The second month of 2018 is wrapping up fast and some businesses are still looking for lead generation strategies to drive home high-quality, sales-ready leads.
Each year, a host of new lead gen trends come to the fore. Some adapt, evolve and outlast the rest, while others become extinct just like the dinosaurs. For businesses looking to scale their revenues and boost their conversions this 2018, it’s time to re-evaluate what lead generation strategies to continue using and which ones to avoid.
What are the best lead generation strategies to incorporate in for marketing mix in 2018? The experts at Leads Junction have already made many promising predictions based on the year to date. Here are five such lead gen trends that will help businesses stay ahead of the curve in 2018.
- Agile Marketing will become the Norm – Given the immense benefits of Agile Marketing, experts predict that more businesses will focus on agile marketing in 2018 and beyond. It is a strategic marketing method where cross-functional teams collaborate to measure the impact of lead generation strategies, identify issues with the process, fix the leaks, and deliver high-value results. Looking at the increasing number of companies embracing agile lead generation methodology, it seems that it will soon become the norm rather than the exception.
- More Focus on Account-Based Marketing – Account-based marketing (ABM) is yet another lead generation trend that’s likely to make waves in 2018 and beyond. It is lead generation strategy that’s centered on best-fit prospects and customers. This lead generation process involves creating different strategies for different customers. Over the years, ABM has become immensely popular owing to the fact that it offers higher ROI than most other marketing activities.
- Retargeting to Grow in 2018 – 2017 saw a dramatic surge in the number of marketers using retargeting strategies to generate high-quality targeted leads. It’s really not surprising because visitors retargeted with a display ad are 70% more likely to convert. More marketers will focus on engaging customers and prospects with retargeting throughout the buyer journey. Experts believe that more marketers and companies will take advantage of behavior based retargeting to deliver value.
- Chat Bots will Replace Humans – In 2018, more marketers will embrace Chat bot technology to generate high-quality and cost-effective leads. In the last few years, Artificial Intelligence technology has changes the way marketers engage prospects throughout their sales journey until they turn into actual paying customers. Integrating Artificial Intelligence enabled ‘Chat Bots’ into lead generation strategy will help marketers optimize efficiency and lower operational cost. No wonder experts believe that the trend of using ‘Chat Bots’ will become one of the most sought after lead generation strategies this year.
- Micro-Influencers – This is perhaps one of the boldest predictions the experts believe will rule the marketing industry in 2018. For a very long time, brands have relied on celebrity influencers to generate leads. However, marketers have now realized they can work with lesser-known, local influencers and create the same impact at a lower cost. The new-age micro-influencers often have tremendous reach and can boost leads and sales for an organization many times over. It is expected that engaging micro-influencers will pick up pace throughout 2018 and probably beyond.
For more exciting lead generation trends that will rule the roost in 2018, you may visit Leads Junction.
Conclusion
It will be really interesting to see which of these trends will adapt and outlast the rest and which ones will die a fast death. But one thing is for sure, more innovation is set to prevail in the lead generation industry.
