15 of the Best Lead Generation Strategies to Increase Your Marketing Success

When searching for the best lead generation strategies for your B2B campaigns, there are many options from which to choose. We’ve rounded up 15 ideas you may not already be using that have proven to be strong avenues for connecting with new leads.

1. Ask your best customers for referrals: Word of mouth is often considered an old-school marketing tactic. But it’s alive and well and very much a powerful lead generation strategy today. Often you can trigger word of mouth referrals simply by tapping into your best customers and asking them to share their greatest experience with your products or services.
   
   
2. Launch your own blog: Regularly publishing valuable content on your blog is a great way to attract leads who are interested in your subject matter. Be sure to offer a mix of content, such as best practices, case studies, and thought leadership — and an easy way to subscribe. Also publish on a regular basis to keep prospects, leads, and customers coming back for more. 
   
   
3. Engage website visitors with a free interactive tool: Combining free and interactive is a potent combination — which makes free interactive tools a great way to attract new leads. In particular, people love calculators, quizzes, assessments, and interactive ebooks. 
   
   
4. Create a free course as a lead attraction tool: People love to learn about topics they’re interested in. Offering a free course based on your company’s unique expertise can be a good way to attract new prospects and increase the likelihood that they’ll turn into leads and future customers.
   
   
5. Deploy a chatbot on your website: Chatbots are a smart way to engage with your website visitors. They can easily find what they’re looking for and ask questions that are important to them. This helps ensure they don’t leave because they can’t find what they need. 
   
   
6. Attend online events to expand your network: As professionals, we typically spend quality time in online events throughout the year. These events are a great opportunity to meet people in a targeted venue who are likely to be interested in your products and services. Reach out to them afterwards, such as on LinkedIn to make a lasting connection. 
   
   
7. Build trust by offering a free consultation: Free consultations are a strong lead generation strategy. For one thing, they give prospects the opportunity for a one-on-one dialogue with you. As a result, they can ask questions that are important to them. For another, you can make a strong connection while demonstrating what you can do for them.  
   
   
8. Create trials: Another great freebie to consider for your next lead generation strategy is to offer prospects trials for your products or services. The try-before-you-buy approach is potent because it helps prospects move past the decision-making stage. They will appreciate the opportunity to test drive your product or service before deciding.
   
   
9. Launch a B2B podcast: The nature of business-related podcasts is that two experts discuss current issues related to a specific niche. Listeners who tune in to hear the conversation are all potential leads. As a result, podcasts are a potent way to attract new leads — especially if they subscribe to the podcast. 
   
   
10. Create compelling infographics: Infographics have an appeal that many other forms of content don’t share. For example, they are highly visual and include bite-sized chunks of content to consume. All you need is compelling data and insights — and a good graphic artist. What’s more, interesting infographics are highly shareable, which can expand your exposure. 
    
    
11. Create exclusivity with special offers: Like their name says, special offers make recipients feel special. That’s why exclusive offers to a select audience is a powerful psychological tactic and irresistible to the right audience.
    
    
12. Personalize your email campaigns to drive leads: The most powerful word in marketing has always been “you.” But perhaps even more powerful is a person’s name. This has been proven time and again in email marketing campaigns that are personalized with people’s names. They perform better than impersonal emails — including better open rates and higher conversions.
    
    
13. Build an online community: A unique way to create an environment that produces a steady inward flow of leads is by hosting an online community, such as on Facebook or LinkedIn. They’re an excellent B2B lead generation strategy thanks to having a niche audience discussing and sharing insights on a highly targeted subject.
    
    
14. Create social media ads: Ads are a great lead generation strategy, because you can direct them where they’ll have the biggest impact, such as on social media platforms. Choose the platform(s) where your target audience spends the most time and create compelling offers, such as ebooks, white papers, special reports, or customer success downloads.
    
    
15. Conduct market research and educate your audience: Understanding your target audience and what they’re thinking is a classic way to generate leads. With good market research, you can think like your prospects and deliver what they need when they need it.

The best lead generation strategies like these are used by companies around the world. If you haven’t already, you should consider leveraging their potency to reach out to prospects, turn them into viable leads for your sales team, and then nurture them toward conversion into customers. Start with the strategies that you think will work best for your company.