The internet is a vast bank of information where you can pretty much find anything you want, including practical help for achieving an end result. For this reason, many people take on DIY projects, but unfortunately the results are not always positive. The same can apply when businesses take the DIY approach to lead generation, believing they can save more money if they do it in-house. However, without the right knowledge and expertise, there is a much reduced chance of your lead generation campaign being successful and delivering you a good return on your investment.
Unless you already have an in-house marketing team with the right skillset, doing DIY lead generation is very risky and often costly. It could even have a negative effect on your business. Below are a few reasons why DIY lead generation is bad for your business.
Lead generation takes time
Building a good and long-lasting lead generation campaign takes time. It will often need you to invest a lot of time and effort before you see any tangible results. In the same way, doing lead generation yourself will demand the same amount of time and energy, if not more.
If you don’t have a dedicated lead generation team, you may soon find that you are spreading yourself or your staff (whoever is working on it) too thinly. You could even get distracted away from the main goals of your business and fall into a rabbit hole chasing lead generation.
Sometimes, you may be able to meet the rigours of a lead gen campaign at the start, but have difficulty following it up, as it will need a significant amount of attention. As well as this, lead generation campaigns have steep learning curves that will require time before you can practically apply them.
Lead generation requires specialist tools
Your business may be using a range of technologies and platforms that have different functions and purposes. The question you might want to consider though is how many specific marketing tools does your company use? The answer can vary depending on the size of a business, but if you are a small business, the answer is most likely to be few or even none at all. If you are already struggling and don’t feel confident with your tools it will be difficult to make your campaign successful.
By contrast, hiring a professional agency to take on your lead generation will put you in a much better position for success. Not only will they have the knowledge and skills needed, but also years of experience in the industry. This means they’re not relying on guesswork and winging things hoping they’ll be right; they know exactly what to do.
Also, they have the tools and technologies already in place for a strong campaign, meaning you won’t have to invest a large amount of money on additional tools and software that you aren’t sure how to use effectively.
Lead generation done badly can slow you down
Many businesses strive to grow and expand as they become more successful, which likely involves adding more people. The hiring process can impact your growth because you need time to look for the right person to take on the extra responsibilities. The increased amount of work can become overwhelming and lead to you hiring the wrong person in haste.
On the other hand, if you have a lead generation agency on your side, you can add qualified experts within a short space of time. They can easily fit in with the flow of your business with little to no supervision needed. It will save you time and money in training new staff as well as unnecessary errors that might occur.
Lead generation is dynamic
Every consumer is different, and they can change their minds quickly, and because strategies have to evolve, you cannot be stagnant with your lead generation campaign. You need to be ready to adapt and take things to the next level, which is where the pipeline strategy comes in.
A pipeline strategy analyses sales and marketing data, so your goals and decisions are based on revenue. A professional lead generation service will be well-qualified and experienced in helping you with a strategy that works for your business. They will also have the flexibility to adjust depending on the outcome of the strategy and your requirements.
Why might your current lead generation activity not be working?
- You don’t have any measurable goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) in place – a strategy can’t be successful without you knowing what the result will be and knowing what needs to happen at each stage to get there. Being able to measure performance points that are the foundation for success is key.
- You have poor or outdated data – you could be missing key details about your audience and what is working in your campaign if you don’t know how to interpret your data. Outdated keywords are a main cause when it comes to issues with lead generation. Keyword generation is an ongoing process that needs to be done regularly with current and potential new trends in mind. If you don’t do this you could miss out on valuable insight and your lead generation will suffer.
- Your process is weak – not having a robust process behind your lead generation is like trying to find your way in the dark. You will struggle to see good results from lead generation without a well-planned process in place.
- Your qualifying criteria is flimsy or non-existent – one of the main reasons why businesses, sales people, and marketers fail to hit their targets is because they spend too much time talking to the wrong prospects. It is important to make sure there is a filtration element to your lead generation process in order to get the best results.
- Your call to action isn’t strong or consistent – if your call to action is weak or the message of it is inconsistent, you aren’t giving your prospect a compelling reason to follow the call to action. You should decide early on what you want the outcome to be that can best help you turn a prospect into a paying advocate for your business.
It’s time to call in the experts
Even though it is tempting to do everything in-house, if you don’t have any previous knowledge or experience in lead generation it will save you time, energy, and potentially money to use an experienced agency like Pronto. We have the expertise to execute a successful lead generation campaign that will help your business gain the quality leads that you can focus on converting into sales.
