5-steps to generating qualified leads from your website

The marketing problem

Ask any marketer about their biggest problem with lead generation and invariably they will give you the same answers:

• Not enough leads to feed the sales funnel
• Difficulty qualifying leads
• It’s hard to nurture leads effectively
• Big gaps in follow-up from the sales team
• Unable to see gaps in the information or sales pipeline
• Can’t be sure which marketing activities or content are driving revenue

At Tiga, we use marketing automation software to track traffic coming to our client’s websites on the back of marketing campaigns and lead generation content programmes. 

STEP 1 - Write useful and interesting content to attract people to your website

Think about the kind of content that gets your attention online - I guarantee it won't be a puff piece about the merits of a product or a functionality list. What we read are blogs and articles that tell us something new and useful - it may kick-start an idea or give us an alternative way of looking at something. It should be the opener that piques our interest and makes us want to find out more.

STEP 2 - Use content to gain trust and keep in touch

Once your opening content has done the job of attracting someone to your website, maybe to read a blog post or watch a video, the first step is to capture their contact details and opt-in permission. By inviting them to download a market report, sign up for a webinar or even enter a competition, your sales funnel should never run dry. Furthermore, this activity will help you to get to know prospects and customers more intimately. To find out more, read our blog Creating Content for every Stage of the ‘sales funnel’

STEP 3 - Send them timely emails with relevant content

Just because someone has entered a competition doesn’t mean they’re ready to make a purchase. Or it could be that your sales team have contacted them but they’re not looking to buy right at this moment. Panic not – you can develop leads that aren’t sales-ready by automatically putting them on nurturing campaigns.    

An automated nurture campaign triggers an email with content that is determined by the individual’s online behaviour. They may have visited a case-study page, for example - in which case they will automatically receive an email about a similar project or relevant product information. If they don’t return to your website for a couple of weeks, you can set a workflow to send an automatically generated email enticing them back with a special promotion, information or offer. The automated workflow possibilities are endless and need to be set up in accordance with your company’s individual customer journeys and sales funnel.  

STEP 4 - Arm your sales team with end-to-end insight about each lead

All too often, sales aren't convinced about the leads passed to them by marketing. This may be because they haven't been properly vetted or qualified  -  or it could be there's simply not enough information about the individual for sales to feel confident about making the call. Provide your sales team with information about the original source, blogs the lead has read, reports downloaded, pages visited and emails opened so they are confident that it's a qualified lead and has shown significant interest. Giving them all of this information will allow the salesperson to shape their sales pitch depending on engagement activity.

STEP 5 - Know exactly what’s working and what isn’t

As well as increasing and improving the quality of the incoming leads to your business, you will also start to learn a lot about your customers’ behaviours and decision-making processes. By tracking the entire sales process from end to end, you can build a comprehensive picture of your ROI and see exactly which marketing tactics have been most successful. Conversely you’ll also know who and when a prospect has dropped out of the sales process, which will help you to tweak your campaigns and enhance your future success rates.