all!
Let’s say you sell cheese online. You could hold a webinar with a company that sells wine, looking at how you can pair the two together (sounds delicious!)
After the webinar, you both get access to the leads that signed up. Everyone’s a winner.
11. Connect your lead generation with your other digital marketing efforts
Everything in this big, wide, wonderful world is connected, and lead generation is no exception. It’s essential to consider the link between your lead generation efforts and the rest of your digital marketing.
For example, lead generation and search engine optimisation (SEO). What keywords could people use in Google to find your business, and how can you utilise this to point them to your lead generation landing pages?
Consider search intent – you want to target the people looking to buy rather than those just carrying out a bit of research.
Combining lead generation, SEO, and all your other digital marketing channels makes it easier to get the right results.
12. Hang on in there!
Two wooden shelves with a variety of items including cameras and a little flag saying hang in there
Many small businesses jump into lead generation excited at the premise of hundreds of leads, only to be disappointed when nothing comes through.
Lead generation can be a slow process, especially if you sell high-value products. As a result, it can sometimes take a while for prospective customers to decide that they want to buy.
Typically 3% of people are actively ready to buy, while 56% will be ready to buy in the future.
Keep marketing your business and nurturing those warm leads for the best results. That’s probably one of the best lead generation tips for your small business we can give you!
13. Analyse your efforts
Our final tip when it comes to lead generation for your small business?
Lead generation isn’t a ‘one-and-done’ thing. It’s crucial to analyse and evaluate your campaigns to ensure they work.
Use analytics packages like Google Analytics and set up goals. Which landing pages are bringing in the most leads? Which ads do prospective customers like the most? How often do people have to visit your site before giving you their details?
Take this information and use it to optimise your lead generation to get the best results. As we mentioned earlier, even small changes can have a significant impact.
Looking for a partner in lead generation for your small business?
We hope you enjoyed our lead generation strategies for small businesses. Why not try implementing some of them today?
If you need a gentle push in the right direction when it comes to lead generation for your small business, we can help.
Our team of specialists will create and implement a customised strategy bespoke to your needs, bringing you a lovely list of prospective customers ready to contact.
Want to see how we can generate leads for a local business just like yours?