Lead generation is one of the inbound marketing actions that a company takes to achieve economic results. Put simply, its goal is to generate and acquire interested/profiled contacts to be leveraged in one’s business strategies.
In this guide we want to break down that concept, which is only seemingly simple, and analyze how lead generation is done. In addition, we will try to understand in what ways it supports advertising and promotion of production entities and business or service activities.
Lead Generation what is it?

Without preamble, let’s start with our definition: “Lead Generation” (English formula for “contact generation“) is amarketing action aimed at intercepting useful contacts for business development and creating a conversion process.
This is both a concise and complex explanation. At its core, it contains a basic principle of inbound marketing as the interception of an interested contact through the data that the contact(lead) has left on the specially prepared channels.
To summarize, we could decompose lead generation into the following components, which correspond to as many stages of the process:
- Attraction = contact engagement techniques.
- Registration = storage of data (e.g., e-mail address, or phone number) of the prospect.
- Nurturing = cultivation of contact with targeted communications.
- Conversion = transformation of the visitor into a prospect and later into a contact, but also, with an additional step, into a brand ambassador.
What are the tools for lead generation?
To achieve something as significant as building a list of interested contacts, it is very important to diversify tools and channels.
Much of Digital Marketing can be leveraged to generate useful and profiled contacts. For example:
- SEO (for organic search engine positioning)
- the SEM(search engine marketing)
- e-mail marketing
- the Content Marketing
- the Copywriting
If you don’t know what we are talking about, find out about our services:
SEO Agency
SEM Agency
Web Content Writing
Copywriting Agency
The difference between off-line contact generation and lead generation
Contact generation, before the advent of the Internet and then Web 2.0, was based on certain off-line strategies such as:
- word of mouth
- participation in industry events and trade shows
- The purchase of advertising space in traditional media (radio, TV and billboards)
- ‘cold calls‘ (typical of outbound marketing).
Instead, today, thanks to tools such as the website, blog, social media and e-mail, online communication has taken a predominant position in marketing strategies. This has changed both the buying decision-making process and the very way lead generation is done.
The substantial difference between off-line and new processes of strategic web marketing is in target audience profiling. Indeed, now companies are able to profile their audiences in detail, knowing aspects such as:
- his age
- interests
- the places visited or searched on Google
When used correctly, all of this information enables the creation of targeted and profitable marketing strategies.
The 4 phases of the lead generation process

As we mentioned a few lines above, lead generation consists of 4 stages:
- Attraction
- Registration
- Nourishment
- Conversion
Let us now look at some tips on how to put them into practice.
Attraction and Registration: the Squeeze Page
In the Attraction and Registration phases, one of the most widely used tools by marketers is undoubtedly the Squeeze Page, otherwise known asthe “opt-in” page.
In it, the user is provided with valuable free downloadable content, such as an e-book or podcast, in exchange for some of his or her data.
This information will build a database of prospects (i.e., potential customers with whom you have never had direct contact) who have interacted and are interested in that company’s service/product.
Nurturing or Lead Nurturing: what is it and how to do it?
After the user has left his or her information (usually first and last name, age, e-mail address, phone number, location of residence, and the like) he or she is ready to be ‘pampered’.
We enter the nurturing phase, and it is at this point that lead nurturing activities are triggered. Or at least they should… In particular, some companies make the unforgivable mistake of leaving nurtured contacts in a drawer. Nothing could be more wrong, because this is a gold mine of information that can bring many benefits to the business.
In this crucial step we must be able to take the initial interest shown by the contact to the next level-a slow and difficult achievement that requires time and attention.
The key words are two:
- empathy
- report
Contact should be cultivated patiently and in a measured amount (without excessive presence or neglect), so as to establish a one-to-one relationship aimed at building a long-term bond of trust.
If one shows oneself capable of using the most appropriate channels in the right way, the desired result will not be long in coming and the user will become a loyal customer.
Of course, like any other marketing action, lead nurturing within the lead generation process must be constantly monitored. We must be able to measure the results by quantifying the return of the different actions put in place, so that we can identify the best performing channels and techniques.
Marketing Automation for contact nurturing

An activity such as Lead Nurturing, requires a significant expenditure of time. To optimize such a resource, some Marketing Automation software comes to the rescue that allows you to reach, and continue to nurture, at a later date, the contacts acquired and activated.
We refer to those tools that allow you to create funnels, send newsletters and optimize DEM(Direct E-mail Marketing), automatically and with customizable parameters. Among the best-known programs and platforms are the following Hubspot, Mailchimp e Sendblaster.
Conversion: how to get valuable actions from leads
The conversion phase of lead generation cannot do without an effective and widely used tool such as e-mail. While the tool is easy to use, the techniques for optimizing results are not as trivial.
Again, technology helps us automate the process. For example, we can make use of:
- Workflows(Workflow) – This is flow communication, triggered by an action taken by the lead. For example, you might schedule a follow-up e-mail to be sent as soon as the user downloads the presentation PDF from your site.
- Sequences(Sequences) – These are emails sent in sequence, on precise time intervals and made with standard templates. They are useful both to keep the engagement rate high and to lead the lead to conversion finalization.
Thegoal is always to persuade the user to take an action, such as requesting an appointment for a quote. As soon as the lead performs that action, the sequences stop.
Why is lead generation important for businesses and professionals?
If we measure Lead Generation over the medium/long term, we can ‘touch on’ the results achieved in terms of brand reputation and, why not?, sales and revenue. When we decide to do Lead Generation, it is important to put it in the context of a broader marketing strategy that, as mentioned, is diverse in terms of techniques.
For certain, using e-mail marketing or creating a sales funnel is not enough to achieve the goal. Each step will have to be thought out, with specific messages accompanying the potential customer to the purchase.
The advantage, as we remarked above, is that your communication will find fertile ground. If the first three stages (attraction, registration and nurturing) have worked properly, the audience to whom you will speak will be ready for the conversion stage.
After all, this is an audience that has already chosen to follow you and has already shown interest. For these reasons, they will appreciate the timing and ability you demonstrate in reaching out to them or getting them to find you exactly when there is a need for your product/service.
In summary, the main advantage for business that lead generation offers is that of being able to set in motion a series of marketing actions on a list of highly profiled contacts.
Profiling is the basis of conversion rate, because the more targeted and precise the sales funnel, the more contacts will be led up to the final buying stage.
Who does lead generation serve?

There are no manufacturing sectors or areas in services in which lead generation is less important, just as there are no professional or business profiles for which lead generation is a negligible element.
Where you are not aiming for direct, one-shot sales, techniques for capturing target audience data are always essential.
You can design landing pages for working professionals freelancers as well as for artisans, for example with a page aimed at requesting a quote.
While the sales funnel can be designed for services and products of various kinds, remembering that to attract useful contacts, benefits akin to the area of interest are functional. To give concrete examples:
- E-book
- Webinar
- Free consultation
- Podcast
Isola Can help you with lead generation
At the end of this article, we believe we have demonstrated that, in the overall business marketing strategy, lead generation plays a role that is not a sidekick.
His strengths?
- The definition of the target audience
- The activation of useful contacts to increase the customer base
Finding the right way and channel to connect with and cultivate a useful contact is what we do. At Isola, communications agency in Milan, we listen and try to fully understand the needs of people who choose to turn to our web agency. In fact, without a planned and well-articulated strategy there is no way to optimize investments, and you cannot turn leads into customers.
The skills of the professionals on the team allow us to give tailored answers, whether it is a consultancy for start-ups, or an established company looking for a project of actions of web marketing 360°.
We like to call ourselves acreative agency with what it takes to support business at multiple levels.
If you have any questions or curiosities, please don’t hesitate to let us know: we love to spend time with those interested in harnessing the potential of the web!