This article was updated 4th December 2024
Read time: 10 minutes
In the ever-evolving world of marketing and sales, one thing has always remained constant: the pursuit of high-quality leads.
But here’s the thing about lead generation: you need to target people, not just businesses.
Sure, you might know the sectors you want to target or the types of companies to go after. You may even have individuals in mind that you’d like to direct your marketing campaigns towards. But if you want to increase your pool of high-intent opportunities, you need to get much, much more granular.
Here’s why individuals are more valuable than companies when it comes to generating targeted leads.
What is a targeted lead?
Targeted leads refer to a specific subset of potential customers or prospects within a larger target market. The point is to narrow down the people you want to have sales conversations with. You can identify and categorise these prospects based on a variety of factors, including:
- Demographics: This includes characteristics like age, gender, job role and the size of not only the individual’s company but also their immediate reports.
- Geographics: This includes location, city and language preferences, as well as cultural differences.
- Psychographics: This includes factors like lifestyle habits, values and interests.
- Behaviours: This includes things like specific habits, online searches, content engagement and other intent signals.
Ultimately, understanding your targeted leads at this level allows you to focus your efforts on individuals who exhibit higher potential for conversion.
Here’s why it’s valuable to talk to individuals
Targeting specific individuals is beneficial for a variety of reasons. For example:
1. You can discover specific pain points
Each of your customers will have a unique pain point. One marketing manager might struggle to convince their IT colleagues that adopting a new tool won’t cause them too much work. Another might struggle to secure the budget from a risk-averse board.
Understanding individual pain points like this gives you fuel for your conversations. And if you time it right, you can leverage specific pain points into enticing sales opportunities.
2. You can gauge purchase intent
Intent is the key to saving your business time and money. Talking to a prospect with no intent of making a purchase will waste your sales team’s time when, instead, they could have been talking to a better-qualified lead.
According to research, 95% of B2B buyers aren’t even in the market for your products. This means that, for every 100 leads that come through your door, only five are actually ready for a conversation with sales.
Identifying who these five are as early as possible should be your top priority. Not only is this the key to reducing wasted time and money, but understanding these intent signals gives you a window into where prospects are in the buyer’s journey. Armed with this, you can tailor your sales and marketing efforts and provide relevant and timely answers to questions.
Recommended reading: Intent signals: The difference between signals and high intent
3. You can assess emotional state of mind
Whether it’s a new car or new accounting software, emotions are always present when making a purchasing decision. A hesitant prospect may be afraid to look bad in front of their boss. An eager one might create an opportunity to cross-sell your product or service.
Understanding the emotional context of specific individuals allows you to tailor how you speak and what you say. This allows you to align with their current mindset and build rapport, which gives you the best chance of closing the deal.
4. You can explore interests and personality
People are more than just their job titles. They have unique interests, and what works for one prospect might turn off another.
Communication style can be the difference between building an authentic connection with someone and alienating them. If you understand what someone is interested in, you can personalise your message and connect with the human rather than just the “employee”.
5. You can identify content interests
One of the simplest ways to understand someone’s interest in your business is to analyse the content they're engaging with. Your content library is a powerful marketing tool, and it should be designed to engage various individuals in various ways. Some prospects will prefer data-driven whitepapers. Others will watch videos or attend your webinars.
By creating a library of multimedia content, you can begin to meet people where they are and provide them with personalised gateways into your business. Understanding their content interests makes it easier for your sales team to steer conversations and build authentic connections.
5 steps to generating targeted leads
1. Define your ideal customer
Before you start approaching targeted leads, you should do is pinpoint exactly who it is you're looking to make contact with in the first place.
An ideal customer profile (ICP) can act as the foundation for your lead generation efforts. It lists all of the most crucial demographic, geographic, firmographic and behavioural information of your targeted lead, helping you and your sales team to focus your efforts on the most promising and suitable prospects for your business.
ICPs are not the same as buyer personas - to create an accurate ICP, you need evidence in the form of data. Once you have this information, you should compile it into a centralised document that can be easily shared with other members of your team.
Recommended reading: How to build an ideal customer profile for better lead generation [+ free template]
2. Build a database
The next step to reach targeted leads is to build a robust database. This is where you collect information from prospects that align with your ICP.
This database will serve as the foundation for your targeted marketing efforts, ensuring you focus your resources on individuals most likely to benefit from your offerings.
To achieve this, you'll need to engage in strategic sales prospecting, identifying and reaching out to potential leads who fit your criteria. Additionally, working with intent data partners can provide you with deeper insights into the behaviours and interests of these prospects.
Leveraging this data later on in the process will help you refine and personalise your outreach, giving you a better chance to convert these targeted leads into satisfied customers.
Recommend reading: What is intent data? Your not-so-secret weapon for B2B marketing
3. Segment your database
Once you have the data, the next crucial step in your process is to segment your leads based on various criteria and characteristics. This segmentation allows you to refine your messaging even further, ensuring that your personalised and tailored communications resonate with each of your prospects.
Categorising your leads according to geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural characteristics will help you craft messages that speak directly to their unique needs and preferences.
For instance, understanding the geographic location of your leads can help you address region-specific concerns or opportunities, relevant to where they live or their place of work.
Demographic information, such as age and occupation, enables you to tailor your outreach strategy to suit different job roles or company sizes.
Psychographic insights, which delve into values, interests, and lifestyles, allow you to connect on a deeper, more emotional level. For example, are they a hardcore Swiftie? Do they volunteer for a local charity? You can use this to find a common language and understand what values to tap into in your messaging.
Lastly, analysing behavioural data, such as past interactions, purchase history, specific habits, online searches, content engagement and other intent signals, enables you to anticipate their future needs and personalise your outreach accordingly.
4. Start targeting and engaging prospects
Now that you've segmented your targeted leads by their specific characteristics, it's time to engage them.
This is where your tailored communication strategies come into play. With the insights gained from your segmentation, you can craft messages that address the unique needs, preferences and pain points of each group in your list of leads.
Start by developing content that resonates with each segment, whether it's through personalised emails, targeted social media campaigns or customised offers. Make sure your messaging is not only relevant but also compelling, encouraging your leads to take the next step in their journey with you.
One thing to consider is using storytelling techniques to create an emotional connection. For instance, try showcasing how your products or services can make a positive impact on their lives.
Don't forget to engage with your leads through multiple channels, ensuring a consistent and cohesive experience across all touchpoints. By doing so, you reinforce your brand's presence and demonstrate your commitment to meeting their needs.
As you engage with your segmented leads, remember to listen actively to their feedback and adjust your strategies accordingly. This will foster a dynamic and responsive relationship that will make your audience trust you over time.
5. Nurture relationships
Once you've gathered a marketing funnel full of targeted leads, it's time to start nurturing them. This process is essential for guiding your leads through the buyer's journey and transforming initial interest into genuine commitment.
Begin by delivering content that educates and informs, such as blog posts, videos or webinars, and tailor your interactions by acknowledging their specific needs and preferences.
As you nurture your leads, monitor their engagement and adjust your strategies accordingly. Keep a close eye on your analytics to track their interactions with your content and identify which messages resonate most effectively.
Remember, nurturing isn't about pushing for an immediate sale - it's about building a relationship that encourages long-term loyalty.
5 targeted lead generation strategies
With the steps outlined above, you're in a strong position to start generating targeted leads for your business. However, while you may be able to identify great prospects, how can you go about attracting and engaging them?
Below are several strategies you should implement to win over your targeted leads:
Lead magnets
A lead magnet is a free resource a brand gives away in exchange for their contact information. It's a simple yet effective lead generation method that can immediately build trust and value in your brand.
However, the right lead magnet for each targeted lead will vary, depending on their specific characteristics, needs and position in the buyer's journey.
For prospects at the top of the funnel (TOFU), you'll need something longer than a blog post - think whitepapers, ebooks, reports and webinars. As a prospect moves further down the funnel, offer case studies, digital brochures and other items specific to your business and what it can offer them.
Social media
Social media is another critical channel in your targeted lead generation toolbox. Over time, the content you share and the presence you build on these platforms can make your brand a thought leader in your market.
However, these platforms aren't just for building brand awareness among top of the funnel prospects - they're places where buying decisions are made.
In B2B marketing, there's no finer platform than LinkedIn, where 82% of marketers claim to have seen success.
So what does this mean for your targeted leads? LinkedIn is an excellent channel to share your lead magnets and establish a relationship with your prospective customers. Plus, with its specific filtering and targeting capabilities, it's a great way to spot targeted feeds that have engaged with your content.
Strong landing pages
Don't underestimate the impact of a well-written, well-structured landing page. Often, it can be the difference when it comes to conversion rates.
What's more, interactive and personalised landing pages give you the ability to tailor the experience your targeted leads receive from your brand even further, depending on their needs and stage in the funnel.
Referrals
For all of the reach of social media and paid advertising, customer advocacy and word of mouth remain among the most powerful tools a marketer can rely on.
If you've successfully won over customers in the past and you know they're happy with the products or services you provide, there's no reason why they wouldn't be willing to provide a testimonial or even a referral to their networks.
