A lead source is important for businesses to know how their potential customers found their business. This crucial information helps you understand your target audience and gives you an idea of where to find them and what ways you can effectively target them.
So, if are you interested in acquiring quality leads for your business, but are not sure where to get them and looking for the best lead source practices that can help you identify and qualify quality leads, read till the end to get your best lead sourcing journey get started.
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What Is a Lead Source?
A lead source refers to the platform through which potential clients are first discovered by businesses. For instance, when someone searches for a service or product and discovers a website in the results of a search engine, the search engine becomes the source of leads here.
Some examples of lead sources are as follows:
- Social media
- Referral
- Search engines
- Email campaigns
Why Are They Valuable?
When it comes to lead sources, it is essential to know why they are valuable to a business. They help businesses identify and understand which source can be the best fit for your business and allows you to optimize your resources, which in turn helps boost your revenue generation.
As a growing business, you must be aware of how beneficial lead sources can be for your business.
- They can help you discover your top-performing platforms. As a growing business, you measure the top-performing channels and platforms by measuring the sources that help create quick conversions.
- They can help you shorten your sales cycles. When it comes to qualifying leads, it is time-consuming and the time taken might vary based on the type of product, service, and buyer persona. The sales cycle is generally longer as it involves a lot of decision-making.
List of Possible Sources
It is essential for businesses to be well aware of platforms or channels that can possibly be a source they can come across quality leads for their business. Some of the types of sources for leads are:
- Social media
- Blogs
- Email marketing
- Paid ads
- Direct mail
- Organic searches
- Direct traffic
- Backlinks
- Affiliate marketing
- Influencers
- Directories
- Referrals
- Content marketing
- Traditional ads
- Events
- Webinars
The 5 Best Lead Source Practices
Here are the 5 best practices that you can consider implementing in your business to help achieve the desired results.
- Identify and keep track of your leads.
- Determine which lead source is beneficial to your business.
- Highlight the sources that can convert into clients.
- Discover various other channels to identify lead sources.
- Measure and analyze success.
Let’s dive into the details.
IDENTIFY AND KEEP A TRACK OF YOUR LEAD SOURCES
Identifying and keeping track of your lead sources is considered a key practice, as it helps you manage your leads efficiently and acts as the best customer acquisition strategy. Here are a few tips to identify and have a record of your sources for leads.
- Make use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or lead-tracking software to track and manage your sources.
- Make sure to go granular in terms of categorizing your sources. You can categorize them with relevant names instead of having a wide category. This can help you clearly distinguish between each source.
- Make sure to keep your sources for leads accurate. It is very important to keep the initial touchpoint intact throughout the process.
DETERMINE WHICH LEAD SOURCE IS BENEFICIAL TO YOUR BUSINESS
Once you have identified your lead source, it is now time to determine which sources are beneficial to your business. As a growing company, you need to be aware of the sources that generate the most qualified leads in your industry to help your business grow.
You can utilize CRM software to track your leads, and their sources, and categorize them based on their lead score. These lead scores help you have an understanding of how qualified they are. Some of the parameters you can use to score your leads are as follows:
- Name of their company
- Role in the company
- Revenue
- Number of employees in the company
HIGHLIGHT THE SOURCES THAT CAN CONVERT INTO CLIENTS
Highlighting the sources that have the possibility of becoming your clients or buyers at the end of the process is an essential practice. This practice helps you understand which of your lead sources contributes more to converting most clients or buyers.
In other words, this practice can help you identify which source helps you acquire more quality leads suitable for your business. Making use of your CRM data can help you determine and highlight the lead sources that bring you the most valuable clients.
DISCOVER VARIOUS OTHER CHANNELS TO IDENTIFY LEAD SOURCES
Did you know that 95% of marketers believe that they are aware of the channel that drives the most leads for their business?
Apart from knowing which lead sources help you acquire quality leads and clients, you also need to continuously experiment with various platforms and channels. This can help you cope with the evolving changes in customer preferences and the market.
Make sure to experiment with different channels, platforms, strategies, approaches, and campaigns to see what works best for your business and what improves your customer’s experience. By doing this, you will be able to identify the sources that generate the most qualified leads and help convert more buyers or clients.
MEASURE AND ANALYZE SUCCESS
After you have identified and evaluated your sources on various aspects, you must also remember to measure and analyze the success of your lead source over time. Make sure to have a set time to measure, analyze, and review success, say quarterly or semi-annually. This can help businesses easily target, reach, and engage with their target audience easily on their preferred platform.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What does lead source mean?
A lead source refers to the platform through which potential clients are first discovered by businesses. It refers to the channel on which businesses initially discover a business or a company. They include social media, search engines, email campaigns, and referrals.
2. Why is lead source important?
Here are some of the benefits of lead sources for your business.
– Better marketing ROI
– Increased conversion rates
– More quality leads
3. What is the best source of leads?
Some of the best sources to acquire quality leads are as follows:
– Former clients
– Lead generation tools
– Referrals
– Google resources
– LinkedIn
Time To Implement Best Practices!
If you have been looking for information about what a lead source is, why they are valuable, and some of the best lead source practices, this article should have helped you gain some clarity. Lead source plays a vital role in helping businesses grow to another level. Make sure to implement the best practices that we have discussed above to achieve the results you want.
If you have been looking for services that can help you boost your sales opportunities, and take your business to the next level, make sure to reach out to us to learn more about our services.
Related Reads
- How To Get Insurance Leads – 5 Effective Strategies
- 5 Best Techniques for Lead Generation for Small Business
- What Is Lead Generation – 4 Effective Stages You Must Know
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