Lead generation

What is lead generation?

Lead generation includes all activities aimed at acquiring new potential customers. Nowadays, this is mainly done online. The main focus of lead generation is to obtain data through consent of your target audience. Leads are the start of a marketing strategy or sales funnel and are guided through the customer journey until a conversion occurs. Leadmagnets are used to obtain the contact details of a lead. Leadmagnets are resources that appeal to the target audience. If effective they should be willing to share their (contact) details in return.

Why is online lead generation used in Pharma & Health?

Every organization wants to get in touch with its target group, whether it is B2B or B2C. Without active lead generation you will not be able to reach your target group or at least not all of them. The most effective way to collect data from HCPs or patient target groups differs per situation. What is certain is that online lead generation is the most effective. This was also the case during the pandemic due to online activity and research by patients and HCPs.

Practical examples of  HCPs and patient lead generation

There is no standard method for lead generation, not even targeting medical audiences. Each situation has its own unique challenges and opportunities. The answer to the right approach lies in the solution you offer the target group. Are there specific symptoms that belong to the clinical description and do you have a solution? Then it is likely that your target audience will search for it on Google. By appearing in the search results for this question and offering the right answers you effectively reach your target audience. On a landing page you can share information and collect data. For example, a self-scan in a questionnaire where the patient receives the outcome by email. The method allows you to obtain the data from the patient and create a lead. An additional advantage of this example is that the GP can be reached through the patient. The strategy of responding to the needs of the target audience is called inbound marketing.

Several campaigns in LSH are aimed at creating awareness. In many cases there is minimal search activity from the target audience around the topics offered. For awareness campaigns it is most effective to use outbound marketing methods. LinkedIn is the most commonly used advertising channel to reach the HCP target audience. Using LinkedIn you can specify job titles, employers and interests. The topic must appeal to the target audience to be able to collect opt-ins. An effective way of doing this could be a webinar about the latest developments in a particular speciality. Leads can be obtained upon registration and during the webinar and awareness for this topic can be created. For example for creating awareness for new treatment methods.

Why can’t you just start with lead generation?

You want to create valuable experiences for your target audience as touchpoints might be limited. This requires research into the interests of your target group and suitable channels to reach them. A second community about a certain disease for example, will be less successful. This also applies when there are already webinars for a certain speciality. A new webinar will generate less return. 

Successful lead generation is not enough, because it is only the first step in the funnel. Poor follow-up can cause a lead to drop out. The process after lead generation must be optimized to ensure a feasible ROI. This is why it is essential to thoroughly think about the conversion path of your target audience. How do you nurture a lead and when is the right moment for contact with sales?

The conversion path

Successfully deploying leadmagnets requires the creation of a specific and strategic conversion path. This is not the same as the customer journey. A conversion path is about the process of attracting potential customers to successfully capturing a lead.

1. Call to action (CTA): Your leadmagnet will appeal to people and convince them to take a certain action. For instance clicking on a “Sign up now!” or “Download our checklist now” call-to-action.

2. Landing page: After clicking on the (CTA) button, the customer will be on the landing page. In exchange for the content contact details are requested. A short explanation confirms the added value for the lead. The information requested should be suitable for the content offered to the customer. A name and email address are often a good start. The landing page should also make clear what the target ‘gets’ with the earlier CTA. If the explanation is not clear or if there are too many fields to fill in, your target group will not continue.

3. Confirmation page: A thank you page should appear after submitting the contact details. A confirmation should appear on the thank you page that the entry was successful. Now, the visitor has become a lead. This will be registered in your database and can be added to marketing flows.

Then an email with a download link can follow within 10 minutes or can be displayed on the landing page.

4. Follow up: After obtaining the lead, you want to cultivate it. This process is also known as lead nurturing. Leads are always valuable regardless if the goal is short-term or long term. Not having a leadnurturing strategy is a waste of capital. The follow-up message is the next step in the funnel in most processes. The leadmagnet contributes to the larger goal.

Leadmagnets

High quality leadmagnets are essential for smooth and effective lead generation. A leadmagnet is website-provided content targeted to HCPs or patients in exchange for contact information. This content must add value for the visitor to ensure that they will share their contact information. Examples of frequently used leadmagnets include: gated content, e-learnings, webinars, animations, infographics, tutorials or free trials.

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What tools and methods can be used to generate HCP leads online?

By HCP leads we refer to the healthcare professionals. lead generation for HCPs often focuses on a specific group. For example, if you are looking to market a new drug for psoriasis, your target group would be dermatologists. But skin therapists, pharmacists and general practitioners can also be among the (secondary) target groups. 

There are various means and methods for generating HCP leads, sometimes the means is an end in itself. For example, using a webinar to obtain opt-ins. The opt-in in this case is the beginning of the funnel. In other cases, obtaining participants for a webinar is an end in itself. Other examples include:

• Signing up for a webinar conference or event;
• Signing up for a mailing list or medical education program to continue education and e-learning;
• New accounts on a private HCP platform and followers for social channels;
• Downloading whitepapers, case studies, manuals, checklists, fact sheets, industry reports or toolkits;
• Purchasing free samples and product demonstrations.

Promotion of these examples is mainly through search engine marketing (SEO & SEA), social media advertising (often LinkedIn and Twitter), use of key opinion leaders, native advertising and banners.

How can online leads be generated among patient target groups?

By patient target groups we refer to “end users” and their environment. The focus is often on a specific disease that directly affects the target audience. Additionally, those indirectly involved can be included as a sub-target audience. 

Examples of online lead generation are:

• Signing up for social platforms such as a patient community;
• Self-service via a platform such as participating in a survey with download;
• Signing up for a newsletter;
• Downloading whitepapers, e-books, roadmaps, best practices, FAQ sheets, video courses and fact sheets.

Promotion for these examples is primarily through search engine marketing (SEO & SEA), social media advertising (often Facebook and Instagram), influencer marketing, native advertising and banners.

How to promote leadmagnets in Pharma & Health?

When you create a strong leadmagnet then naturally, you want to use it. Several channels and methods are used for promoting lead magnets, but choosing the right strategy depends on many factors. The target audience is leading in this process. HCPs can often be reached through LinkedIn, but for a patient awareness campaign LinkedIn is often not a suitable channel. Although you will probably have these insights, we advise you to take the time to get to know your target audience and the channel they operate in. There might be a platform you haven’t thought of before to reach your target group, like an external (native) platform. 

Below we discuss different ways and channels to promote leadmagnets.

The corporate website (and dedicated websites)

We notice that our clients often only think about leadmagnets promotion through other channels than the website. And that is a shame! The visitor found you but you have not found the visitor. With potential loss of a lead and a wasted touchpoint. 

Getting visitors through search engines is often the first and most important leadmagnet. However, search engine optimization (SEO) is a long term investment and not just a tool that you can turn on and off. Contrastingly, with search engine advertising (SEA) you can. Using SEA can be worth it but can be very expensive if implemented incorrectly. 

Leadmagnets can be integrated on your website in different ways. For instance with a link in the text, a button / image or with a bar above the webpage. A great example of this is the discount pop-up that customers get when subscribing to a newsletter on a webshop. These functions are often combined with a landing page. You can also choose to use a chat function or pop-up to generate leads, so there are plenty of options! But remember that the method you use should always be suitable for the target audience and your organization. 

Social Media

Another very important channel for lead generation is social media. Especially when starting new campaigns with specific focus groups. Social media is often used from a company profile and the promotional possibilities vary from just a biography to various spotlight possibilities. The versatility of social media makes it a very suitable channel to promote your lead magnet.

Another advantage is that it offers many promotion possibilities. For example, it is easy to link pages, create interactions with a poll and promote videos or webinars. Interaction based on the customers’ own initiative such as people reacting and sharing messages is the best form of promotion. 

Highly selective targeting is possible through excellent advertising options. It ranges from reaching millions of consumers via channels such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to a handful of doctors within a specific specialty via LinkedIn and Twitter. 

In some cases we have the ability to target even further apart from the selection possibilities through the channels. To be able to do so we offer our ‘hypersegmentation’ service. There is also a possibility to advertise without the messages being in your timeline by using dark posts. This can be used when ads on a timeline are not the most suitable option for a certain campaign. During a disease awareness campaign for example.

Ambassadors

Employees can also attract attention to leadmagnets through personal social media profiles. Our sales director uses the highlighted feature on their personal account to promote leadmagnets. They also post and share messages with their personal network. An e-mail signature of employees can also be used to bring the attention to leadmagnets.

Not only your own staff but also people outside your organization can be brand ambassadors. These can include specialists or key opinion leaders (KOL) in certain fields with a large reach. To reach patient target groups you can use influencers. With the right connection you can reach the most people within a target audience through posts, videos or other means. 

An organization itself can also be a brand ambassador. For example, by speaking at an event or creating a guest post on a relevant platform. This is also known as native advertising. Other possibilities within native advertising are sponsored blogs. A strong banner in a relevant community can also provide the desired result.

We can help you create the right leadmagnets and targeting to reach your HCP or target group!

You can achieve the best results by using the right promotional channels in the right way. By using leadmagnets that fulfill the information need of the target group, you will become relevant for your target audience. However, it is important to think and have a plan for the next step after an opt-in.

Creating and deploying lead magnets can be quite a challenging task. Especially if you do not have any experience with the tools and the target audience yet. Contact us and we will be happy to help you. Together we will look at how you can reach your goals and target audience as well as the most suitable leadmagnets you can use. 

Our team of marketers have years of experience in digital promotion & advertising for the Pharma & health industry. We create result oriented strategies and campaigns that will ensure conversion.

Would you like to know more about lead generation in LSH? Send us a message through the form below or give us a call on +31(0)20-3080208!