Leads: importance, examples and how to generate them

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Do you know what leads are and why they are important?

Leads are all users who are interested in a specific topic that your company shares on its blog or social media, for example. This topic is related to a specific product or service that your company offers.

However, these users only become leads when they spontaneously provide a contact form, usually an email address. From this point on, a relationship with the company/brand begins.

When starting this relationship, brands have a very specific objective: to croatia whatsapp number database the lead into a loyal customer.

In short: leads are business opportunities.

The importance of leads


Since the internet changed consumer purchasing behavior, companies have faced a new challenge: being online and competitive.

Consumers are everywhere: blogs, online stores, social networks, apps and websites. In other words, they are everywhere. The best part? They are potential buyers.

This brings us to the work done by digital marketing and one of its most powerful tools: inbound marketing .

It is through them that brands reach their leads, who are captured, nurtured and forwarded along the sales funnel until they make the purchase.

That's why leads are important. Because generating leads is the best way to win new customers. But we can't forget about the work that must be done to retain those who have already purchased.

How to turn a visitor into a lead?
There are several ways to convert a visitor into a lead.

Here's an example: Marina loves interior design and wants some tips for decorating her living room.

She then does a Google search to get some ideas and ends up clicking on an article titled: “10 decorating tips to make your living room more cozy”.

Marina reads the article, likes it, and realizes that it is exactly what she is looking for. At the end, she is invited to subscribe to a newsletter to receive weekly content from the blog. Once she subscribes, she becomes a lead.

Throughout this example, did you notice what made Marina become a lead? Relevant content. She found what she was looking for – and better yet, she liked what she found. The article gave her the ideas she needed.

And what made her subscribe to the newsletter? Believing that the company/brand has more to offer.

Of course, there was a lot of optimization work behind this, such as qualifying the call and adapting it to the persona.

When does a lead become qualified?


Leads can become qualified in two ways, depending on their level of engagement:

MQL
The lead that recently signed up for a newsletter, for example, is an MQL – Marketing Qualified Leads.

This lead is not yet ready to receive offers. They still need to be educated by the marketing team, i.e., they should receive content via email, invitations to webinars, rich materials, and more.

Once nourished, they can continue through the funnel to the next stage.

SQL
SQLs (Sales Qualified Leads) are leads that are qualified for sales. They are those with high engagement rates.

At this point, this lead should receive contact from a sales team member or offers via email.

Leads vs. prospects


Although “lead” and “prospect” are used as synonyms, there is one aspect that differentiates them in marketing.

The lead is the person who had their first relationship with the brand. They may even advance in the relationship, but until they take the next step, they are still a lead.

On the other hand, the lead that gets in touch at some point becomes a prospect.

Here's an example:

A tourism company is running a campaign for a year-end cruise. It already has a landing page, various social media promotions, email marketing campaigns, among other actions.

Right after the first email was sent, the company was able to identify who was interested in visiting the landing page. These people became leads.

However, others sent messages to the reservations center as soon as they accessed the page. These are the prospects.

Therefore, prospects are those who are closest to closing a deal (which may or may not happen).