Whether you are starting a new business in Africa or have been trading for dozens of years, expanding and growing your customer base is essential. Lead generation is one aspect of this process, and it is an important one, but are you making the most of those leads? In this article, we are going to look at lead management automation – what it is, what it does, and how it can improve your business so you can make more of your opportunities.
Lead management is a strategic action which covers the acquisition of leads and manages the process of taking your potential customer to a paying one, and then a returning and recommending one.
For some, the process they need to address is a funnel (like your sales funnel), and for others a cycle (such as the customer lifecycle) – but the commonality in both is that there are different stages and actions that need to be undertaken to move the lead through into conversion.
The automation of lead management involves identifying each of the stages of the process, and then putting software, applications, and programs into place to make the most efficient and effective moves and ensure that potential leads are not only developed to their fullest but nurtured afterwards.
Automation of this process uses a variety of tools, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, project management tools, and data management – it organises your leads (sorting them by categories or demographics), ensures regular correspondence goes out, and allows swift action to be taken by assigning customers to employees for monitoring and management.
Getting it right can make a huge impact on your business – such as increasing potential conversions, speeding up communications with customers, reducing customer service issues and complaints, and improving staff efficiency just for a start.
Ruler Analytics reported that 91% of marketers say lead generation is their most important goal, which makes lead management a business-critical process. It is especially important when you have a varied or diversified audience to target your customers appropriately and connect with new sales opportunities without unnecessary spending, time wastage, or other issues.
Data privacy, as reported by IT Web, has been a hot issue in Africa for a few years now, and lead management has to be conducted carefully, within regulations, and in a way that is easy to manage. Having the right tools for the task is critical.
As more companies realise the benefits of automation and find that there are now solutions that are capable of handling their individual needs, the face of African business is changing.
Processes are becoming more streamlined, resources are used more effectively, and businesses are finding that with the right processes in place, they are able to comply with legal obligations and regulations more easily – saving time, money, and potential damage to the company in the process.
The initial progress has been relatively slow for the adoption of automation in Africa, but with structural improvements and infrastructure becoming more robust to handle the processes, it will not be long before more businesses across the continent start making use of the time and money-saving processes, and with Africa having the demographics for mass adoption, it would not be surprising to see this happen.
When you have the right lead management solution, you are set to save yourself time, money, and effort – but these are not the only benefits that you could reasonably expect to see.
Other benefits that you may find could include:
When you choose your lead management automation solution, you must look carefully at the tools and services on offer and consider whether they are appropriate for your needs.
Some of the challenges you may face could include:
Making the choice to streamline your processes and become more efficient requires careful consideration of your options, and not choosing an ‘off-the-shelf’ package which is not going to be suitable for your specific challenges and needs.
The TEBillion Way starts with a free demonstration, which you can book at a time that suits you, and with our experts listening. We will work with you to determine exactly what you need (so you are not left paying for products you have no use for like you could in a one-size fits all solution).
We use our years of experience and highly sophisticated approach to CRM and Data Management in combination with a range of tried and tested tools, and we will create an ideal package for you and your business.
When you use TEBillion, you gain access to and benefit from:
Book your demonstration today, and discover how TEBillion can put your company on the path to success.