A consummate marketing strategy has become an integral part of any thriving eCommerce business. Lead generation aims to identify and qualify potential customers, intending to convert them into paying customers. Unfortunately, many businesses erroneously believe that generating leads is as simple as running some Google Ads. However, successful lead generation requires a multifaceted and well-planned campaign.
In this blog, we'll cover three of our favorite lead-generation channels for any eCommerce business going into 2022, including our favorite: email marketing.
Lead generation is the process of generating leads for your company. Leads are prospects who have shown enough interest in what you offer, so they download a piece of content and/or provide their email address.
Lead generation is important because, without leads, you can't grow your business! You need leads to find new customers and generate sales.
Sales-qualified leads are potential customers who might be interested in buying from you. Marketing-qualified leads are prospects who may not be ready to buy at this moment, but they're still interested in what you have to offer. For example, if someone receives an email about new shoes, they may not purchase them right away, but they may be interested in future emails about sales and discounts.
Now that we know what lead generation is and the difference between SQLs and MQLs, let's look at the top lead-generation channels for eCommerce businesses in 2022.
Despite a common misconception regarding the efficiency of email marketing, it is still one of the most effective lead generation channels. In fact, email marketing generates $42 for every $1 spent, an incredible 4,200% ROI, making it one of the most effective options available.
Cold email marketing is effective because it allows you to reach many people with your message. Additionally, email marketing will enable you to track the success of your campaign. You can use this data to improve your lead generation efforts.
To increase the effectiveness of your email marketing, segment and target your audience: optimize your messaging and optimize your time. Spend more time targeting prospects who are likely to be interested in your product or service and less time trying to sell to people who don't care about what you have to offer.
The goal of cold email marketing is to generate leads with online content. The more your products and services align with the interests of your target audience, the more likely they are to sign up for your list. A popular way of using email marketing for lead generation is to offer a coupon or free sample in exchange for the prospect's contact information.
In 2022, we believe that email marketing will still be one of the most effective channels for lead generation. By segmenting and targeting your audience, you can improve the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns and generate more leads. Additionally, using email marketing to promote educational content will help guide prospects towards making a purchase decision.
Looking for tips on writing an effective cold email? Our recent blog 7 Must-Haves When Developing A Cold Email Marketing Campaign can help!
Social media is another powerful lead-generation tool. In fact, social media tends to generate $3 for every $1 spent, making it a compelling option as well.
80% of consumers are likely to purchase an item based on friends' suggestions. You can tap into this powerful word-of-mouth by having a social media presence. In this area, micro-influencers are a growing trend. According to MediaKix, micro-influencers are defined as accounts with anywhere from 10,000-50,000 followers compared to macro-influencers which are accounts with 500,000-1 million followers. Since micro-influencers have a strong following and are most likely more engaged with their following, this kind of promotion is credible and much more promising than other types of marketing.
You can offer your micro-influencers the ability to earn rewards for referrals and provide their followers with discount codes that can be used for purchases on your site.
Additionally, social media offers a way to connect with potential customers more personally. You can build relationships with customers and prospects by sharing relevant content, announcing new arrivals or sales, or anything else that will make them come back again and again.
Not only does it provide a place to develop your brand and share your products, but it creates another channel for customer support and feedback.
In 2022, social media remain a massive lead-generation tool. By utilizing micro-influencers, you can increase the credibility of your brand and generate more leads. Additionally, using social media to connect with customers on a personal level will help develop relationships that could result in future sales.
In 2022, paid advertising will still be a valuable tool for lead generation. Paid advertising is an efficient way to reach a massive audience and generate leads quickly at a low cost.
According to Custora, Facebook has the highest average order value of $50 among eCommerce companies, so it makes sense they have such a strong focus on lead generation. In 2017, Facebook began offering a suite of tools called "Lead Ads" to help businesses collect leads from their Facebook audience.
The idea behind Lead Ads is that you don't have to leave Facebook to fill out a form and submit your contact information. The user can simply click on the ad, fill out the form, and submit it without ever having to navigate away from the social media platform.
The reason paid advertising is no longer the top method of lead generation, in our eyes, is because of the competition across businesses. The cost-per-click (CPC) for social advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and other platforms continues to rise as businesses increasingly bid on relevant audiences, making it difficult for small businesses to compete.
In 2022, email marketing will still be an incredibly effective channel for lead generation, followed by social media/micro-influencers, and paid advertising. By segmenting and targeting your audience, you can improve the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns to generate more leads. Additionally, using email marketing to promote educational content will help guide prospects towards making a purchase decision.
If you need help with your eCommerce company's lead generation efforts through highly-targeted cold email marketing at scale, don't hesitate to contact us at growtoro.com! We will be more than happy to assist you or answer any questions you may have.
