Lead Generation Ideas

I agree, word of mouth is the best way to gain credibility, but you need more people willing to spread the word, so this is where marketing and advertising come.

I work with a comparatively small number of clients who may come from most English regions so it's hard to generate the necessary "critical mass" to make networking work really well for me.

That said, my best single source of clients is through referrals. The best client advocate I've had to date encouraged his 2 siblings, an in-law and 3 friends to see me ! Some of the advantages of referrals are that the prospective customer already knows what you offer, has decided they want it and has thought about when might suit them best to have an appointment ... so it's an amazingly quick and easy process for both sides.

I feel consistent SEO and PR would work wonderfully for my business but you've got to put in sufficient commitment over the long term to get the most benefit from them and I haven't done that.

and it would be nice if certain search engines stopped changing the rules every 5 minutes and made our lives easier and encourage more long term commitment

Certain search engines seem keen on one-night-stands, Steve

I still think that businesses should not focus only on SEO, we need to find a way to target new clients using different channels. Unfortunately everyone things that being on the first page will automatically gain you lots of work. However it is not always the case.

Social media? Social media can get one good leads too.

Yes, but:
1. It does not work for each type of business
2. Not anyone knows how to use them

To be fair, had some interesting feedback after posing a question about the merits of LinkedIn, and was it worth any time and effort.

It seems to have potential for a lot of smaller businesses, where you have some genuine feedback on your profile page (not the endorsed rubbish). LinkedIn is perceived as being professional, so positive feedback is also perceived to be valuable.

Still not entirely convinced, and not sure if you would class it as a social media site, jurys out on that one. But for a little bit of work, ie tidy profile and garner some feedback, the page then becomes pretty static, and stands the chance of generating leads moving forward.

Got to be worth a go! Anyone who would like to offer some marvellous feedback, fill you boots Steve Richardson - United Kingdom | LinkedIn

To be honest Steve, I see more benefit in LinkedIn, rather than FB in both personal and professional aspect.

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum but use others and they are definitely beneficial for lead generation.

SEO should only be a very small part of your marketing strategy and a business should never rely on rankings to drive business. Google has wiped out thousands of businesses overnight when experimenting with algorithm changes.

Being social (on and offline) is the key in my opinion. There are numerous social channels that are far more targeted and beneficial when looking to make meaningful connections and relationships with potential customers or people that have the means to help dive traffic to your website.

Hi Commission Crowd, I do agree with you