Leads are the heart of your business! They are potential customers who can buy your products or hire your services if they see their needs met. There are several strategies to qualify these leads and turn them into loyal customers of your brand. Understand what leads are, the main types and how to nurture them in the content below.
Leads are people who can become customers of your company, that is, they represent an opportunity for sales conversion. A lead is a person who has shown interest in a product or service from your company and would like to know more, so they have provided some contact information, such as name, email or telephone number , wishing to receive content, discounts and more.
These leads must enter your radar of potential customers and to transform them into consumers, in fact, you need to take a strategic approach following the sales funnel so that they feel comfortable making the purchase or hiring your service.
Image with the text what are qualified leads?
What are qualified leads?
Marketing qualified leads (MQLs) are people who architects email list have a good chance of becoming customers and who demonstrate high levels of interest in the products and services your company offers. For example, people who download e-books, click on ads for your product, interact on social media, and more. There are 3 types of MQLs, see below:
Information Qualified Lead (IQL)
This is the first stage of a qualified lead. They have already made the first contact by providing some information in exchange for materials that can solve their pain. These materials can be diverse, such as e-books, webinars, infographics, among others. This is the stage where you start to build your relationship with the customer and gain their loyalty.
By learning a little more about your products and brand, this lead will decide whether to delve a little deeper into making a purchase or whether it is not something relevant to them. To further attract this customer, considered a “cold lead”, send free samples, service specification pamphlets or even a catalog.
Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
In this second stage, the customer is already considered a “warm lead”, that is, they are already in the middle of the sales funnel. They have already shown interest and want to continue getting to know your brand and looking for more in-depth and specialized information about the products or services that attract them.
Understand: Conversational Marketing: What it is, benefits and application examples
Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
In this third stage, the customer is already at the bottom of the sales funnel and is considered a “hot lead”. Here, they are ready to close the deal, so activate your sales team to approach them quickly. The faster you can meet their expectations and answer their questions, the greater the chances of conversion.
Why is lead generation important for business?
Among all marketing strategies, generating leads is one of the most important, because without customers there are no sales to sustain your business. Know your brand persona well and outline strategies to reach them and build loyalty to your brand.
What is the difference between a lead, a visitor and a subscriber?
As we have seen, it is important to generate leads so that your business can continue to thrive. Learn the main differences between leads, visitors and subscribers to learn how to direct them to the sales funnel.
Visitor : a visitor is someone who knows little about your brand or is not yet interested in your products. Therefore, it is important to create quality content on your website, blog and social media, as well as SEO strategies to rank in search engines;
Subscriber : when visiting your website or social media, one way to turn a stranger into a subscriber is to offer relevant content if they sign up for your newsletter . By filling out a simple form with their name, phone number and email, this is your chance to direct them to the middle of the sales funnel;
Lead : when becoming a subscriber, the person becomes a lead, use marketing and sales strategies to carry out the necessary approaches to finalize the purchase and retain the customer .
What is lead nurturing?
It means nurturing a lead so that they continue the purchasing journey learning more about your products and company with relevant content, in addition to using communication tactics to deepen the relationship until they feel safe and comfortable to complete the purchase. Lead nurturing has other functions, understand:
Cultivate relationships: when a lead understands that you are an authority on the subject, capable of solving their problems and promptly meeting their needs, they know that your company cares about the consumer and feels valued. See here practical examples of relationship marketing actions ;
Educating the lead: means offering relevant content about your company, products and services, so that they realize that your brand meets their pain points and desires;
Build authority : knowing that your brand offers quality content, the lead understands that you are an authority in your area of expertise, feeling more secure and confident about your company.