Generating Leads is a Core Goal of Inbound Marketing
A lead is any person that has expressed interest in your company’s product or service. Lead generation can be defined as any marketing activity that captures attention and interest, turning strangers into leads, and ultimately filling a sales pipeline.
To put it another way, lead generation is:
It’s a way of warming up potential customers to your business and getting them on the path to eventually buying. By showing an organic interest in your business, they are starting the relationship (versus the business), making it easier and more natural for them to want to buy from you somewhere down the line. – Hubspot
What Lead Generation Looks Like
The basic methodology for lead generation is offering a piece of free content such as a whitepaper or eBook in return for a form fill on a webpage. When submitted, the filled-out form creates a lead that goes into a CRM system.
How We Do It
Demand Generation
Demand generation is similar to lead generation, and in fact, many marketers consider lead generation a subset of demand generation. Demand generation is focused on generating interest, so oftentimes, demand generation activities provide free content without requiring prospects to fill out forms. These leads are considered “ungated.” Demand generation also includes activities that may not be considered “Inbound,” such as paid search.
- Explainer videos
- Free trials
- Informational webinars
- ebooks
- White papers
- Bonus tips and tricks
- Interviews with experts on specific topics
