The Complete Guide to Lead Generation for Dental Businesses
What is lead generation?
Lead generation in its most simple form is the process of collecting visitor information. These leads or prospects are then “nurtured” in some fashion until they’re ready to buy.
A lead for a dental practice for example, might be someone searching for a new dentist.
In online marketing, successfully capturing lead information typically means you’ve managed to collect a visitor’s name and email. Depending on the requirements of your sales team the information you need to collect might be more extensive, like a phone number, website, or business title.
How does lead generation work?
The lead generation process works when businesses offer something of value, called a lead magnet, in exchange for a visitor’s information.
At an event in your neighborhood for example, you might give away free toothbrushes (your lead magnet) in exchange for someone’s name and phone number.
Online this looks a little different but the idea is still the same.
A B2B marketing agency for example might offer a comprehensive e-book about email copywriting techniques in exchange for lead information.
This list of warm leads is then sent to a salesperson or sales team to get in contact and make the sale.
Why is lead generation effective?
Think about the car buying process. The average joe who walks into a car dealership won’t throw down cash on the first thing he sees. No, there’s a whole process involved. Options must be compared, prices weighed, test drives must be taken. If there isn’t a sale after the initial pitch the salesperson will take down contact information to continue to nurture the sale.
Armed with their contact information the salesperson can slowly chip away at the hesitations of the buyer. The salesperson can call them at a later date, answer any questions, or send them helpful content through email. Think of it as a series of small ‘asks’ that eventually lead to a big sale.
Especially for larger purchases it is better to start with a warm lead instead of going straight for the sale. That’s the rationale behind the lead generation process.
Allow me to elaborate.
Today we live in world where 72% of millennials research their options online before going to a physical store. A tantalizing amount of options and flexibility are available online to virtually everyone in the world. Like everyone else, we all do our best to make informed and logical purchases.
When we talk about generating leads we’re talking about the second stage in the overall inbound marketing methodology. After we manage to attract a visitor to our website we initiate the lead generation process to turn them into a lead. Then we move them onwards to our salespeople to close and if we serve them to the best of our ability, become a delighted customer.
This article will cover the top three strategies for driving leads for your dental business: