Marketing is a competitive industry to be part of. It certainly feels like there are thousands of other agencies just like yours out there. All vying for the same work that you’re going for. So, how do you find that work? What strategies can you put in place to grow your agency? You’re ready to find the answers to these questions.
Leads aren’t just an opportunity for sales. Of course, they are that, but there’s more to them. Leads are a chance to show off your work. They’re a way of sharing your creativity and presenting a showcase. Do that the right way, and you’re able to deliver valuable insight for developing businesses. Plus, you’ll grow partnerships that could endure the test of time.
Marketing agencies need to put in significant effort to find quality leads. Leads who easily turn into long-lasting clients. Putting strategies in place to generate leads makes this search far easier, but it’s not without significant challenges.
In this article, we’ll share the methods that marketing agencies are using to define audiences and what an integrated lead generation strategy (really) looks like.
- How do you know if your lead generation strategy is successful?
- What are the best channels for lead generation?
- Who should you be targeting?
Lead Generation In The Digital World
Modern lead generation looks very different from the methods of the past, but the concept is the same. It’s the perfect blend of the art and the science that entices and then converts prospects into someone who is interested in what you have to offer. That could be a product or a service. This person has taken a step closer to conversion. They’ve knocked on your door.
We no longer have to pick up the phone and call someone. Nor do we have to physically knock on someone’s door to ask if they might be interested in our wares. The digital revolution changed all of that. There is a seemingly ever-growing landscape of platforms that marketers can use. Websites, emails, social media, direct messaging, the list continues.
The platforms have certainly changed, but so have consumer attitudes and behaviors. The people are digitally savvy. They know where they like to hang out online, and above all, they value trust and transparency. Even if the financial cost is higher. People research and compare. They engage and communicate with brands. All of this long before making a purchase.
What does all of this mean for marketing agencies? It means that you need an approach that covers a lot of bases. A holistic marketing approach that adapts to its audience accordingly. An approach that is precisely as you would implement for any of your clients.
Defining Your Audience
The first question is to ask yourself, who is your audience? It’s tempting to act like a fisherman. Throwing out as many nets as possible to catch every fish that passes. You might end up with lots of leads, but they won’t necessarily be quality.
Buyer Personas
A great place to start is with your buyer personas. These imaginary people are your perfect customers. You create them, give them a name, and imagine everything about them. You should know their demographics, their preferred engagement platforms, what problems they have, and how they usually engage and behave.
The more detail you hold within your buyer persona, the more specific you can be with your lead generation strategy. The idea is that if you hold this person in your mind’s eye, you’ll always be developing strategies that will appeal to them. This helps you to resonate and appeal to your target audience.
Compare these two options and consider which you think will be more successful. Option one: You could shout a message into the ether and hope anyone who hears it will respond. Option two: You send direct messages to people who are likely to be interested. The latter will certainly garner better results. Both in terms of engagement and potential ROI.
A more defined message allows you to cut through the noise and competition. People will see that you’re talking directly to them instead of shouting from the rooftops. They’ll appreciate that.
Top Methods of Lead Generation for Marketing Agencies
As a marketing agency, you will have heard of these strategies before. You might even be implementing them for your clients. Ask yourself, are you actively implementing them? If you are, how successfully?
Email Marketing
Email was one of the first digital technologies to revolutionize marketing. It remains one of the best methods of lead generation for marketing agencies. With the right email marketing tool, businesses can perform outreach at scale in a personalized and direct way. Campaigns can be built with automation in place, such as email sequencing. This means that prospects are contacted and then nurtured without direct involvement from the marketing team.
Content Marketing and SEO
When your brand delivers quality content, it sets you apart from other agencies as an authority in your field. Appearing as an authority that’s an expert in their field and a trustworthy source of information is what Google looks for. Hosting content that meets these criteria on your website makes it far easier to rank highly against your competitors.
You’ll need to optimize the content using keywords and other SEO factors. Once you achieve that, you’ll find that leads will come to you organically through search engines. Plus, all of this content works brilliantly as a touchpoint for prospects. It’s an opportunity for them to interact informally with you and your brand.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
If you’re after quick results, then PPC is an excellent choice. You could start receiving results from the moment you launch a campaign. That’s optimistic, but it is possible. With PPC, you target specific keywords or demographics depending on the platform that you’re using. Your adverts are then shown to these people for a portion of your budget or whenever someone clicks on your advert.
PPC is a significant investment, and for some businesses, it can easily spiral out of control. That said, with an optimized website and a strong conversion process, PPC can be a great way to generate leads.
Social Media Marketing
Every business should be running some form of social media marketing. The trick is to select your platforms wisely. Don’t feel that you have to have a strong presence on every single social media platform. Consider your buyer personas and build a following where you hang out.
Social media also allows you to interact with prospects in an informal and ad hoc way. It’s great for building relationships and nurturing engagement.
Referrals and Networking
Building an effective referral platform for your business can deliver a plethora of leads. Your happy clients are one of your best assets. Incentivizing them to talk to their network and recommend your services is an effective method of generating leads. They become part of your marketing department, doing a great deal of your work for you.
Embedding Your Lead Generation Strategy
Once you’ve got an idea of how you’d like to generate leads, it’s important that you think about how it will integrate with your business. Having a customer relationship management (CRM) system in place will make managing leads considerably easier. This can then connect to all of your digital lead-generation strategies.
With integrated platforms, you’ll find that you can nurture relationships easily and track progress from prospect to lead. Plus, you can see data on all potential leads in one simple dashboard.
The best integrations will allow you to measure your efforts against key performance indicators (KPIs). You should be tracking your lead sources for efficiency, your ROI, your conversion rates, and other funnel metrics. Tracking these allows you to judge which methods are effective and which require adaptation and work. This method of continuous improvement ensures that your lead generation strategies never get stale and outdated. You and your business, will always be striving for the best.
Key Takeaways
Technology, strategy, and adaptability. These are the pillars of lead generation for marketing agencies. A holistic approach to lead generation isn’t going to appear overnight for your agency. You’ll need to take time to implement it, but rest assured that once in place, you’ll reap the rewards.
- Don’t be tempted to rely on one single lead generation tactic. Diversify your strategies.
- Any tech that you embrace should be simple to integrate with your current stack.
- Be open to new methods and trends if you want to stay ahead of the competition.
Email marketing remains one of the most effective tools in lead generation. If you want to maximize that effectiveness, you need to work with a powerful tool. That’s precisely what Instantly is. Get started with it for free today.
