Lead generation for startups is not an easy game without the best tactics to generate leads for your business. Thus, this article acquaints you with the fail-proof strategies you can use to bring leads for your startup.

Imagine yourself as an ice cream vendor. You can sell ice creams by communicating with people and convincing them about the taste and quality of ice cream so they buy it. However, what if there are thousands of people nearby? Can you engage and convince them all? It is practically impossible to do so. Then what do you do in such a scenario? You would identify and contact those who are actually looking for what you are trying to sell, i.e., an ice cream. That is what a lead generation strategy is.

Whether you are a company that is only starting out, i.e., a startup or an established organization, lead generation marketing strategies are an essential part of your sales funnel. It is something without which your business cannot grow.

However, generating leads is easier said than done. Over 61% of marketers find lead generation challenging. If seasoned marketers have such views, we can only imagine the situation of startups, generating leads is a true struggle for them.

However, since you have found this article, lead generation will not be a hassle after learning the best tactics to generate leads, as the lack of a strategy is what makes it challenging.

Before beginning with lead generation tactics, it is crucial to understand leads and lead generation so no confusion remains. Hence, let us get started by explaining these terms for better understanding.

What Is a Lead

Simply put, a lead is anyone (an organization or individual) who is interested in the product or service you are offering. They express their interest by sharing contact details, such as their phone number, email address, or, in the modern world, their social media handle.

However, not every lead converts into a customer. Gleanster Research reveals only 25% of leads advance to sales. That means even leads are of various types based on the stage they are in your sales funnel. Let us explore the types of leads.

• The leads at the top of the sales funnel are the Information Qualified Leads (IQL). These leads offer useful information regarding the topic relevant to their query in return for their name, email address, or other personal data. They are also known as cold leads.
• Moving up in the sales funnel to the middle, we have Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL). These leads show interest in your business. They are also known as warm leads.
• The bottom of the sales funnel has hot or Sales Qualified Leads. They intend to purchase your product or service.

In short, leads are strangers you attract and convert into prospects or visitors and then into paying customers. And, the process of finding leads is known as lead generation.

So, how do you generate leads?

The next section of this article walks you through the best lead-generation strategies for startups.

The Best Lead Generation Marketing Strategies for Startups

Below are the lead generation tactics that have worked wonders for many startups across the globe.

Create a referral program

Incentive-based referral systems have proven to be one of the most powerful strategies for lead generation for startups. In the world of social media, where spreading the word about the products people like is as simple as ABC, customer referral programs help generate qualified leads.

Hence, you can use word-of-mouth advertising by devising a program that allows your existing customers to refer your products/services to others with customized referral codes. In this arrangement, the new client gets a discount on their first purchase, and the existing customer also gets a referral discount. It is a win-win situation for you, your loyal customers, and the new customers.

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Add a new touch to direct emails

Direct mailing is an old lead generation strategy and has lost some of its sparks in today’s world. However, you can use it to your advantage by mailing stunning flyers with attractive offers, including data-powered referral codes, and targeting only a smaller section of the audience.

Targeting only a selected audience through direct mail helps save you time and money you can use to offer better coupons, discounts, and other physical items.

Also know: Best Webinar Software/Platforms to Use for Marketing

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Play a strong content game

It is high time startups realize the importance of good content. There is no denying that content is the queen of modern marketing, where online presence is imperative for any business. Moreover, it helps you reach a wider audience. For example, you found we exist because of this blog you are currently reading.

Hence, keep a robust content Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy in place, promote the content via multiple platforms, optimize your content well according to the performance, include varied forms of content (for example, infographics, videos, etc.), collaborate with influencers or influential individuals, add practical and actionable tips in your content to make it more valuable for your audience, and be consistent in your content production to generate leads.

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Have an optimized website with CTAs

An attractive, fast, and efficient website is your business’s gateway to the world. It is an excellent way to inform people about who you are, what you offer, and the benefits they can derive from your offerings.

Moreover, if your website has a compelling call to action, it helps drive visitors to your in-person store and encourages people to purchase your products or services. The following picture shows some of the calls to action you can use on your website.

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Make the most of social media

Do you know nearly 4.9 billion people in the world use social media? Yes, the popularity of social media platforms is huge. Hence, following one of the basic rules of marketing, i.e., catching your potential customers where they are, it is inevitable that you have a social presence.

You can focus on delivering tailored content on social media to build followers and relationships that lead to conversion. Moreover, you can leverage paid social media marketing to target specific audiences and retarget audiences who have come into contact with your business at some point. Furthermore, you can use the best social media marketing tools to manage your social media handles for effective marketing. Also, here is how your social media strategy should be.

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Have plenty of opportunities to opt in

Consider giving visitors more than one opportunity to interact with your business. For example, you can have a blog that offers multiple opt-in opportunities to visitors, such as resource guides, a downloadable PDF transcript of the content, and more.

If you already have these opportunities but they are not driving the desired results, consider changing their placement. For example, you can have opt-ins as a pop-up and not in the sidebar. If the opt-ins are in the sidebar, it becomes easier for visitors to ignore them. Whereas if they appear as pop-ups, the visitors are forced to decide what they want to do.

Let us take OTT platforms as an example. Most of the OTTs have the exit button hidden somewhere down in the sidebar simply because they want visitors to ignore the exit option and not leave the platform. And, when they want the visitors to decide if they’re going to exit the platform, you get a pop-up asking for confirmation. And most often, visitors choose to stay on the platform.

The point here is to place opt-ins where they are not easy to ignore, as ignoring something is equivalent to saying no.

Also know: Best Email Marketing Software To Grow Your Business

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Collaborate with strategic partners

Battles are not fought alone, and lead generation for startups is equal to any battle. Hence, join forces with influencers or established businesses. You can leverage their resources and customer base to generate leads for your business.

However, ensure the partners cater to your target audience but do not offer competing services/products, and you thoroughly discuss and plan co-marketing strategies (for example, joint webinars, content collaborations, etc.).

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Concluding Thoughts

Lead generation is one of the crucial yet challenging tasks to ensure your business survives, particularly if it is in its initial stages. Hence, this article introduced you to the best lead-generation strategies for startups to help you get quality leads for your sales funnel to make sure your business thrives. However, if you have any questions or concerns about this write-up, feel free to leave a comment so we can assist you more.