What is Lead Generation?
The process of attracting and converting prospects into potential customers
Quick Definition
Lead generation is the process of identifying, attracting, and capturing information from potential customers who have shown interest in your product or service.
Lead generation is fundamental to business growth. It encompasses all the strategies and tactics used to attract potential customers and capture their information for follow-up. In B2B contexts, lead generation has evolved from simple form submissions to sophisticated multi-channel approaches that include content marketing, advertising, events, and technology-driven capture methods like visitor identification.
In This Guide
Types of Lead Generation
Lead generation typically falls into two main categories with different approaches and outcomes.
- Inbound: Attract prospects through content, SEO, and advertising
- Outbound: Proactively reach prospects via email, calls, social
- Demand capture: Identify existing demand (website visitors)
- Demand creation: Create new demand through awareness campaigns
Lead Generation Channels
Modern B2B lead generation uses multiple channels to reach buyers where they research and engage.
- Content marketing: Blogs, guides, webinars, podcasts
- SEO: Ranking for keywords buyers search
- Paid advertising: LinkedIn, Google, programmatic ads
- Website visitor identification: Capture anonymous traffic
- Events: Trade shows, webinars, conferences
- Social selling: LinkedIn engagement and outreach
Lead Generation Metrics
Measuring lead generation effectiveness requires tracking the right metrics throughout the funnel.
- Lead volume: Total leads generated
- Lead quality: Percentage meeting qualification criteria
- Cost per lead (CPL): Total spend divided by leads
- Conversion rates: Lead to opportunity, opportunity to customer
- Pipeline generated: Dollar value created
The Role of Visitor Identification
Traditional lead generation relies on forms that only capture 2-3% of visitors. Visitor identification captures the other 97%—revealing who's visiting without requiring form submissions. This dramatically increases lead volume from existing traffic.
Real-World Examples
- 1A marketing team generates leads through gated content and webinars
- 2An SDR team runs outbound campaigns to target accounts
- 3A demand gen manager uses visitor identification to capture anonymous traffic
- 4A content team creates SEO-optimized content that ranks and converts
Key Benefits
Frequently Asked Questions
What is lead generation?
Lead generation is the process of attracting and capturing information from potential customers. It includes inbound tactics (content, SEO), outbound tactics (email, calls), and demand capture (visitor identification).
What are the best lead generation strategies?
The best strategies combine multiple approaches: content marketing for inbound, targeted outbound for high-value accounts, and visitor identification to capture anonymous website traffic.
How much does lead generation cost?
Costs vary widely. Content marketing is time-intensive but low marginal cost. Paid ads range from $50-500+ per lead. Visitor identification generates leads at $5-20 each from existing traffic.
How do I generate leads without forms?
Use website visitor identification technology. It reveals who's visiting your site without requiring form submissions, typically capturing 3-5x more leads than forms alone.
Related Resources
Comprehensive Guides
See It In Action
Related Terms
Related Definitions
What is Website Visitor Identification?
Website visitor identification is technology that uncovers the identity of anonymous website visitors by matching browser signals to databases of known contacts, revealing names, emails, companies, and job titles.
Learn moreWhat is Buyer Intent Data?
Buyer intent data is information indicating that a company or individual is actively researching a particular topic, product category, or solution—showing purchase consideration before direct engagement.
Learn moreWhat is Account-Based Marketing (ABM)?
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a B2B strategy where marketing and sales focus their efforts on a specific set of target accounts, using personalized campaigns designed to resonate with each account.
Learn moreWhat is Sales Intelligence?
Sales intelligence encompasses the data, tools, and insights that help sales teams identify prospects, understand their needs, and engage more effectively throughout the sales cycle.
Learn more