Seems as though every type of business has a website these days. And for good reason, considering the Internet actually induces 70% more spending offline than online, according to a study conducted by The Dieringer Research Group. Therefore, your lead generation marketing efforts not only drive online sales, but offline as well. As a matter of fact, businesses are gearing their websites more towards performing lead generation activities than e-commerce functions.

Lead generation is not a gimme though. In fact, there is quite a lot of work and strategy involved in generating quality leads for your products and services. The following are two types of website visitors that should be examined when attempting to maximize the number of quality leads your website attracts.

Suspect Customers

• These are people who are at the early stages of the buying cycle and are looking for more information about a product or service. They are in more of an investigative mode and are looking for answers to more broader questions such as: What exactly do I need? How much will I have to spend? By answering these questions you are educating the suspect customer about what you can offer them. This information produces several benefits in lead generation marketing. The suspect customer can bookmark your site and revisit later in the search process. Also, It can spark interest quickly and instantly convert the suspect customer into a qualified lead. Or it can quickly weed out the unqualified leads, saving time and effort.

Prospect Customers

• These people know what they want and are mostly comparison shopping. They want to know which product is the best and why. By using such things as testimonials, comparison charts, brochures, and product demos, you can further educate the prospect customer as to why they should buy from you and not the competition. Getting contact information equals getting a qualified lead. They know what they want and are interested in getting it from you.

Now that the suspect and prospective customers have converted into leads, the work doesn't stop there. Effectively communicate with them will be the telling tale of converting them from leads into paying customers both online and offline. Keep your business fresh in their minds so when they do decide to make a purchase, they think of you first.

Lead generation marketing is a continuous effort.