Why these 3 lead generation methods no longer work
Technology has dramatically changed the way that we do business and lead generation isn’t excluded from these changes. In this blog post we look at some of the more traditional methods of lead generation, why they no longer work and how you can embrace the new ways to generate leads for your business.
In this blog post we will look at 3 methods of traditional lead generation and give you some ideas of modern alternatives.
1. Yellow Pages
It wasn’t that long ago that if you were looking for a business you would pick up your brick sized copy of the yellow pages that you would probably have kept next to your phone. Very, very few people use this any more, that is more than obvious by the ever dwindling size of the publication. The larger the advert you placed then the more chance there was of someone finding you, picking up the phone and giving you a call.
Whilst there are online versions of directories, in fact there are thousands of them I don’t think the online version really works that well either. The modern version would be a search engine itself. You simply type into the search bar exactly what you are looking for and a list of results will come up. Investing in online directories is a waste of money, even if the directory is displayed highly in the search results, people are far more likely to scroll past and click on a company’s website rather than have to scroll through another list!
2. Word of Mouth
Word of mouth still exists in various forms, we still use the traditional method of asking friends and family for recommendations, but the way we do this has changed. We are less likely to pick up the phone and call a list of contacts we tend to turn to one of two places:
Social Media
e use social media to ask our connections en-mass for their recommendations, it allows us to gain a much broader view of people’s experiences with certain companies. As a business, the best thing you can do is ensure that you are providing a great service and that you deal with any complaints well. The impact of a negative experience is much greater where the reach of social media allows so many more people hear of experiences.
Reviews
Reviews are a great way for people to read about other people’s experiences, whether that’s using a particular product or service or their general view of a specific business. You will see reviews all over the place, there are specific websites such as Tripadvisor, you can have customer testimonials on your website, you will see people leaving reviews on Google, Facebook and across all social networks. You can also use a service that allows people to leave reviews that a business cannot control (testimonials are obviously going to be all positive!). Something like Trustpilot is a great tool.
The key with word of mouth is to be seen as publically responding to any issues and thanking those that leave positive and useful feedback and suggestions for improvements. Do not be scared of offering a review tool, trying to hide away from personal opinion can be damaging.
Referral
Let’s not forget that referrals in person do also take place in the same way as previously, in person or on the phone. The difference now is that people are then more likely to do some research before picking up the phone. They may visit your website, check out any reviews or look at your social profiles to decide whether or not they want to take things further.
3. Telemarketing
Telemarketing companies will probably hate me for writing this but I strongly believe that you have to be incredibly lucky to catch someone on the phone at a specific point in time when they are looking to buy your products or services. That’s not to say that it doesn’t work EVER but that there are far better ways to invest your budget to get results.
We are all so busy that any interruption can be incredibly annoying when we are trying to focus on a task at work or home. Instead we are looking for people to come to us when they are ready and have the time to focus on how we can help them solve their specific problems.
Instead of telemarketing why not invest your time and effort into putting together an email marketing campaign or blogging and engaging in social media on a regular basis. A good Digital Marketing Consultant will be able to advise you on all of your options. By looking at alternatives you can gain a greater ROI and help boost SEO efforts at the same time and who doesn’t want that!
