The road to converting leads into customers is a long one, but it always begins with one simple fact: More leads means more chances to sell.
Understandably, lead generation is a common goal for many businesses. Today, we’d like to discuss lead generation techniques in the format of offers.
Offers can be anything from eBooks to webinars to blogs. Naturally, some types of offers work better than others at capturing leads. In fact, offers can be ranked pretty easily into a hierarchy based on how well they tend to perform.
Below, we’ll discuss our top three formats for high performing offers and how they can be used as lead generation techniques.
1. eBooks or Guides
You can’t beat an eBook or informative guide for capturing lead attention.
More than any other type of offer, eBooks provide the perfect fusion of in-depth information and accessibility. By their nature, eBooks are simple: They display complex information in digestible ways, offering readers an on-the-fly breakdown of concepts.
eBooks are considered part of the “awareness” stage of the Buyer’s Journey. At this stage, prospects are experiencing issues related to a problem they have, and yet they haven’t clearly defined what the problem is.
From a lead capture standpoint, this realization is huge. When prospects can pinpoint the exact document that shed light on their intangible issues, they’re far more likely to trust that business to provide a solution.
Plus, you can pepper your eBooks or guides with links to other content offers (or calls-to-action) that your readers might be interested in. The combined value for both customer and business makes eBooks the perfect storm of lead generation techniques.
2. Presentations or Templates
Following eBooks are informational presentations and templates that guide readers throughout a series of slides.
Depending on how they’re used, presentations and templates fall somewhere between the “awareness” and “consideration” stages of the Buyer Journey. During the “consideration” stage, buyers have given a name to their problem and have begun exploring resources specifically designed to solve it.
Presentations and templates share several features in common with eBooks that make them effective lead generation techniques:
- They are information-based and offer easy to understand descriptions of problems
- They featured a structured narrative that guides readers through a step-by-step explanation of issues
- They’re well-suited for integrating calls-to-action within their frameworks, priming users to get moving after hearing a breakdown of their problems
Presentations are powerful—and are the second best performing lead generation technique.
3. Research and Reports
Ranking third in our list is scientific research, reports, and concrete data.
Research falls within the “awareness” stage of the Buyer Journey. You’ll note the commonalities research shares with our other top performing lead generation techniques: Research is information-based and usually structured in storytelling formats that are easy for readers to digest.
Unlike our top two performers, research is focused entirely on provided specific and defensible justifications for problem resolution. It’s a usually a great resource for helping customers get past their pre-purchase reservations, but naturally the format doesn’t lend itself well to outside links or calls-to-action.
High Performing Lead Generation Techniques
Astute readers will note the key ingredients included in our most successful lead capture offers:
- They’re informative and educational
- They have an easy to follow storytelling format
- They target readers in the early stages of the Buyer’s Journey
Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for lead generation. Be sure to test each of these offers with your specific audiences to learn which strategies will really pull their weight for generating leads in your unique market.
