Lead Generation remains a major priority for large or small businesses. According to a study of 750 U.K business leaders, 58% identified lead generation as an important priority for generating growth.

Many of those interviewed feel that their lead generation strategy could use a boost, with 40% describing their methods as “outdated.” It is notable that 59% still were tracking data with spreadsheets and 33% relied on cold calling to generate leads.

Clearly, according to the study, creating an effective lead generation strategy would make a difference for many companies, and using updated tools and methods may create a significant improvement.

A lead generation funnel is a marketing strategy that has been effective in converting leads into customers. The idea is that those who are reached are engaged through incentives and effective communication and “funneled” toward the path of making purchases.

However, a lead generation funnel is not something to set up and forget about.

Methods for converting leads to customers require constant evaluation and updates when necessary. Here are some ways to ensure your lead generation funnel will not leak valuable clients.

1) Identify Rising Trends

Identifying new trends is crucial in order to pivot your business in the right direction. It is not enough (or wise) to fall in love with your own product and to build an entire funnel around it.

Businesses must explore their niche and identify and analyze product trends in order to set themselves apart from their competitors.

2) Offer a Lead Magnet that Provides Value

Don’t make your lead magnet and afterthought. Many people make the mistake of selecting a lead magnet, which is usually given away for free, from products that are not selling well and may no longer represent the kind of value they once did.

It is important to keep in mind that the potential leads may have researched similar products and are aware of what represents real value and what does not.

If you feel that your lead magnet can use some improvement, do some research to see what your competition is offering. Evaluate what needs are not met in other offerings and generate ideas of how to outperform competing offers.

In addition, use analytical tools to evaluate the progress of your current lead magnet and compare it with previous magnets while measuring the results against your short and long-term targets.

3) Create Multiple eMail Lists

Keeping contact with your leads through email lists is the first step for any marketing strategy.

However, it may not be enough to have a single email list for all of your leads, but creating multiple email lists will help you personalize your nurture email strategy and make your leads feel they are being addressed personally.

Think about your typical customer. Some may be interested in your product because it will benefit their families.

Others are concerned about saving money. Still, others may be using a product to manage their business. There should be separate categories of leads organized in distinct email lists according to their lifestyle and goals.

Ensure that there is no overlap so your leads are not receiving multiple identical emails. You can find tools that will make organizing your email lists more easily and tagging leads so the right emails will reach them at the right time.

4) Use the Right Tools to Monitor Data and Conversion

To make sure your lead general funnel is working properly, you need the right tools for the trade.

Email marketing software can help you keep your email lists distinct and makes it easy to create campaigns and to track their success. Google Analytics is still one of the best ways to observe changes in bounce rate and to track how much time visitors spend on your page.

If your funnel relies on Facebook ads, you can not only see how well your ads are performing but if you are operating within your budget since Facebook ads manager breaks down how much you are spending per lead.

In addition, microdata can be helpful, and there are some tools that allow you to go into more detail to see at which precise points visitors leave your page and which buttons individuals click.

5) Tweak Your Funnel

It may not be a question of whether your lead generation funnel is working, but how well it is working. You may be generating leads, but not enough, or you may have plenty of them, but they are not high-quality leads who will be converted into customers.

In addition, it is important to listen to leads and customers to figure out what is causing them to take action and what is a turn-off.

In addition, following up and nurturing leads require plenty of care and attention, and making your funnel more consistent can help improve lead generation and conversion efficiency.

6) Reward Loyalty

Once your leads have been converted to customers, the job is not necessarily done. Your customers are valuable when it comes to finding new ones since they can give referrals which are marketing gold.

According to B2B marketers, 78% say that referral programs provide the highest quality leads and 54% say that referral programs are among the most cost-effective forms of marketing.

Rewarding your customers with special deals and premium content will make them feel valued and increase the likelihood that they will make additional purchases.

In addition, they will share their enthusiasm for your products and services with others in the form of referrals which will generate more leads.

Conclusion

Creating an effective lead generation funnel is only the first step in a long-term process. It shouldn’t run on automatic pilot but should be updated and tweaked where necessary.

Evaluating the effectiveness of your funnel will help you hold the attention of your leads and convert them into customers. Inspect your lead generation strategies and tweak or update your lead magnet.

Make sure your email lists are as personalized and targeted as they can be to ensure there aren’t people receiving too many, too few, or the wrong kinds of emails.

Reward your current customers so they can generate new sales either themselves or by recommending your product or service. Update the tech side of things on a regular basis and stay current on the newest tools, software, and apps that can focus your lead generation on potential customers.