Lead generation is not just cold calling!
Yes, we are a digital marketing company and our raison d’être is to “help businesses market themselves effectively”. This means different things to different people: for an online publisher thriving on the advertising model, it means getting attracting more relevant traffic to their media property; for a software product company, it means getting inquiries (leads) from potential users; and, for an online retailer, it typically means getting online orders.
For many companies in the business-to-business (B2B) space, I am often tempted to say that we are an online lead generation company. This is because I believe that getting genuine business inquiries is usually the ultimate aim of most marketing that such companies do; secondly, we are able to present a more tangible value proposition when we say ‘leads’ than if we are to just say ‘online visibility’ or ‘digital marketing’.
Yet, there is a small hiccup. The moment we mention ‘lead generation’, I get asked about our call centre and the size of our e-mail database. For some reason, lead generation has become synonymous with tele-calling and sending out lots of e-mail (irrespective of whether these are to opted-in recipients or not).
To all those who have already made that connection, I would like to state emphatically that it is time to change the mindset. A decent volume of good-quality leads can be generated through online marketing using content and search engine marketing (both organic search aka SEO & paid search advertising). Telecalling & e-mailing to a ‘cold’ audience may serve some purpose for some of the time, but I am not sure if it is a sustainable approach to generating leads or customers.
It’s time to switch to inbound marketing / pull marketing for lead generation!
– By Manoj Aravindakshan
Manoj Aravindakshan is the Managing Director of Singapore-based On Target Media and Mumbai-based On Target Marketing Solutions. The companies provide digital marketing services to help businesses with greater online visibility, generate leads and customer acquisition. Contact us to discuss your marketing needs today!
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