Why is Lead Generation Important to Start Up Businesses

Lead Generation can form the basis of adding extra revenue to your business, and ultimately push your business forward. For a startup, generating revenue especially in a saturated market can sometimes be tough. However understanding the process of Lead Generation can help you to be successful. So in this article we will answer the question, why is Lead Generation important to a start up businesses.

Why do you need Lead Generation?

Lead Generation is not a tool to be ignored. Ultimately your business needs revenue to survive, so lead generation quite simply is the process that generates potential revenue opportunities. There is a big discussion around if lead generation is sales or marketing, we believe it to be both. You need to market your business to gain leads, then you need to sell to them leads.

For a start up business operating as a new entity in their market, having a lead generation plan is also going to be very important. Ensuring you know what outlets to use and how often you are generating leads is going to be important for conversions. Converting the leads you have is how you will generate revenue.

Related article: Lead Generation Strategies for Start-Up Businesses.

Targeting People with an Actual Interest 

Knowing your audience is so important to starting a business, as you need to know who you are targeting. And even when it comes to product development. Does your product solve the issues of your audience? If it does then you are onto a winner. 

Lead generation follows the same principles. You need to know who your marketing or sales efforts are going to be aimed at. The target audience you have must have an interest, or potentially have an interest in what you do in order to turn these into paying customers. 

You can generate a target audience in a few ways. Firstly could be market knowledge. Most will tend to start a business in an area in which they know or have worked previously to give them a step up. Secondly could be looking at your competitors. What are they doing to build their business, who are their audience and how do they approach them? Learning from your competitors is a great way to build your business.

Thirdly and now probably the most common is just overall research. Looking into the keywords people of a certain gender, age or location use. All this information can help when writing a blog, or using your social media to build your connection and follow list.

How Do I Get Customers Coming To Me?

In order to get customers to your business you have to be providing a product or service which is going to solve an issue which they have. Knowing who your audience in this case is very important. Marketing your business to the right people will mean a chance to generate leads. 

Getting customers to come to you however is done through marketing. Marketing will form the basis of getting your brand and business known. One of the most useful is using blogging/content to build your brands search quality. Writing content which is informative and engaging to your audience will ultimately get them interested in your business. Take a look at what is going on in your industry, or talk about products which could solve issues. 

Outside of just putting out content you can also utilise some of the following methods to generate leads:

• Optimising your On Page SEO

• Blogging consistently 

• Being active on social media and promoting your content 

• Paid Advertising

All of the above can help to generate extra traffic for your business. The higher the traffic rate the more chances you have to convert these people into leads, and hopefully into customers. How you convert people is also another skill which needs to be thought out. 

What About Outsourcing Lead Generation?

Lead Generation has become even more important to start up businesses, hence the increased amount who outsource. This is due to how time efficient it can be. Many outsourcing companies have a strong network which will be able to supply high quality leads from the outset. There are also some that specialise in niche areas which may also be applicable for your business. 

Utilizing the services of an outsourcing company does come at a cost, so considering your cash flow is the first step. However, what an outsourcing company can do is save you time on your lead generation which could be good if you need to generate revenue quickly. 

To Conclude 

The above points will more than cover why is lead generation important to start up businesses. If you are operating in a saturated market, or even a niche market you need to make sure you are approaching the right audience. From this audience you can then look to generate leads and turn them into revenue. Knowing who your audience is and what is going to be most effective to attract them to your business is vital. 

If you are looking for some more information on some key marketing channels to use them take a look at our Knowledge Hub.