Are Millennials the Last of the Lead Generation?

Will we still be generating leads with the same techniques in the coming years?[/caption] If you’re hoping to expand your reach or grow your clientele, you’re probably already employing lead generation strategies. These techniques allow you to gather information about new people and discover new avenues of businesses outside of the paths you commonly take. What Is Lead Generation? Leads may come in the form of emails, addresses, phone numbers, or business names. They can also include more general, but still useful info — like location, which can help you rezone your advertising focus areas. For example, you can get some basic info by tracing IPs (the unique signature identifying someone when they’re on your website — by city and state, host domain, or even a specific location, like a Starbucks). Lead generation methods may include:

• Collecting business cards (for example, by conducting a raffle)
• Having people sign in (such as attending an event)
• Inviting people to subscribe to a newsletter (physical or via email)
• Requiring full contact info on submission forms (such as on your website)
• Seeking ID information to complete a task (such as logging into borrowed Wi-Fi)

Many of those will have a great deal of success today. But what about tomorrow?

The Future of Lead Generation Marketing

As we increasingly analyze how audiences interact with our current marketing styles, we’ve learned that they’re more aware than ever, and prefer transparent tactics. That doesn’t exactly mesh with the traditional lead generation methods. Tomorrow’s targets may prefer to be asked directly for information about themselves, rather than have it surreptitiously collected. They’re also wise to many conventional ways of acquiring data — and when you ask for their email address but don’t have a great reason why, they’re more likely to automatically supply a fake one. Furthermore, they’re used to having their metadata collected organically — once they’ve agreed to share it through terms and conditions that are reasonable to them. Your future methods may entail getting an enticing mobile app and having the option to log-in through Facebook, then having users agree to let your app access profile information (which is likely to be accurate). It’s wise to plan strategies that work for you now while keeping an eye on the future, especially if in entails making an investment or creating a long-term plan. Of course, considering the needs of tomorrow’s audiences is always going to be your smartest move, whether you’re revisiting current marketing strategies or implementing new ones. Lead generation is an easy place to start because of its flexibility and the wide number of creative solutions available to any type of business. If you’re wondering where to start, let us lead you.]]>