8 Lead Generation Trends for 2023 

Lead generation is the process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business’s products or services. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lunch meeting rooms, conferences, and offline sales and marketing events that were once essential to lead generation have been abruptly closed. As a result, this article will demonstrate why businesses are turning to digital automation and the best lead management software to generate leads.

Although lead generation is not purely online or digital, events are considered the best lead generation activity by 68% of sales and marketing teams. However, the pandemic has drastically altered the equation, and businesses can no longer wait for things to return to normal. They must go digital all out and gather, analyze, and use data for better decisions.

However, experts today predict that analytics and data insights will drive effective marketing communications, from lead generation to customer relationship management (CRM). Therefore, marketers need to pay attention to these strong and emerging trends to leverage them for their benefit.

In addition, we will provide some tips on how to capitalize on these trends to optimize your lead-generation campaigns and stay one step ahead of the competition. The key lead generation trends include:

1.Lead Generation Going Digital

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant transformation in the way businesses operate, particularly for B2B companies that relied on in-person sales strategies. As a result of remote work policies, networking, and sales activities have shifted to digital platforms, including lead generation. B2B buyers and sellers are now more willing to work with digital marketing resources, such as websites, social media, content marketing, and email marketing. Some studies also found that buyers are willing to spend large sums of money on digital self-service purchases or with remote sales representatives.

2.Video Conferencing and Live Chat

Digital communication channels, particularly video conferencing and live chat, have emerged as the most effective means of interacting with B2B buyers and closing deals during the pandemic. According to some surveys, B2B decision-makers prefer video interactions over communicating through the phone, with videoconferencing accounting for the highest B2B revenue among all channels used by companies. Despite the challenges of adapting to new communication methods, 90% of decision-makers believe that digital channels will remain a mainstay in the coming years.

3. 3. Social Media Lead Generation

With almost half of the world’s population spending more time on social media, social media platforms have become an even more significant source of lead generation. However, businesses need to personalize their content to attract quality leads effectively. To advance your relationship with your audience, personalize your content based on the leads you aim to attract, including their interests, preferred social media platforms, and more.

Another way to generate more leads on social media is by utilizing advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. AI and machine learning can automate traditional lead generation strategies, making it more efficient to generate leads using AI algorithms. 

Whatever strategy businesses choose for lead generation on social media platforms, they should not forget to create, keep, and grow their mailing list by channeling their social media subscribers or followers to their email marketing funnel. Email marketing remains one of the most challenging types of digital marketing, but it is also one of the most effective channels for lead generation.

4. Influencer Marketing

Influencers have become an essential part of modern-day marketing strategies, particularly in lead generation. This trend has been further strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Influencers are individuals, brands, or digital entities that hold authority in their respective social media niches. However, their audience has developed specific content preferences over time. Apart from an influencer’s reach and content type, their credibility is crucial in influencing US and UK consumers to trust endorsed brands, products, or services. In fact, a considerable number of consumers place their trust in influencers who have 1,000 to 10,000 followers, rather than those with a million or more.

In addition to attracting more audiences and potential customers, businesses can also benefit from influencer marketing in other ways. Firstly, they don’t have to spend so much on penetrating a niche since they can work with someone who is already influential in it. Secondly, many influencers use analytics and data themselves, which can help businesses understand their niches better. Thirdly, marketers can use a performance-based marketing scheme with influencers, saving them money and resources as they only pay for results. Finally, partnering with influencers can give businesses access to various digital platforms, increasing their reach across many channels. An increase in reach and engagement can lead to an increase in lead volume and quality. Hence, selecting the right influencer can be a great lead-generating partner.

5. Voice and Local Search

Voice and local search can be effective tools for lead generation, especially for businesses that rely on local customers. Voice search is becoming increasingly popular, with the rise of smart speakers and virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. Local search, on the other hand, involves optimizing your website and online presence for local searches, such as “restaurants near me” or “plumber in [city]”.

To leverage voice and local search for lead generation, businesses can take the following steps. Firstly, optimize their website and online presence for local searches: This involves incorporating local keywords into their website content, optimizing their Google My Business profile, and listing their business in local directories.

When people use voice search, they tend to use conversational language. By incorporating conversational language into their website content, businesses can increase their chances of appearing in voice search results. Also voice search is often used to find quick answers to questions. By creating content that answers common questions related to their industry or business, businesses can increase their chances of appearing in voice search results.

Since many voice searches are performed on mobile devices, it’s important for businesses to have a mobile-friendly website that loads quickly and is easy to navigate. Businesses can also use paid advertising to target local customers who are using voice search or performing local searches. For example, they can use Google Ads to target keywords related to their business and location.

Overall, by optimizing their online presence for voice and local search, businesses can increase their visibility and generate more leads from local customers.

6. Chatbots

Chatbots can be very effective for lead generation as they offer a quick and convenient way for businesses to engage with potential customers. By using chatbots, businesses can provide personalized assistance and answer questions in real-time, which can help to build trust and establish a relationship with potential customers.

Chatbots can  help qualifying leads by asking questions to determine if a visitor is a potential customer. This can help businesses focus their efforts on leads that are more likely to convert. Chatbots also provide instant responses to customer inquiries, which can help to improve customer satisfaction and engagement. This can also help businesses to capture leads that may have otherwise abandoned the website or moved on to a competitor.

Chatbots can use data about the customer, such as their location or previous interactions with the business, to personalize the conversation and offer targeted solutions. This can help to build trust and increase the likelihood of a lead converting into a customer. They can offer incentives such as discounts or free trials to encourage potential customers to take action and convert into a lead. Finally, chatbots can follow up with leads via email or other channels to keep them engaged and nurture the relationship until they are ready to convert into a customer.

Overall, chatbots can be a valuable tool for lead generation as they offer a convenient and personalized way to engage with potential customers and capture leads.

7. Video Content Marketing

Video content marketing can be an effective tool for lead generation. By creating engaging and informative video content, you can capture the attention of your target audience and encourage them to take action, such as subscribing to your email list or filling out a contact form.

According to experts, video content is projected to make up 82% of total internet traffic by 2022, with an estimated 75% for this year alone. Additionally, research shows that six out of ten people prefer watching online videos over television. This has prompted marketers to utilize video content marketing to increase their reach, sales, dwell time, and engagement across various platforms. While most marketers still prefer YouTube, it has become increasingly common to use LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well.

The trend of using video content in marketing is unlikely to slow down soon, as recent video marketing statistics suggest that its use and consumption will continue to grow in the coming years. Interesting videos can attract new viewers and generate new leads. Therefore, if you have not yet established a digital presence for video content, it may become more challenging to compete with others in the future. Your content might get lost in a sea of other media. To keep up with the market’s multichannel nature, more businesses are turning to platforms that help them gather, analyze, and act on information from various touchpoints in one digital space.

Generating leads remains a challenge for many companies, given that customers use different social media platforms and physical establishments to shop. As a result, businesses are adopting different technologies, including AI, to support lead-generation activities and other processes. 

Before creating any video content, it’s important to understand your target audience and what they are interested in. This will help you create videos that resonate with them and are more likely to generate leads.Your videos should provide value to your audience by addressing their pain points or answering their questions. Make sure your videos are well-produced and visually appealing to keep viewers engaged.Just like written content, your videos should be optimized for search engines to increase visibility and attract more leads. This includes using relevant keywords in your video title, description, and tags.Every video you create should have a clear call-to-action that encourages viewers to take the next step, whether that’s signing up for your email list, downloading a whitepaper, or scheduling a consultation.

Lastly, sharing  your videos on social media channels helps in reaching a wider audience and generate more leads. You can also use paid social media advertising to target specific demographics and increase visibility.

By following these tips and consistently creating high-quality video content, you can use video content marketing to generate leads and grow your business.

9. Analytics and Data Insights

Analytics and data insights are critical for lead generation because they help businesses understand their target audience better and identify opportunities for acquiring new leads. Thanks to the proliferation of digital tools, gathering, processing, and analyzing data have become much more accessible. As a result, it is anticipated that by 2024, marketers will increasingly integrate data analysis into their operations and invest in data analytics tools, particularly those based on cloud technology. In fact, many of the largest online retailers are already utilizing more than one analytics platform, with 30% of the Top 250 organizations using both Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics. This trend is expected to follow suit among small and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs.

Experts predict that this trend will continue to grow in the near future, leading to a more data-driven approach to lead generation. Currently, 33% of companies use decision intelligence, a technique gaining in popularity due to its ability to make critical decisions based on company data.

Cloud-based analytics solutions are also gaining popularity, with around 39% of companies currently deploying their analytics solutions on the cloud, and 41% more considering doing the same. This is because cloud-based solutions offer greater flexibility than on-premise solutions, leading many companies to consider migrating their analytics to the cloud in the coming years.

Thus, by analyzing data on the channels that drive the most leads, businesses can focus their marketing efforts and resources on the channels that are most effective. This could include channels like social media, email marketing, paid search, or content marketing.

So if you’re looking for high-quality lead generation services, you’ve come to the right place. At Excelsior Research, we pride ourselves on delivering actionable insights that help our clients generate increased revenue from their business.

To learn more about how we can help you achieve your lead generation goals, please fill out the contact form on our website or give us a call at+91 2067108500.Our team of experts is standing by and ready to assist you in any way we can.

Don’t wait any longer to take your business to the next level. Contact Excelsior Research today and let us help you achieve success!