Web Leads

Web Leads and Online Lead Generation

A B2B business’s web leads is a list of those potential clients who have expressed an interest in the business’s services. This interest is usually expressed through the completion of an online task, such as filling out a website form (typically a web form requests the prospect’s name and email address). The completion of the online task generally qualifies the prospect as a lead.

Businesses that want to expand their client base through lead generation are usually seeking for more than just a spike in website traffic. They want qualified traffic, potential leads with an actual interest in the business’s product or service, along with the means and authority to make a purchase.

By creating website pages with offers and a web form, companies provide their potential clients with more informative content, providing an opportunity for prospects to receive more content in exchange for personal contact information. This in turn allows the company to generate a lead list of individuals who have expressed a strong interest in the company’s content and, perhaps down the road, in that company’s products.

To engage in effective web lead generation, a company should remember that web leads:

Tend not to be ready to purchase something yet
Prefer digital communication
Expect a quick response
Are turned off if information they already submitted is requested again
Will stay on a website after submitting a form if encouraged, such as with more content, or thanks to another related offer

Responsive companies are especially attractive to potential leads. All web leads you respond to have a likelihood of yielding a satisfied future client. The way leads are treated helps them envision what it would like to be your client. Successful web-to-lead tactics should complement by a highly dedicated client service standard.

Tips for Generating Web Leads

Understanding the importance of creating leads online is the foundation of knowing how to effectively generate web leads. If your company is a startup, or if your business needs a fresh start, begin by implementing the following principles into your strategy for generating online leads. (And if you’re still struggling to attract leads, you may want to consider contacting an effective web lead company that can provide customized guidance based on your company’s needs.)

Determine who your ideal client is. Before you do anything, make sure you know to whom you’re marketing your product or service. There’s a demographic of people or businesses that are going to need and want your product. That is your target audience. Profiling your ideal client and then determining what solutions they are looking for, and where they search for those solutions, helps you know where to find your targets online.
Visit websites your prospective clients visit. Once you know who your potential clients are and what their needs are, you can go to the websites they are visiting (yes, even your competitors’ websites). This way, you can see what tactics your competitors are using and decide whether something similar might work for you.
Learn about your client’s preferences. Ask your current clients about their preferences and opinions.
Write relevant content that can be published on various websites. Content marketing is a successful B2B lead generation tool for bringing visitors to your website. By writing high-quality articles that can be published on other websites, you can drive more qualified traffic to your website. However, producing the quality and quantity of content is one of the top challenges for companies. Many turn to lead generation services, like those offered by Sprint Marketing, that provide content marketing solutions designed to drive leads to your website.
Set up web-to-lead tactics. Whether it’s a simple email subscription form asking for a name and email address, or a more complicated form asking for more personal information, you need some way to collect contact information from your visitors.

Web Lead Response

Once you’ve set up a system for accumulating possible sales leads, you should focus on how you respond to your leads. In an analysis performed by InsideSales.com, results showed that 53 % of top companies don’t respond to their web leads. This is surprising since most people would think that companies would jump on any opportunity to welcome new clients. Well there’s a reason this percentage is so low, and it has to do with response time to the leads. Here are some interesting statistics:

Out of 159 companies examined for their lead response strategies, 55.3 % didn’t respond to two different sales inquiries.
The odds of contacting a lead increase 100x if an attempt is made within five minutes verses 30.
The odds of qualifying the lead increase 21x if an attempt is made within five minutes verses 30.

Tips for Managing Web Leads

Leads must be earned through the quality of your web marketing strategy. And once you’ve attracted a batch of leads, properly managing them is the next step. Here are a few tips on how you can reach out to your leads and guide them toward a purchasing decision:

Respond promptly. This first step is so important, it deserves another mention. You should respond quickly to any web lead. This dramatically increases your chances of reaching the lead and converting him or her into a client.
Set realistic expectations up front. Communicate realistic expectations to your leads on your landing pages and thank-you pages. By telling them that they can expect a response within 30 minutes of submission, they will be delightfully surprised when you actually respond within minutes. Doing so gives you the chance to under-promise and over-deliver.
Use personalized auto-responses. Sending auto-responses is preferable when you know you can’t contact your lead right away. Make sure you customize your messages according to who is receiving them. Segmenting your web leads by source can help you create auto-responses that pertain to each web lead. Personalization makes following up much more effective and welcome.
Be persistent, but never annoying. There is a fine line between tenacity and obsession. Listen to your web leads and use the information they provide. Don’t call a lead they prefer emails. Make each email purposeful and relevant to the needs of your lead. Consistently follow up and be conscious of how often you have sent emails.
Do your research. Get to know your web leads by asking them basic information like when is the best time to contact them. If you know many of your leads have full-time jobs and are busy during the day, don’t send follow-ups during that time. Focus your contacting efforts during a time when they will be available, like late afternoon or early evening.
Nurture your leads. Just because a web lead isn’t ready to make a purchase immediately doesn’t mean they won’t be ready in the future. Lead nurturing is about maintaining contact with the web lead and enticing them down the sales funnel by offering useful content that will eventually help them decide on making a purchase.

Get Your Own Free Leads Analysis to See How Sprint Marketing Can Improve Your Web Leads Strategy Today

Discover how more web leads can generate more sales. At Sprint Marketing, our web marketing strategy and B2B marketing promotion techniques help your business drive website traffic and attract more qualified leads. We partner with you to optimize your marketing channels, along with improving your reporting in order to fuel future marketing strategies and establish a clear marketing lead ROI.