Lead generation for e-commerce belongs to the same species as lead generation for the automotive or financial industry and every other sector of the 21st century.
However, e-commerce is leaner and more agile than any other industry.
At the point when we think about a conventional deals channel, we think about a salesperson sending emails, calling and arranging meetings with a lead. For a lead generation in e-commerce, this process is much less labour-intensive.
Online shop owners do everything possible to avoid having to lead their leads through very long sales funnel. The chances are that your products, your prices, your shop and your entire mindset are designed to generate sales without detours.
First, pass leads on to the sales team? With the best will not! Instead, let’s take them straight to the checkout page.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at why lead generation is unique in eCommerce. You will also learn ten tips for generating leads and sales that will help you make your online shop to the next level.
Discover thousands of products that you can sell online. No commitment and no credit card required.
WHAT IS LEAD GENERATION FOR E-COMMERCE?
In e-commerce, lead generation, also often referred to as new customer acquisition, is anything but traditional. Let’s start with the obvious: the “E” in e-commerce means there is probably no physical location to visit. Also, considering whether to buy something in a traditional physical store is often a lengthy and more complicated process than the decision to purchase something online.
Let’s take buying a car as an example. Due to the high costs and the possibility of arranging a test drive, customers prefer to visit a car dealership. In contrast, buying items such as clothing online has quickly become the norm. This is because the cost is low and it is often easy to return or exchange items.
In e-commerce, lead generation can start with an advertisement on Facebook and end 90 seconds later on a checkout page.
WHAT IS THE LEAD?
Before we start with tips for generating leads, we should first work out a definition of the term “lead”.
With your industry, a lead is someone who has shown interest in your brand, product, or service. We also like to speak about interested parties or potential customers. There are many different actions by which a person can be considered a lead.
For example, a lead in the automotive industry could have used a virtual showroom and designed his dream vehicle in it.
In contrast, lead generation in the financial sector could consist of a potential customer interacting with an online loan calculator.
Traditionally, people who have personally visited a car dealership or bank branch could also be viewed as leads.
There are some similarities between lead generation for e-commerce and more traditional businesses:
The first step is awareness: It doesn’t matter what industry you work in: a lead has to know who you are before he can become a lead. Brand awareness is the starting point for everything that follows. Search engines, advertising, and word of mouth should initiate this process.
Leads have to be convinced: Whether you sell advice or kitchen appliances – there is a transition phase between customer and lead. Sometimes this transition happens in seconds, inspired by something like a discount code, and sometimes it can take weeks of discussion and adjusted budgets. Either way, the following formula applies: lead + Eureka moment = customer.
Content accelerates this process: Content can play a crucial role in generating and developing leads. Do you want to create more traffic for your website or your shop? In general, the more content you can offer, whether it’s blog posts, social media posts, YouTube videos, or something else, the better the chances that someone will discover your business. When it comes to attracting leads and turning them into real customers, there is no better way than translating your expertise into an easy-to-understand format and sharing it.
And yes, there are indeed some similarities between traditional and e-commerce leads, but they are relatively manageable.
Just think how unlikely it would be for a dealership to win a newsletter subscriber, send out a discount code of ten percent, and sign a sales contract on the same day. But that’s precisely how it works in e-commerce, where lead generation and customer acquisition move at high digital speed.
WHO IS YOUR LEAD?
No two leads are the same. At the very least, however, they should have certain similarities that indicate whether or not they are a good lead for your business. For example, an interior design shop could receive ten newsletter subscriptions in one day. These registrations are divided as follows:
Eight are people between the ages of 30 and 50 who are doing home renovations.
One of them is a student who is completing a project for the university.
One of them is looking for ideas for a house but has not yet bought it.
The 8 s signups are leads that could buy from this provider. The student may never make a purchase. And the person looking for ideas might buy in the future, but not now. Of those ten people, nine are real leads who could potentially buy a product from the company. The student is more of a dud.
So who is your lead? Your lead is someone interested in buying something from your company. The development of a customer persona which the common properties that highlight your customers are a great way to identify your leads. Describing the average age and gender of a customer, their reasons for buying a product, and their general demographics can help you qualify leads.
Now let’s look at ten tactics and different types of lead generation in e-commerce and how you can convert your leads into paying customers.