Unconventional Ways to Generate More Business Leads
Do not give up on getting leads
If you've tried everything else, it's time to consider some unconventional ways to generate more business leads - you might be surprised!
Leads are crucial to successfully running and growing a business. But maintaining momentum in generating them is not easy. In a field as dynamic as marketing, trends and best practices change all the time. So, what worked for you in the past few years might not be working anymore. This can lead to your lead generation stagnating. To get the business juices flowing again, you might want to consider unconventional ways to generate more business leads instead. Some of them are a bit risky, a bit difficult, or a bit strange. But you'd be surprised at how effective a novel strategy can be. In the end, it might pay off in more ways than one.
Why should you use unconventional ways to generate more business leads?
Lead generation refers to the process of getting people informed about and interested in what you have to offer. It is, therefore, the first step toward converting someone into a customer. This makes lead generation vital to the survival of any business. But generating new leads is not always easy. If you are a small business without a lot of reaches or if you're in a seasonal industry, for example, you'll probably experience periods where you struggle to drum up excitement for your products and services. This is the perfect time to turn to the more uncommon ways of generating leads. They'll make you stand out from your competition and help attract audiences that you previously couldn't.
New types of marketing lead to new types of customers.
What are some of the best unconventional ways to generate more business leads?
The problem with unconventional strategies is that not many people are using them so they're often not that well tested. This makes it difficult to know what to expect - will you find success or disaster? If you're worried, focus on the following tactics that definitely work:
Try new and interesting types of content
There's no denying that content marketing is a great way to generate leads. But if all you do is write blog posts, you will eventually run out of interesting topics and people who respond to the written word. So it's important to mix it up a little - instead of writing this week, why don't you try your hand at an infographic? You can even learn how to create interesting videos to post on social media. If you're feeling brave, hosting and streaming a conference or a lecture about something can also be a good idea. Or you can post quizzes that your users will enjoy. Of course, you shouldn't abandon blogging forever; the point is to branch out and offer different things.
Use novel technologies
It's important to keep up with the times; if you don't, your users will move on from the platforms, software, and tech that you're using to new and better things, leaving you behind. So keep an eye out for new developments in the world of technology. Try developing an app instead of focusing entirely on your website, learn how to use all the latest social media platforms that have become popular, and invest in technology like marketing AIs. This can sometimes be expensive, but it pays off!
Embrace new technology in your marketing.
Try your hand at the less famous social media platforms
You're probably already using social media for business - pretty much everyone is. But most business owners focus on the big platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. While you should definitely be active on those, you mustn't look at social media too narrowly. Other platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok, and Pinterest can be valuable resources, especially when not that many businesses use them.
Focus on the individual
Mass media and the internet have made it easy for businesses to reach millions of people at once with their marketing. In most respects, this is a good thing. But it has also made many marketers forget about the individual and focus on watering down their message to reach as many different people as possible. Unfortunately, this can lead to your marketing being less effective at conversion. So try doing the opposite: personalize every interaction with potential customers.
One way to do this is to adjust your website and your communication to the interests of every individual visitor. Use cookies to find out their location, for example, and show them content that directly relates to where they're from. If you're sending out newsletters via email, remember to section your mailing list so that people can only receive the emails that concern them personally.
Personalize your emails to potential customers.
Or you can make it even simpler - make sure your content is in the second person. Speak directly to your readers, listeners, or viewers when explaining things or giving advice as if they were right there in front of you. If you want to make visitors take action that will push them further down the sales pipeline, you'll also want to include a compelling and engaging call-to-action at the end of the content you're posting. This will feel less out of place if you've been speaking to the reader the entire time.
Tell a story about your brand
Having a good branding strategy is vital for raising awareness about your business. Your brand should clearly show who you are and what you stand for. But just presenting this to an audience is hardly going to inspire them to learn more. Instead, you want to tell a compelling story. Where did the idea for your business come from? Where do you plan on going in the future? And perhaps most importantly, why should anyone care?
Use social proof to your advantage
Social proof is a common phenomenon that makes people copy what others are doing. This is something you can use to your advantage - simply show that people are using your products or services, and you'll get the attention of others who want to do the same. The easiest way to do this is to encourage current customers to leave reviews and refer friends. A referral program can help with that. Another thing you can do is to partner with a social media influencer. Influencers have a lot of social power today; if they endorse your products or services, you'll definitely collect tons of leads from that partnership.
Generate more business leads by taking risks
Unconventional ways to generate more business leads are always a bit of a risk - that's why they're unconventional. But business is all about risk, so this is not actually a bad thing. Instead, you should embrace taking risks. Be the first to try something new, invent your own strategy, and don't be afraid to fail. This is how you become a leader in your industry: by standing out from the crowd.