10 Online Lead Generation Techniques for Professional Services
4 min read
How do you generate leads for professional services? How do you generate high quality leads? It is really no surprise that many commonly used online lead strategies like contests and sweepstakes are simply inappropriate for many professional services firms and their clients. It is also no wonder that professional services firms have been relatively slow to adopt with the professional services lead generation techniques. There are many professionals who believe that the only way to generate new client leads is through referrals and networking, but that is not entirely true. Here are 10 online lead generation techniques for professional services.
What are lead generation services?
- E-newsletter
You would be able to generate a huge number of new leads when people sign up if you have an e-newsletter that offers significantly high-quality, educational content. It is a great way to nurture the existing leads on your list. There are a lot of firms that use this technique to announce their new services and make specific offers to their customers. You could offer a free e-newsletter subscription on your website, or add signature blocks on your emails in order to build your subscriber list.
- White Papers of E-Books
White papers for e-books would have to be one of the most common online lead generation techniques and could establish credibility and could generate qualified leads. You could distribute it through third-party services or you could offer the white paper on your website. You could make it available to all by making it available for free, or you can go behind a registration screen. This is typically longer than a white paper and could serve a similar function.
- Industry Research Reports
There are 2 ways that you could benefit from the industry research reports, these documents are an excellent lead generator, and that could boost up your credibility and strengthen your online brand. You have to make sure that your research topics give exceptional interest to your targeted client ground. It could also be an excellent way of partnering with a trade association and maybe a non-competing firm in order to reduce your marketing cost.
- Webinars
Webinars are actually the online equivalent of a seminar and the lead-generating webinar would typically be offered free of charge. You may or may not collect basic information on a session’s attendees because it requires registration. A webinar should be educational and if you want to be successful in your webinar, then you have to select topics that are very interesting and valuable to your targeted clients.
- Search Engine Optimizations
One of the first things that prospects do is Google their questions, problems, and issues if a prospect is even remotely computer literate. And because everyone has a computer or a smartphone, there are many potential clients that want to learn how to solve the challenges that they face. Search Engine Optimization or SEO is there to give you the tools that could match the qualified clients with your online content. If your cards are played right, when they are looking for some purchase services, then you would end up being on their shortlist.
- Pay Per Click Advertising
Buying your way into search engine results pages for some of your relevant keywords is another proven way for you to get your prospects’ radar. Doing this technique would give you greater control over all of the keywords that you want to be associated with. How this works is how the name implies it, you would only pay when someone would click on your link. This would lead to higher quality because the potential client is often searching for specific solutions. It is also trackable and is less expensive than traditional print advertising.
- Blogging
Blogs do not necessarily generate a lot of direct leads but are the most effective way to drive in more leads to your website because it would allow you to create this whole range of keyword-laden content that could be found in search engines and could draw in a lot of qualified prospects to your website. You could then further promote your blog posts on social media accounts like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
- Online Marketing Videos
Videos are a good and ideal marketing medium for professional services firms because videos could be found everywhere today. Putting up online marketing videos would almost be like automating the referral process because nothing builds credibility like flagship clients explaining how your firm could solve their problems. Videos can play an important lead generating and lead nurturing function.
- Online Networking
The social media technique has been being used recently and the essence of social media is not which platform you choose. It actually depends on the quality and reaches of the networking you do. Online networking is still about making the right connection with the right people, with the style of interaction that may vary from Twitter to LinkedIn, to even maybe Facebook. It could produce the reputation and referrals associated with traditional business networking.
- Lead Generating Website
Most websites are not able to generate leads and, most of the time, many are almost “anti-lead generators”. Visitors would go elsewhere if visitors do not understand what you do, or what problems you can solve for them with all of the jargon-filled, firm-centric websites abound in the professional services, and they are completely passive and unhelpful. Having a lead-generating website would make it easier for your clients to understand your value position, download valuable information, and request a proposal.
Having multiple techniques could help you generate a whole lot of leads that could help you and your business in the long run and it could become the cornerstone of an amazing marketing plan. You need to be able to come up with a formidable strategy for your building preference in the marketplace aside from all of the traditional marketing tactics, like face-to-face and tradeshow marketing. If you combine both of these, online marketing and traditional marketing, then it would make a very powerful duo.
