No business will thrive or succeed without a robust customer base. That’s a fact you must take in earnest before getting into any entrepreneurial pursuit. No matter how cutting-edge a product or service is, a business is bound to fail if there’s no aggressive effort to reach out to your target market.
The adage, “If you build it, they will come,” has become obsolete. If you built something, you might as well get out of your way to let people know what you built exists. This is where lead generation comes in.
According to Neil Patel, the top online lead generation tactic is email marketing, with 48% efficiency. Strategies not far behind include websites or landing pages (44%), content marketing (43%), and search engine optimization (37%). Other efforts like social media marketing, virtual events, and paid search or online advertising are noteworthy, too.
Targeted lead generation starts with a source URL, which anchors the lead outreach strategies a business executes. This whole process is spearheaded by a dedicated person knowledgeable in the art and science of digital marketing, and that person need not be under your payroll. Instead, you can hire a lead generation virtual assistant (VA) to do the job.
What is a Lead Generation Virtual Assistant?
Lead generation is the process of ensuring a consistent influx of customers, and a lead generation VA carries out that duty. They must be adept in the ins and outs of online marketing, considering how the job encompasses an array of responsibilities geared towards inspiring brand awareness that ideally goes all the way through the sales funnel and ends in a purchase.
8 Reasons Having a Lead Generation Virtual Assistant Matters
Working with a lead generation VA offers the following business benefits.
1. Designs a holistic marketing strategy
You can expect a lead generation VA to possess a refined skill set in online marketing. They will use this expertise to help you develop a winning strategy for targeting customers.
2. Generates brand awareness
Today, e-commerce is at its peak, which means more opportunities, but also more competition. If you want to get noticed, a lead generation assistant can help you get your message across to your audience.
3. Expands your market
There’s no reason to limit yourself to the market sector you started with. Expand your audience with the help of a VA with keen eyes on new business trends.
4. Builds community
Social media engagement is part and parcel of lead generation. An excellent VA will know how to talk with your audience and even form communities centered around your brand in various channels.
5. Improves lead quality
Sure, you can bombard the internet with content that racks up visitors to your website, but that’s a waste if those visits don’t advance through the sales funnel. A lead generation VA will help you figure out how to turn casual interest into brand engagement.
6. Generates business opportunities
Your hired VA can carry out partnerships with other brands or online influencers. Consider this as audience sharing, which can be one of the many efforts they can focus on to boost lead generation.
7. Inspires more customer reviews
Reap the rewards of prolific and positive reviews. A lead generation VA worth their salt can inspire customers to pen those testimonials.
8. Boosts your revenue
An increase in profits is the be-all-end-all of lead generation. With a competent VA in your team, consider this goal done.
8 Common Duties of a Lead Generation Virtual Assistant
When hiring a lead generation VA, you can expect the following responsibilities covered.
1. Generate and nurture leads
Consider this the foundation of a lead generation VA’s role. Key performance indicators boil down to your hired remote assistant’s capacity to actually get leads that count.
2. Manage database
Generated leads need to be consolidated into an accessible database. With a VA on board, you won’t have to worry about updating the likes of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool your business has in place.
3. Conduct lead research
Lead research can be done online, may it be via paid software or applications. An exceptional lead generation VA will be adept at any and all of these approaches.
4. Conduct competitor research
Lead generation is not limited to finding potential clients. It also covers getting informed on what your competitors are doing right, which you can further improve, and what they’re doing wrong, which you can use to your advantage. Your hired VA can take the lead in this otherwise challenging endeavor.
5. Organize contacts list
No matter how expansive your database is, consider it impractical if it’s all over the place. Thorough contacts organization matters to find whatever you need, whenever you need it, and a skilled VA can maintain that.
6. Carry out email support
A lead generation VA works double duty. They also assume responsibilities similar to a customer support representative and a sales agent. Case in point: email support.
7. Do cold calls
Excellent communication skills are necessary for a lead generation VA. More than doing email support, they’re also expected to do cold calling from time to time.
8. Monitor social media performance
Your VA for lead generation has to be a social media expert, too. Experienced ones in the game would know exactly how to interact with your followers and read analytics.
A+ Lead Generation Strategy Through VA
Assembling an in-house team for lead generation work is costly. Hiring a VA for the job proves to be more practical, unlike getting full-time employees, with their wide range of expertise and flexibility.
If you want to ramp up your lead generation efforts without spending an arm and a leg, consider Outsource Access’s virtual assistant services that will surely fit your business’ needs.
