Chatbots as a lead generation tool
What is a lead and lead generation?
A lead is a potential customer who has shown an interest in your product. The ultimate goal of lead generation is turning this interest into a sale. A lead funnel is a systematic approach to generating sales. It funnels potential customers through multiple consideration phases until they decide to make a purchase.
Often, people confuse leads for prospects, but there is a difference between these two terms:
Lead is a contact who shows interest in your product but does not necessarily intend to buy.
- Prospect is a contact who is further down in the conversion funnel and is more likely to make a purchase.
Why do lead generation chatbots work?
Lead generation chatbots work well, as they appear natural and conversational; therefore, users are more likely to make a purchase. Lead generation usually utilises online channels like social media and turns people into qualified leads. Of course, the success of the lead generation campaign depends on the type of business and customer segment. Marketers try to personalise each lead generation campaign to the type of customer they are addressing to collect the most relevant leads. Thus, choosing the appropriate chatbot lead generation strategy is essential.
In order to launch a successful lead generation campaign, it is important to know the most important types of leads.
There are 7 types of leads you should know about:
Hot lead
A hot lead is a person highly interested in a product with the intention of buying. Hot lead has the authority, budget and knows the time-frame when he wants to make a purchase.
Cold leads
A cold lead is a contact who has not shown any interest in a product. Despite not showing any interest, cold leads can result in conversion when approached correctly.
Warm leads
A warm lead is a person who has shown interest in a product; however, he lacks the sense of urgency and does not know when he wants to make a purchase. Warm leads are aware of the product but are not looking to purchase right now, unlike hot lead.
Marketing qualified leads (MQL)
A marketing qualified lead is a person who is interested in the offer enough to do some steps towards the purchase. For example, if a person downloads a demo.
Sales qualified leads (SQL)
Sales qualified leads are leads that specifically indicated their interest to become a paying customer; for example, by filling out a form.
Conversation qualified leads (CQL)
A conversation lead is a person who has expressed their interest in a product via a message—for example, a person who interacts with an e-commerce chatbot to find out more about the product.
Product qualified lead (PQL)
Product qualified leads are people who use or have previously used your products and indicate an interest in buying them. For example, PQL usually uses a trial version of a certain product and decides to upgrade to the full version (like Botsurfer!).
Chatbot lead generation process.
After you have built your chatbot, you can focus on designing a successful lead funnel. To better understand leads work, have a look at the four-step chatbot lead generation process:
- Firstly, the user discovers and visits one of your marketing channels (Facebook, Instagram, Website), either organically or via a campaign.
- They open your chatbot and click the “Get Started” button and initiate a conversation with a chatbot. The chatbot will personalise the shopping experience based on the preferences of a potential customer. At the end of the conversation, the chatbot sends a lead generation message designed to capture lead information in exchange for an offer.
- The user is convinced to share his personal data with the chatbot and receives the promised incentive. Chatbot stores the generated leads in a database.
- Collected leads are subsequently downloaded and can be used for tailored offers and campaigns to the potential customer wants and needs.
Lead generation strategies
There are many ways to tackle lead generation; however, what works for one product does not have to work for another one. So, let’s have a look at the most reputable lead generation platforms.
Facebook lead generation
Facebook has been an acquisition tool from the start; however, things really kicked off with the introduction of Facebook Ads in 2007. Since then, the Facebook algorithm began to favour paid advertising. For the purpose of lead generation, Facebook has created Lead ads. Lead ads were designed to make collecting leads less painful to the customers and more effective for the business.
Additionally, Facebook has made it possible to reach customers via Click-to-Messenger ads. Click-to-Messenger targets people who are more likely to respond to messages in Messenger, and the objective is to send users directly to the Messenger chat. Thanks to this type of ad, you can easily promote your lead generation chatbot and reach the desired audience.
Instagram lead generation
Instagram has 500 million active accounts, out of which 80% follow businesses. Therefore, Instagram is the perfect tool for lead generation. With Instagram, it is possible to post stories, images, sell products via Instagram Shopping, and direct traffic back to your website or Messenger bot.
Additionally, Instagram automation is slowly rolling out for accounts all around the world, thus opening out new chatbot lead generation possibilities. Instagram will become the main platform for lead generation in the upcoming years.
Organic search engine lead generation
SEO is a vital part of a good lead generation strategy. People search for information online all the time, and usually, they search for very specific queries. Suppose you can seize these niche queries and provide the relevant information the users are searching. In that case, they are more likely to become a qualified leads. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure your website a good quality search engine optimisation.
PPC lead generation
Pay-per-click campaigns on Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn are popular lead generation and marketing tools. Businesses are able to reach relevant audiences thanks to the detailed targeting. However, the effectiveness of PPC campaigns relies heavily on the budget, industry and customer segment.
Building a lead generation chatbot with Botsurfer
Facebook Messenger is used by 1.3 billion people all around the world. Therefore, Facebook is THE place for chatbot lead generation. By building your own chatbot, you will be closer to your customer, better understand their behaviour, and help generate sales effectively. Are you ready to create your own chatbot?
Botsurfer offers advanced options that are easy to learn and offer excellent business potential. Build a chatbot without any hassle. No coding is needed; the whole chatbot is designed using a graphic user interface. Sign up and explore your possibilities today!