what is lead generation
what is lead generation

What is lead generation, and what are the costs?

20 Jul , 2022

Lead generation is essential for sustainable growth and is the first step of the sales funnel. This is the process of attracting prospects, nurturing the relationship to increase interest, and finally conversion. Lloyd James can help provide you with the means and methods to generate new leads by supplying high quality and accurate data, adding value to existing data, and delivering customer insight to drive performance and growth click here to speak to a member of our team about lead generation for your business.

Lead generation strategies

There’s no standardised approach to lead generation, and in most cases a combination of delivery mechanisms are used to create leads and maximize opportunities. When determining which approach to use, those planning must consider their budget, resources, skill sets, target market, expertise, and more.

Inbound vs Outbound lead generation

The key differences between using inbound and/or outbound strategies are:

The control of engagement

The main difference is the entity controlling the time and place of all activity.

In an inbound strategy the prospect will choose how they engage. You allow prospects to discover you when the time is right and by the type platform they prefer.

Outbound lead gen consists of you, the one managing the lead generation strategy, deciding when your prospect sees your marketing efforts. Typically, this involves contacting prospects via one or more of the following channels: postal, email, telephone, inserts or social media.

The value of marketing assets

Usually inbound lead gen campaigns have a longer lifetime than outbound campaigns. For example, social media content and online blogs can produce leads long after they were created, providing long-term ROI therefore worth investing in.

Outbound campaigns are typically finite and short in length. Once the campaign ends, most of the assets are not used again, although this can depend on the channel, campaign strategy and consumer touch points.

Cost profile of campaigns

Inbound lead generation campaigns typically have a lower cost, as well as being spread over a longer period. Traffic is earned rather than bought.

The cost and time surrounded by an outbound lead gen campaign will typically be higher and shorter. and this is usually due to the pricing of the channels used (advertising, post or cold calling).

The true cost of lead generation

The cost per lead metric indicates the success rate of your marketing campaigns. The goal of CPL is to offer your team a tangible amount to help them determine how much budget to spend on acquiring new leads.

The average costs for lead gen varies greatly depending on which industry your business falls under.

Cost per lead benchmarks per industry:
IndustryCost Per Lead
Media and Publishing£9.13 – £20.76
Education£21.59 – £41.51
Healthcare and Medical£21.59 – £41.51
Consulting£21.59 – £41.51
Industrial and Manufacturing£21.59 – £41.51
Travel and Tourism £21.59 – £41.51
Consumer Products£21.59 – £41.51
Software£42.34 – £83.02
Information Tech and Services£42.34 – £83.02
Marketing Agencies£42.34 – £83.02
Financial Services£42.34 – £83.02

The cost per lead varies by industry; with media and publishing reporting the lowest cost per lead at £9.13 – £20.76. Software, information tech and services, marketing agencies, and finally services companies all reporting the highest average cost per lead at £42.34 – £83.02.

Table source: Hubspot USA

Lead generation is the most effective way to help grow your business. While many services are available for everyone to use, costs for any type of lead generation campaign can accumulate over time. Here at Lloyd James, we endeavour to create a lead generation strategy to grow and develop a business within every budget, using our experience and expertise across both inbound and outbound marketing channels.

To find out how Lloyd James can help with acquiring these leads for your business click here.