You’re a startup with big dreams, amazing products, and enthusiastic investors. What’s the next step for you to take to achieve business success? Finding customers!
Lead generation is a crucial part of bringing your startup close to the success you want it to achieve. But, how can you get started? You can opt for three common methods — inbound marketing, outbound marketing, and brand awareness.
Learn more about the three paths you can take and which would work best for your lead generation goals.
1. Inbound Lead Generation
Inbound refers to the continuous acquisition of leads through search engines and referrals. The leads are generally qualified as opposed to just any leads.
It is a great way to reach your customers with ease. It relies on your quality content. A lot of work goes into building a brand and content for it, so you really have to invest time and effort in providing value, entertainment, and education to customers.
Most of all, inbound marketing is a low-cost method of lead generation as you don’t have to spend a lot of money on advertising or other forms of promotion.
Pros
- You can lead the buyer in the direction you want them to go.
- Your leads can be long-term customers.
- You can gather a lot of information from your leads.
Cons
- It can take longer to produce results.
- Understanding your leads is a matter of trial and error.
2. Outbound Lead Generation
Outbound lead generation refers to the marketing method through which your business reaches out to its customers. You can do this by email, phone, pamphlets, and even social media. It is the most expensive, but most effective form of lead generation.
However, outbound can get your business in serious trouble if you’re not careful. If you contact your customers too often, they will have little incentive to respond.
You need to figure out the best time to contact your leads based on their behavior. If they have visited your website but didn’t make a purchase, you can contact them again to remind them about your brand.
Pros
- Outbound is ideal for B2B lead generation
- You can build lasting relationships with a personal touch.
- Customers are comfortable calling anytime.
Cons
- An aggressive approach is not appealing to younger generations.
- Success is heavily reliant on proper timing.
3. Brand Awareness
Targeting brand awareness means focusing on making your brand known to a lot of people. This can be done through a variety of methods, such as social media, advertisements, and more. Brand awareness is a long-term strategy for lead generation, so it may not be the most efficient one.
Pros
- Brand awareness opens a lot of doors.
- The faster you build awareness, the easier lead generation becomes.
Cons
- It can be costly to achieve brand awareness success.
- You need to be careful with negative news or reports on your business.
Which Method Works Best for Startups?
Each lead generation method has its own merits. While inbound is cheaper and more results-oriented, outbound generates a larger number of leads. Brand awareness, on the other hand, is a slow but steady method.
So, which one works best for startups? We would recommend using a mix of all three.
Final Thoughts
Lead generation is a crucial part of growing your business. Keep these strategies in mind, and remember to update them as you go along. With the right amount of effort and innovation, you can easily achieve that dream startup success.
For reliable lead generation for startups, turn to WhoKnows! We are the first omnichannel B2B lead generation platform that uses AI to help startups and small businesses. Let us assist you in building you pipeline now. Contact us to get started.
