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Generating Online Traffic and Leads
Student’s Name: Hardik Patel
University of the Cumberlands
Course: BADM 733 Strat Mrkt: Research & Practic
Professor: Dr. Lorna Deshay
Date: 5th Nov 2021
Generating Online Traffic and Leads
Introduction
The global economy is transforming from conventional marketplaces to digital platforms. This rapid revolution in the world of business has been enabled by the development of the Internet and its supportive components. Though the pace of digital transformation varies, the complete implementation of digital marketing in developed and developing countries will have a significant impact on the growth of the world’s economy.
Some of the most astounding innovations in recent decades include the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, and complex data analysis techniques. While the number of internet users keeps growing, the role of the above-mentioned technologies will be expected to expand further (The United Nations, 2019, p. 3). Access to potential consumers’ data and the ability to interpret such information to create leads through digital intelligence has become a crucial factor among companies operating in the highly competitive market. Businesses are increasingly becoming more dependent on artificial intelligence and data analytics as their various operations, including shipping and distribution are becoming largely data-driven.
The transformative power of the Internet on economy and communication has forced companies to strategize on how to adapt to seize the new business opportunities. Moreover, firms have been forced to learn how to solve challenges associated with trading on digital platforms. According to the United Nations (2019, p.3), the notion of the digital economy has normalized the description of how internet technologies are revolutionizing production and consumption patterns. Companies that want to succeed in this type of economy must focus on how to create and capture leads. Leads are a group of consumers who have, in various ways, shown interest in a product or service offered by a specific company. A lead can transition from a company visitor or window-shopper to a loyal customer. Nevertheless, all leads cannot be qualified as the same. These potential buyers can be categorized according to the type or level of interaction they have had with the seller. Andreeva (2016) argues that qualified leads, sometimes referred to as sales leads, are consumers who have shown interest in a firm’s product and he or she is ready to buy. On the other hand, unqualified leads have shown no interest in the company’s product and he or she is most unlikely to make a purchase (Andreeva, 2016). While a company may get a lead out of luck, there is a growing need for businesses to establish well-oiled lead-generating engines. Andreeva (2016) asserts that lead generation is the process of seeking potential buyers and interrogating their propensity to purchase before making the first sales contact. A lead generation is a form of inbound marketing methodology that occurs after a business has attracted an audience that can be turned into potential buyers.
Lead generation is a complex process that when approached with an effective strategy, can help businesses to get and stay ahead of their competitors in the marketplace. Various approaches can be used to generate leads. Firstly, a retailer can help audiences to discover their businesses through blog posts, emails, pay-per-click online promotions, and using cold calls (Andreeva, 2016). Creating and posting content with landing pages embedded in them is a great way to generate leads. The visual material must be captivating because a delighted customer is more likely to click on the call to action tab than a bored viewer. Also, companies can break many marketing barriers by offering product samples for free trials to potential customers. It is easier to convince a prospect who is already using a product to buy than a visitor who has no interest in even taking the free samples the organization is offering. Notably, the samples should be branded with the company’s logo and other promotional messages to attract more prospects. Besides, retailers can use their current customers to conduct vigorous referral marketing. Customers who have succeeded can be given specialized discounts to encourage them to keep marketing a firm’s goods and services. Getting products and services in front of many people is an effective way of generating leads. Secondly, use call-to-action tabs or links on the marketing platform to enhance the interaction between the visitor and the company’s sales teams. Thirdly, the call to action tab should take the visitor to a specific landing page designed to capture a lead’s information without breaching his or her privacy.
Companies should focus on scoring their leads to qualify them quantitatively. Different criteria can be used here. A retailer can assign specific numerical values to distinguish the behavior of a lead. For instance, 1 can represent leads who are not interested in buying anything from the business while 10 can be used to represent leads that are ready to make a purchase. Also, a lead score can be determined by the type of interaction the visitor has had with a business. Leads that actively and frequently engage with a retailer should receive a higher score than dormant prospects. The score criterion varies from one organization to another. Nevertheless, scoring allows businesses to save time and other marketing resources by focusing on sales-qualified leads. As organizations struggle to operate in the current market, it would be useful for businesses to identify the factors that drive and improve the generation of online traffic and leads. This paper will conduct an academic literature review concerning the various aspects of generating online traffic and leads, and their impact on the growth of a business. It is crucial that the discussion in this paper begins by reviewing factors that influence lead generation, and the relationships between leads and businesses’ growth.
References
Andreeva, K. (2016). Lead generation. Theory and Practice. Publisher: CreateSpace independent Publishing Platform.
The United Nations, (2019). 2019 Digital Economy Report: Value Creation and Capture: Implications for Developing Countries. The United Nations Publications.