Over 90% of lead generation is focused on attracting new prospects, but customers frequently present the most profitable source of new business. In the quest to add net new logos, clients often are left behind, ripe fruit for your competition to pluck if new needs arise and your contacts don’t think to call you first.
Why Use Customer Lead Generation Campaigns?
It’s exciting to think about all the new prospects you can attract through marketing. But there is ROI to be had from customer campaigns, too. Here are 5 good reasons why you want to include clients as a target market in your lead generation strategy.
- Your account manager can’t be everywhere. Your process may require that all A accounts get a call every 3-4 weeks, but what happens with the B, C and D accounts? While new clients are critical to avoiding account attrition and driving overall growth, customer lead generation supplements sales rep activities and keeps your company connected with them.
- Customers are already engaged with you and recognize your value. It’s much easier to reach decision-makers, conduct strategic discussions, offer recommendations they appreciate and assist with planning and budgeting. In short, the whole sales process is smoother and simpler, nowhere near as difficult as hunting, and typically much more profitable. Lead generation creates opportunities for new conversations.
- Few organizations we work with sell only one solution. That leaves lots of opportunity to expand the support you provide. If your customers aren’t using every solution you offer, and let’s face it most are not, it also provides your competitors an opening to get a foothold in your account. Lead generation campaigns remind customers what other solutions you have that they may need.
- If you do sell just one solution, lead generation campaigns keep you in front of your customers, reminding them why they chose you in the first place. Those reminders are a key tool for keeping customers happy and competitors at bay.
- I’m certain your company has evolved, expanded its solutions, added new capabilities and developed new expertise since your long-term customers purchased from you. Unless your customers have continued to buy new stuff or stay abreast of your evolution, they haven’t been part of that journey. They are no longer aware of everything you can do for them. Customer lead generation campaigns educate them so they will know, taking the pressure off account managers to share every nuanced shift.
Can Lead Generation Replace an Account Manager?
The thought of replacing an account manager’s overhead is appealing, isn’t it? If lead generation campaigns can educate customers, keep you connected and keep the competition partially at bay, maybe you can drop the account management role.
Not so fast.
Lead generation campaigns aren’t a replacement for account management. They work in combination with your sales activities supplementing customers. Your account manager still owns the strategic relationship responsibility. So, keep your account managers and instead, feed them new leads and conversational topics through lead generation to drive additional client revenue.
4 Successful Customer Lead Generation Campaign Strategies
Most business owners immediately think “newsletter” when they hear “customer lead generation campaign.” Newsletters are a good start, but you can do more. Differentiate your company and increase ‘eyeballs’ with these 4 additional strategies.
- Newsletter. The regularity of a newsletter allows you to build a following within your customer base. Keep your format and delivery consistent to foster it.
- Video. Short tips, longer tutorials, solution updates and other content keep your staff visible with customers while also providing useful information.
- Client-only events. Expand beyond open houses to events that educate on strategic or solution topics you want your customers to know about. Since they are already clients, they appreciate hearing new solution information that you’ve chosen especially for them.
- Shorter customer email campaigns. Just as you use email for prospects, plan shorter campaigns for customers. The topics can be similar but more specific to how you can help.
It’s time to leverage your lead generation campaigns to support and grow your customers, not just your prospects. Take a look at your lead generation plan to identify where you can add customer-centric activities. Contact us if you’d like us to do it for you like we do for other small and midsize businesses.
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