In the marketing context, taking the first step is always essential. If you run a service providing company, then getting clients is the first step for you. If you sell a product, then the first step is making users inquire about it.

There’s a term for it, and that term is lead generation. You begin by generating leads, and those leads then turn into sales. The process, however, is easier said than done, and that’s chiefly because marketers commit mistakes, both knowingly and unknowingly, which hamper the lead generation process.

Avoiding bottlenecks

Being an online marketer, you need to stop committing mistakes. This will steer the lead generation process clear of bottlenecks, and you’d be successful in your marketing endeavors. But again, it’s easier said than done. Understanding that, I’ll help you with some tips in this article so that you get the hang.

The first bottleneck is

Untargeted audiences

Whenever you see the lead generation page getting plenty of visits, a generous smile appears on your face. Don’t be so quick in reaching judgments. At least wait until you lay your hands on the analytics reports. The analytics gives you a microscopic view of who are visiting your site.

If the site visitors are untargeted, then your approach is wrong. I strongly advise you to tally the analytics report and the reports obtained from Google Webmasters Account. Check the click to visit ratio. Three people clicking out of twenty total visitors is better than five clickers out of hundred visitors. The former indicates your campaign appeals to the right audiences.

Brand personality

Each single one of your customers has a unique personality. They expect you to have a personality as well. If you have failed to personalize your brand, then you are sure to lag behind in the rat race. The sales process is like a cycle, which speeds up once your brand acquires a personality.

You can look at this from a different angle. We often speak about the importance of interaction between a brand and its audiences. An interaction is a bipartite process, which requires both parties to have two different personality.

Lead generation is a complex process. Its success largely depends on your brand’s personality. If it’s a charming personality, then it’d fascinate your audiences and solidify your branding. If your brand lacks a personality, then it’s surely a bottleneck. Increase your social presence and the volume of interaction with audiences.

The lead-gen page

It’s sometimes difficult to identify the problems related to the lead-gen page, chiefly because most digital marketers don’t delve deeper. For the page to be of value, it needs to be linked to almost all the pages on the site. That’s called interlinking; if your call-to-action page is not linked this way, then that’d be a bottleneck for the success of the site, and the resulting lead generation.

Nobody would visit your site to check out the call-to-action page. They’ll land on the homepage or the services page or the portfolio page. They might think of switching to the lead-gen page once they are satisfied with the browsing experience. If other pages on the site don’t contain the link to the call-to-action page, then you might miss out on potential leads.

Not following up

The reason most marketer don’t follow up is they expect overnight success. That’s possible only in fairy tales, not in the real life. In real life, if you want success in lead generation, then you’d have to keep following up.

That being said, make sure you are not bugging the lead. Put the stress on warm calling. Devise a custom strategy for cold calling. Then sit with your sales guys and motivate them to follow the strategy so they persuade clients without irritating them.

Remember, following up in the wrong way is the same as not following up. Persistence is a good thing but there’s a borderline difference between convincing someone and maddening someone. It’s a must for you to understand the borderline difference.

Remove the bottlenecks

I’ve mentioned the bottlenecks that hinder the lead generation process, and also articulated how you could do away with them. Implement all the strategies described here to remove all the bottlenecks.

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