How brand strategy helps lead generation

If you are like me and have been in roles where lead generation is a focus, this line may some familiar:

“Brand awareness is not a priority, we need to generate leads”. 

To a traditional marketer who truly values full funnel marketing, this hits like a punch in the stomach. Brand awareness is not a nice to have, but a need to have to generate quality leads no matter what industry you are in. Otherwise you risk collecting a bunch of leads that you can’t use. 

I truly believe that establishing brand awareness hand in hand with lead generation efforts is critical to ensuring you are providing quality leads to the business, and here is why: 

1. Builds trust and credibility

• People are more likely to share their information with brands they recognize and perceive as reputable. They are also more likely to respond post-action when they are familiar with you, greatly assisting your lead nurturing efforts.

  
  

2. Better Lead Quality

• Awareness campaigns introduce your brand, allowing you to communicate your value proposition and your product/service details. Followed by targeted campaigns, you have the interest and information to better target relevant, quality leads.

  
  

3. Favourable Cost per Lead

• Paid ads for lead generation (e.g., LinkedIn forms, Google search campaigns) perform better when the brand is already known. Familiarity improves click-through rates and lowers cost per lead (CPL).

4. Improved conversion rates

• Prospects who have seen or heard of your brand before are more likely to respond to offers and calls-to-action. We often get exposed to so much advertising fatigue that people are less likely to click on everything. If they are familiar with your brand already they are more likely to click more through the funnel, improving conversion rates. 

5. Nurturing Efficiency

• Brand recognition helps greatly when nurturing leads. It allows your teams to spend more time focusing on key and relevant ways to convert your customer and get them through the funnel faster, rather than spending time trying to establish initial understanding and trust.

In short, don’t underestimate the importance of brand awareness when designing your lead generation campaigns. Doing so will help in numerous ways and set you up for both short term and long term success. 

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