10 Lead Generation Techniques for Small Businesses

Lead generation for small businesses can be tricky, especially for industry professionals who may not have the most digital marketing experience. The process of lead generation can also be quite difficult, even for small businesses with an excellent marketing team. Really, it all comes down to technique. No lead generation strategy is complete without an effective series of techniques for generating and nurturing leads. 

If you’re wondering what the best small business lead generation techniques are, take a look at our top ten techniques for mastering small business lead generation. 

10 actionable lead generation techniques and tips for small businesses 

Lead generation for small business marketing campaigns can be easier than ever to launch with these top tips! 

1. Focus on setting up your SEO 

There are a few major things you’ll need to do to ensure your SEO is in a good place: 

• Claim your Google My Business directory and use keywords to fill the profile out

• Use keywords throughout the copy of your website

• Ensure that each web page has a meta description with keywords in it

• Claim your business listings on review aggregates like Yelp, Citysearch, and others

• Offer incentives to your customers to rate and review your business on the above-mentioned platforms 

2. Consider running events

With health and safety precautions in mind, it might be worth looking into running events in your industry. You could do everything from hosting webinars to speaking at local conferences to participating in industry expos. The key is to give your target audience (the attendees) a reason to engage with these events. If physical events aren’t accessible to everyone, consider using your social media channels to live-stream your events as well. 

3. Remember that content is king 

One of the most important parts of running a successful lead generation campaign is creating a wealth of content. Outbound lead generation strategies are great, but they work best when accompanied by an inbound strategy. Content marketing involves creating quality content that your prospects are actually interested in, mostly to solve a problem they may be experiencing. 

Your content should include a mix of blog posts, digital books, videos, infographic images, special resources, slideshow presentations, webinars, and any other content that suits your brand. Creating content can help you connect with your prospects and establish yourself as an authority in your niche, and it can boost your SEO as well. 

4. Use Google AdWords for your outbound lead generation 

Content creation and inbound marketing should be your focus, but you should diversify your lead generation attempts by using ads. Google AdWords is a great tool for advertising on the internet. This platform uses programmatic target advertising to reach your potential leads when and where they are already looking for a solution that your brand can offer. Google AdWords offers search ads, display ads, video ads, and app ads that are all quite lucrative in their own right. You might be surprised by the reach that Google AdWords can offer your business. 

5. Utilize email marketing for lead generation 

Email isn’t dead, and it’s still an excellent tool for lead generation. In fact, many lead generation pros note that email marketing is the best technique for lead generation for B2B companies, especially for those that use B2B cold calling services or cold email services. 

There are a ton of tools out there that you can use to automate and keep track of the emails you send to prospects and customers. Being able to track how people are interacting with your emails is the key to seeing where your marketing efforts are generating the most leads. For example, some email automation tools will show you how often an email was opened, whether they clicked through the email, and more. 

6. Look into client referral programs 

For many small businesses in many industries, referrals from happy customers are their main source of lead generation. This type of lead generation is excellent because it does not involve the internet in a major way, and it’s also essentially free marketing. When a happy client hears that a colleague is struggling with a problem, they might offer your services as a solution. You can even create an incentive to encourage your happy customers to refer your brand to their peers by offering a referral program. 

7. Start a blog 

Believe it or not, virtually every business in every industry could benefit from starting a blog. Your blog can showcase articles, videos, audio or podcasts, galleries of photos, and more. You’re creating content here that will answer industry-relevant questions that your potential customers are searching for. This can establish you as an authority in your niche, which will add a level of trustworthiness to your brand. 

8. Create landing pages that convert

For websites that may not be generating a lot of leads, the cause is usually landing pages. These pages, which are connected to ads, need to be a mix of enticing, extremely helpful, and very direct. Poorly-made landing pages don’t convey your product or service’s value, which results in fewer conversions. 

Make sure that you have landing pages set up. You don’t want to connect your ads to your homepage. We recommend using a landing page builder to create the best possible landing pages for your business.

9. Offer free trials

A big part of lead generation is creating a great brand reputation. A big part of creating a great reputation involves offering free incentives to prospects and customers. Large companies and enterprises don’t need to do this, as they already have established their reputation and consumers have no issue with purchasing products and services from them. For a small business, that luxury isn’t as common. As a result, you’ll need to soothe your prospects’ reservations about your brand by offering free trials and freemium plans to give your leads a chance to feel out your product before making a big decision. 

10. Start taking social media seriously 

Far too many small businesses don’t use social media marketing techniques simply because they might not know how to use the various platforms properly. The key to successful lead generation as a small business is being able to connect with your potential customers. 

Identify which channels your customers tend to prefer. Create business profiles on those platforms and start sharing content. This content can be original or curated, depending on your time commitment. Take the time to promote your social channels on your website and everywhere else. Finally, and most importantly, interact with your prospects in a way that is informative and beneficial to them, not salesy. It is also a good idea to follow popular or influential individuals in your specific industry for networking purposes.