In marketing, lead generation is the generation of consumer interest or inquiry into products or services of a business. Leads can be generated for purposes such as list building, e-newsletter list acquisition or for sales leads. The methods for generating leads typically fall under the umbrella of advertising, but may also include non-paid sources such as organic search engine results or referrals from existing customers. [1] Businesses strive to generate "quality" leads. [2] Quality is usually determined by the propensity of the inquirer to take the next action towards a purchase. Contents 1 Service industries 2 Social media 3 Lead generation organizations 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading Service industries Lead generation is the process of creating sales leads which might convert into sale for the company. The leads may come from various sources or activities, for example, digitally via the Internet, through calls, through advertisement and list purchase. [3] Companies may also rely on referrals, telemarketers, and advertisements to generate leads. Lead Generation is a very popular practice of generating leads in the Business to Business type of sales. Lead Generation, unlike Demand Generation, is more about actual opportunities (Leads) than creating awareness or demand. Some use a phony local address to fool the search algorithm, as is liberal posting of the lead generator's. Similar practices are used in Yellow Pages ads as well. [4] Social media With growth of social networking websites, they are primarily used by organizations and individuals to generate leads or gain business opportunities. The company actively participate on social networks including linkedin, twitter and facebook to find talent pool or market their new products and services. [5] Lead generation organizations BuyerZone Eloqua HubSpot Marketo Pardot PointClear QuinStreet RapidBuyr Radius Resource Nation Business.com See also Online lead generation Sales lead References 1. ^ Shanaka Thanapathy (23 February, 2014). "How lead generation services can help your business". http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/jobs-money/australia-uk-business-news/how-lead-generation-services-can-help- your-business.htm. 2. ^ Kaw, Prashant. "4 Ways to Generate Higher Quality, Sales-Ready Leads" (http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5863/4-Ways-to-Generate-Higher-Quality-Sales-Ready-Leads.aspx). HubSpot. 3. ^ "Using A Lead Generation System To Grow Your Business" (http://www.workwithclintbutler.com/lead- generation-system). Retrieved 3 March 2014. 4. ^ David Segal (July 9, 2011). "Picking the Lock of Googles Search" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/your- money/lead-gen-sites-pose-challenge-to-google-the-haggler.html). The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2011. ".. They are phone banks, typically set up in far-off places, often in other countries. Call them and theyll dispatch a locksmith." 5. ^ Gregg Schwartz (February 21, 2014). "Are You Wasting Time with Social Media for Lead Generation?" (http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/marketing-sales/2014/02/21/are-wasting-time-with-social-media-for-lead- generation/). Foxbusiness.com. Retrieved 3 March 2014. Further reading The B2B Refinery by J. David Green & Michael C. Saylor (ISBN 0976864703) Lead Generation for the Complex Sale by Brian J. Carroll (ISBN 0-07-145897-2) Marketing Management by Philip Kotler (ISBN 0-13-033629-7) Marketing for Dummies (ISBPN 5-7645-562-0) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lead_generation&oldid=597912646" Categories: Sales Marketing Personal selling This page was last modified on 3 March 2014 at 04:48. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.