Comparing Lead Generation Tools & Software

Lead Generation Software Definition: What are Lead Generation Tools and Why are They Needed?

No contacts (leads), no customers: This old sales creed is still very much valid, especially in B2B sales. It often involves high-priced, complex products – be they goods or services. Convincing potential customers to purchase such offers usually requires meticulous attention to their concerns and personal, trust-building communication.

Naturally, this also applies in the B2C sector - particularly, but not exclusively, when larger investments are to be made. Even when selling cheap goods, which often pass over the (digital) counter as impulse purchases, it can pay off to establish contacts and woo them precisely according to their individual product preferences or requirements. This can significantly enhance brand loyalty and special cross-selling and upselling.

Before you can engage in B2B or B2C lead management measures, these leads must first be generated. Generating leads undoubtedly involves a lot of work. This is where lead generation software, briefly referred to as a "Gen-Tool" or often referred to in German as "Leadgenerierung Software" comes into play.

Lead generation tools assist their users – depending on integrated functions – more or less extensively in obtaining and processing business-relevant contacts. They include features that allow for active, strategically advantageous lead acquisition. It is not necessary to wait a long time until interested parties make contact or submit their data in other ways. Rather, these individuals can be precisely guided to provide suitable information using these tools. The best programs or extensive lead generation management software can automate many of the critical steps.

With such tools, individuals responsible for generating leads can do so from various sources such as landing pages, social media, blogs, and more. These contacts can then be further processed in a variety of ways via Lead Nurturing and ultimately converted into paying customers. Depending on the features of the used lead generation tool, various follow-up to-dos of pure contact generation can also be handled with it.

How do Lead Tools Work?

When strategically aligning lead generation, there is no standard procedure that works equally well for all contexts. It is essential to distinguish whether a B2B or a B2C company wants to generate contacts. Accordingly, there are specialized B2B lead generation tools, as well as B2C programs to choose from. Furthermore, some lead generation tools aim to increase customer loyalty, while others help to optimize the sales conversation process. Others still are more universal.

But no matter which approach suits the company best, the idea remains the same. It is about presenting one's brand as positively as possible to the respective target group and actively attracting the (potential) customers or persuading them to submit their data before they go to the competition.

Lead generation systems come in many different forms and have specific ways of operating. The following are typical.

By the way, the process of lead management in general also follows this sequence, in which the lead program types or components

• Lead landing page and lead content creation tools (Gated Content): Some lead platforms offer templates for creating landing pages and/or lead content, such as blog posts, whitepapers, infographics, and e-books. If software users apply this type of media strategically smart, they can effectively guide the engagement of the recipients towards contact data transmission. In the process, there is a chance, among other things, to prompt the target group to submit contact information using special layouts, buttons, call-to-actions, etc. Contents that have an increased value for these people, such as e-books, or instructional videos, are used as incentive- or gated-content. This creates a strong incentive for data transmission and is only unlocked when lead information is submitted.

• Tools for Lead Nurturing: Once a person enters the funnel, it is crucial to maintain and strengthen the relationship with them to turn them into a qualified lead. With lead generation, users can collect enough information to address their contacts effectively with personalized messages via email campaigns or phone calls. Lead Nurturing programs are a separate branch of software but can be integrated into lead generation tools.

• Lead Scoring: Specialized lead scoring systems can calculate and assign a numeric value for contacts. The higher the value, the more likely the contact will make a purchase. Leads are rated based on several variables, including industry, website activity, and company size. Trying to manually rate leads would be a very tedious task. It is much faster using a lead scoring tool. Lead scoring systems are indeed a separate software product, but they often also belong to the functional scope of lead generation management software.

• Lead Distribution: Once the scoring software has identified high-quality leads, their information can be automatically passed on to the right places. For example, they can be divided for further nurturing measures or passed on directly to the responsible sales staff who can deepen the relationships in personal conversations.

• Tools for Sales Analysis and Reports: The mere use of lead generation software does not automatically lead to an increase in profits. Those responsible should create analyses and reports (or have them created) to identify which measures work and which do not. If effort is put into reviewing and adjusting one's lead generation activities, this can take some time. However, with the right software, these processes are also significantly facilitated. Lead analytics systems can indeed be stand-alone software.

What are the Pros and Cons of Lead Generation Software?

Lead generation software provides functions to support the capturing and, to some extent, the further processing of leads. It can also be instrumental in qualifying contacts and/or enriching data and/or offer the opportunity to efficiently optimize corresponding processes through analytics. In any case, using such a program should significantly simplify the handling of typical lead management to-dos. This brings us to the first and central advantage of lead generation software.

In addition, the following benefits are often decisive arguments for using a lead tool.

• Improvement of Sales and Revenue: Lead generation software enables sales and marketing teams to focus more on selling or acquiring and retaining customers and spend less time manually managing leads. Also, the information provided by lead generation solutions can be used to identify new opportunities for upselling and cross-selling among existing customers.

• Reduced Administrative Effort: Traditional CRM and sales software often require a lot of manual data entry, which affects the productivity of sales staff. Modern lead management tools can provide substantial relief in this area. Specifically, if they bring features that allow for data enrichment and lead qualification. The corresponding information can often be automated into other systems.

• Improved Customer Satisfaction: In addition to increasing sales, lead generation software with (AI-supported) data enrichment and analytics can be used to learn more about prospects and customers. The strategic use of this information in marketing and sales significantly favors long-term business relationships. Customers who feel understood and respected are generally more satisfied, more loyal, and more likely to advocate for the products or services they purchase.

There are virtually no disadvantages – at least as long as software has been chosen that fits precisely with one's needs. This refers to one of the possible main problems when using lead generation software.

• Specialization: Some lead generation products are developed specifically for B2B or B2C use. Some are targeted at specific industries, such as manufacturing or retail. This specialization offers clear advantages in lead generation for the companies in the respective industries. On the other hand, corresponding features may be of little use or even a hindrance for different industries.

• Data Protection: Generally, the use of lead generation software involves processing target customer data. Accordingly, the chosen solution should be able to comply with current legal data protection and security regulations. This is not guaranteed for products whose providers are located outside the EU. Ideally, buyers should not have to worry about these issues. If you want to be on the safe side, you should opt for a lead generation tool from Germany or at least from the EU.

How to Choose the Best Lead Generation Software or What Should You Pay Particular Attention to?

There are many lead providers on the market. They sometimes follow very different approaches to supporting lead processes or focus on specific industries. Getting a sufficient overview and finally getting the best lead generation software is anything but easy.

To start, interested parties should ask themselves these three questions:

• How will the targeted tool improve lead generation?

• How will it help meet the biggest challenges in lead generation?

• Can or should it help get the generated leads through the sales funnel – and to what extent?

Based on the answers to these critical questions, interested parties should weigh the following features.

• Scalability: The goal of lead generation software is to improve sales, which in turn leads to steady growth of the company. It's important to know if the targeted lead generation software can grow with your needs under this objective. Lead management is an ongoing process. Especially in the case of significant successes, it usually does not stop with the initial requirements. The selected solution should optimally meet such a development. This also applies to the number of users allowed for a license. Expanded lead measures require more human resources.

• User-friendliness: Good usability ensures that users fully exploit the possibilities of the respective tool. The solution should be easily accessible for everyone who works with it and does not require expensive training. Ideally, the software fits exactly to the experience level of its users.

• Flexibility: The best lead generation software should be easily accessible for the team and can also be used from mobile devices. You should choose a tool that offers as much flexibility as its users need.

• Third-party integration: A lead generation solution should seamlessly integrate into the other parts of the marketing and/or sales technology stack. This is crucial for the efficiency of marketing and sales operations.

• CRM: Lead generation software should either be able to integrate with an existing CRM system or offer its own CRM system. This allows for efficient management of leads.

• Leads via Social Media: The ability to reach potential buyers via social media platforms is becoming increasingly important for all companies – also in the B2B sector. Some solutions are able to find and reach leads via social media. They can be used individually to automate lead generation, target audience building, and contacting across many popular social media sites.

• Reporting and analysis: In most corporate contexts, it makes sense for lead generation software to provide and evaluate data on the lead generation process itself. This allows very efficient evaluation of the company's marketing and sales performance. In addition, data reports and analyses of lead behavior offer the chance to better understand the target group or market.

• Marketing Tools: Lead management processes often start in marketing and then move on to sales, which then personally addresses the qualified leads. Whichever approach is followed – special marketing tools are essential for maximally effective lead management. The lead generation solution should therefore either be seamlessly integrated into the existing landscape of relevant marketing helpers or offer its own marketing toolkit.

• Landing Page Tools: To this day, many leads are generated via landing pages. Accordingly, some lead generation solutions offer tools that assist companies in creating landing pages or improving visitor engagement on corresponding pages. A landing page builder, for example, can help build pages with special features that are likely to lead to more conversions with a simple drag-and-drop interface.

What do Lead Generation Systems Cost and Are There Free Lead Generators?

The prices for lead generation software indeed vary widely. There are very simple solutions that are available at a low cost. Comprehensive lead management suites, on the other hand, can quickly cost a multiple of that. Depending on the included features, prices between 15 and more than 1,000 euros per month are possible.

In addition to pure features, lead providers calculate their software mainly according to the following principles:

• Per user and per month

• Per month and for a limited number of users

• Per month and for an unlimited number of users

• Customized offer after consultation and/or demo

In addition to paid programs, there is also the opportunity to use lead generation tools for free. Free Leads software usually only includes basic functions and does not allow use with multiple accounts. Free lead systems are therefore often unsuitable for commercial use.

Lead generation software free trials, however, are different. These are typically free full versions of certain tools that are available for free for a certain period. This is obviously not a long-term solution. However, during the selection process, tests with such variants are extremely useful.