The business environment is becoming tougher on organizations that ignore the latest technologies in their activities. Changing consumer behavior and preferences require businesses to adapt their lead generation approaches. At the same time, 53% of B2B marketers spend more than half of their marketing budget on lead generation, and customers expect personalized and customized experiences. Both businesses and individuals are constantly on the lookout for effective ways to connect with possible partners, consumers, or workers who might assist them in achieving their objectives.
Lead generation enables firms to identify and attract a target audience interested in what they offer. The use of information technology and the latest ways of working with information for lead generation can greatly simplify the work with:
analyzing large amounts of data from various sources;
identifying the target market and accurately classifying leads;
improving content marketing;
analyze data patterns and use them effectively.
Getting new clients is just one application of lead generation. Additionally, it aids in creating lasting, mutually beneficial connections with clients. Because of this, 91% of marketers rank lead creation as their top objective. With the use of this technology, a business may draw in new clients and offer them useful information, a tailored experience, and exclusive deals. This helps to increase customer loyalty and increase customer satisfaction.
The generation of leads also enables companies to innovate and enhance their goods and services. When a company actively attracts new leads, it receives feedback and can analyze their needs, requirements, and wishes. Also, the use of machine learning and neural networks in this area can smoothly spread to all company practices. Thus, modern technologies in lead generation make it easier to adopt new things in other departments, increasing the competitiveness of the organization as a whole. This allows the company to adapt its development strategy, improve products or services, and offer new solutions that meet market needs.
Why is the importance of lead generation using modern tools downplayed?
Some businesses may underestimate the impact of artificial intelligence on lead generation practices due to a lack of understanding of its capabilities and potential. They may not have enough information about what specific tasks can be performed by large language models or neural networks and what benefits it can bring to their lead generation process. For example, the use of lead generation automation tools generates 451% more leads. However, there are still specialists (20%) who prefer archaic tools for non-automated lead generation.
Underestimating modern lead generation capabilities can result in missed opportunities and lost leads, as 77% of marketers who use automation software convert more leads. In today's competitive business environment, where market conditions are constantly changing, effective lead generation is becoming a necessity for a company's success.
What methods of lead generation are preferred nowadays?
In most cases, the preferred lead generation methods depend on the specifics and needs of the business. However, there are general trends to watch out for.
One of the most popular ways to generate leads is through content marketing. Content is offered in exchange for customer contact information, which allows you to create a database of potential customers. Internet advertising is also widely used, including contextual advertising on search engines (e.g., Google AdWords) and banner advertising on various websites. These methods allow you to target ads to a specific audience using keywords and show ads to those who have already shown interest in similar products or services.
Using social media is also considered an effective way. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter provide an opportunity to share valuable content and communicate with your audience. Advertising campaigns, contests, and publications with attractive offers can significantly increase the effectiveness of lead generation through social media. This method is logical in the context of 76% of users' desire to learn as much as possible about a company before making their choice. At the same time, 68% of consumers have bought a product through a social network at least once.
What issues can be covered by modern technologies?
In addition to these methods, other options for finding and attracting customers are still popular in the market. Bulk emailing, database purchases, cold calling, combinations of outdated methods with new ones - all of these are commonplace for marketers.
The main problem with these services is the low percentage of efficiency they offer. Most businesses rely on outdated methods that produce limited and inaccurate results. For example, 97% of all cold calls from lead generators go unheard (potential customers do not pick up the phone). The traditional approach to lead generation often involves purchasing databases or using general search engines and social media platforms. These methods tend to generate a large number of leads, but the quality and relevance of these leads is questionable.Â
Social media lead generation can also face a number of challenges that affect the effectiveness of the process. Typical problems include:
scattered audience and low conversion of leads into real customers;
poor quality of leads and contact information received;
high competition for user attention and related content costs;
changes in algorithms and the need to constantly update and adapt the strategy;
lack of trust and the associated complexity of lead generation.
How does AI solve lead generation problems?Â
Creating valuable and interesting content that meets the needs of the target audience can attract the attention of potential customers. Content marketing helps to position a company as an expert in its field and attract quality leads. While it has high potential in the long run, manual work alone may not be enough to successfully nurture leads.Â
Approximately 75% of the value from using AI is concentrated in just four areas: customer operations, marketing and sales, software development, and R&D. Lead generation falls under all of these points and can benefit from the implementation of neural networks, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in general.
The use of automated lead management systems allows you to effectively track and manage the entire process, from collecting contacts to making a sale. They allow you to automate routine tasks, improving productivity and ensuring greater accuracy in your work. At the intersection of the benefits of automation and the implementation of artificial intelligence in lead generation centers, innovative social networks are emerging that can transform the entire market for interacting with potential customers. For example, the Eontribe project, which opens beta testing in July 2023. It is capable of conducting in-depth analytics of requests from millions of users using a number of neural networks and connecting people with common goals and wishes. This takes into account possible inaccuracies in the searchers' wording, the context of events, and the information they provided earlier.
Modern tools and technologies, such as calculators, questionnaires, sweepstakes, and alternative social networks, can help you interact with potential customers and collect important data from them. This allows you to personalize communication and offers.Â
Neural networks and machine learning can also be used to generate leads. But, as with all new technologies, not every user achieves success and efficiency. A survey of about 800 companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors showed that only a tenth of them use artificial intelligence and make investments in these technologies effective.
Chatbots can ask users about their interests, provide personalized service, and conduct surveys. Advanced social services provide even more business benefits. The Web3 social network Eontribe uses an artificial intelligence-based search engine that can eliminate irrelevant responses and unwanted messages. When using this service, the parties can be open and indicate their wishes and capabilities during the search. This data is used by artificial intelligence to find matches and is not openly displayed. In addition, neural networks and other technologies used by this service can automate work processes that currently take 60-70% of working time.
Why does using modern tools make sense?
Modern tools allow you to automate many processes, which reduces the likelihood of errors and optimizes the use of resources. They also provide more accurate information about potential customers, which helps you create more targeted and effective marketing campaigns.
Using relevant technologies, such as artificial intelligence, allows you to automate routine tasks and processes, frees up team time and resources for more strategic tasks. This increases productivity and speed of response to leads, which contributes to improved results and, in fact, revolutionizes the industry. The economic profitability of such a solution is confirmed by the fact that lead generation with the help of AI increases sales productivity by 15-20%. In case of using resources such as Eontribe, it also leads to multiple savings on staff support. After all, 1 employee can find the same number of relevant results as 100 colleagues using outdated methods.
Monitoring changes in prices and conversion rates of different social networks can also increase competitiveness. When choosing between several options with equivalent lead generation efficiency, it makes sense to give preference to the cheaper one. The average cost of acquiring 1 lead is $198.44, and any request in Eontribe is free.
Implementing artificial intelligence in the process of acquiring new customers can seem like an expensive and complex process. Some businesses may not be ready to invest in the necessary technology solutions, infrastructure, or staff training to use AI in lead generation. But after studying the benefits of such implementation, their opinion may change. For example, recent studies have shown that generative design can save 23 to 38% of engineers' time, which leads to a cost reduction of 8-15%.
For 31% of marketers, proving ROI is one of the biggest challenges. At the same time, modern tools provide an opportunity to analyze lead generation results in detail, including conversion, costs, channel efficiency, etc. This allows you to understand which methods work best and where adjustments are needed, which contributes to the continuous improvement of the lead generation strategy.
Depending on the method of lead generation, it can significantly improve the rate of attracting new customers and increase business sales. The mere implementation of artificial intelligence in lead generation processes can increase its efficiency by 15-20%. The activities associated with this process are undeservedly underestimated. After all, it is a properly organized lead generation process that can lead to business growth and improve its results.
When conducting a marketing campaign, you can give preference to several methods at once, be it emails, calls, the introduction of chat bots, or active social media. However, it is recommended to give preference to the most relevant methods that can minimize costs and support the conversion of potential customers into real ones in the long run.
The era of generative AI is just beginning. Even now, the average productivity growth across all industries is projected to be 0.1-0.6% annually by 2040, thanks to AI. If we focus on customer operations, marketing and sales, software development, and R&D, AI's ability to understand natural language can accelerate the technical automation of workflows that take 25% of the time. And businesses that ignore this trend are doomed to constantly lag behind and reduce the number of attracted customers.
The problems of finding leads on social media, such as market saturation, low conversion, and the difficulty of selecting quality leads among a large number of users, can be mitigated by using the latest tools and automating processes. The key to this solution should be new social networks that keep pace with changing market demands and are ready to enhance their capabilities by applying artificial intelligence.