Winning clients as a service provider isn’t easy. Gone are the days when word-of-mouth, or even a fancy brand logo were just about enough for attracting leads your way!

Clients are getting more and more savvy by the day.

The vast troves of information on the internet, and the plethora of options available at their fingertips only makes it more convenient for clients to switch providers if their initial experience with the service hasn’t met their expectations.

This makes it all the more difficult for even the best industry players out there to attract customers.

So then, what exactly can providers do to keep leads flowing their way?

In this piece, we look at some of the most current lead generation techniques and their shortfalls in order to be able to discern why there is a need to overhaul our conventional lead generation strategies in the first place.
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Commonly Used Lead Generation Techniques and their Shortfalls

1) Building your Own Website

As a service provider, one of the most crucial components that goes into deciding the success of your trade is visibility. The more visible your business is, the more people it will attract in the long run.

That said, building your website is one of the most commonly leveraged techniques by service providers to gain visibility today, no matter how big or small the business.  

While websites have exhibited immense potential in recent times owing to the soaring number of smartphone and desktop users, there are a few visible challenges that come alongside their implementation. Those include:

• Websites don’t simply demand a one-time investment, they also require ongoing maintenance. This adds up costs.
• Simply having one stereotypical framework for your website won’t help. Your website needs to be responsive i.e. it should be able to adapt itself to fit into the user’s device screen size for increased convenience. If not, any leads coming to your website will abandon it only a few seconds later out of frustration.
• Lastly, since prospective customers already have a number of options at their disposal, getting noticed with a website alone can prove to be a daunting task for providers. You will need to back your website with a robust marketing strategy, which again, demands additional investment.

All in all, the high costs associated with development and maintenance, and the ability to furnish an exceptional user experience are important considerations providers must bear in mind when it comes to thinking about opting for this particular lead generation technique.
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2) Leveraging the Conventional, Offline Marketing Approach

Next up, we’ve got lead generation through means of the age-old, offline marketing approach.

From advertising in industry-related magazines and local newspapers, to designing memorable brochures, flyers, and pamphlets, and more, service providers use a number of creative ways to get the word out about their business.

One of the greatest advantages of leveraging this particular approach would be that these days, people yearn for the originality and simplicity that traditional marketing offers. Even more, with automation a normal part of everyone’s daily lives, we all miss the “human connection.” And that’s where offline marketing can truly make a difference.

However, conventional modes of marketing come with their own unique set of challenges. To name a few:

• The area covered when you opt for offline marketing is comparatively limited in terms of: the area covered by the television and radio station where it airs, the circulation of newspaper or magazine you advertised in, the number of participants in the workshop or seminar you attend or host, as well as the number of people who receive the offers you give away.
• Accessibility happens to be another major challenge with traditional marketing techniques. While everything on the internet is accessible to customers round the clock, conventional marketing activities can only mostly take place during the day. Customers won’t always be willing to pay an in-person visit to your office. This keeps a lot of leads from even considering your services in the first place.

If you only prefer catering to customers in your locality, offline marketing may give you the start you need, but it isn’t always a compatible option when it comes to gaining exposure and attracting clients from all over in order to expand your business’ reach.
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3) Investing in Paid Advertising

Marketing strategies have shifted in the last decade to use digital channels as a primary advertising platform. With these changes and aggressive campaign strategies, ads have made their way into our people’s lives.

Therefore, a lot of service providers are now turning to paid advertising for lead generation. And while it has a lot of advantages over traditional marketing, there are certain drawbacks that come alongside its use. Some of those include:

• Small businesses cannot properly advertise their products and services due to limited expenditure. Therefore, the entire market ends up being dictated by the whims of big players. Oftentimes, this makes it virtually impossible for service providers with limited budgets to compete, so they eventually disappear.
• Another strong objection to paid advertising is that it is a very costly marketing channel. Many past studies aimed at assessing this have proved that in most cases, the cost of ads exceeds that of sales by a comparatively small but significant percentage.
• You just can’t expect paid advertising to start showing results overnight. It requires a considerable amount of time and investment before a substantial amount of leads start noticing your services and contact you. Therefore, it is a time consuming process.

Paid advertising can definitely work wonders for your business when done right, but it's going to demand a considerable amount of patience from your end.
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4) The Best Option Around: Property Management Platforms

Now that we’ve looked at the limitations of some of the most sought after lead generation channels and techniques leveraged by service providers, it is about time we weighed in on one other option that’s possibly the most balanced approach of the lot.

Partnering with a property management platform!

Some of the most notable advantages of leveraging a property management platform are:

• You can easily grow your earnings by as much as 30% with such a platform. This is especially true because the right property management platform will take care of all your administrative tasks such as submitting proposals, bids, handling client interactions, etc. Not only will this streamline your business operations, but it will also keep business flowing your way.
• A property management platform will not only take care of all your bureaucratic tasks, but it will also act as an effective marketing channel and boost the exposure of your business.
• The majority of property management platforms today embed online payment features. This increases convenience for both you and your customers since you can essentially choose the mode of payment that works best for you.
• When you partner with a property management platform, there is a higher probability that you will have repeated clients. This presents you with an opportunity to furnish the best possible service and in time, build a loyal customer base. Happy customers will spread the word of your business faster than any other marketing channel and get you greater exposure.
• A property management software solution also acts as a lead nurturing channel since the responsibility of keeping leads engaged is no more your headache.
• You get to work as per your timing. Flexible shifts enable you to increase your income and earn even during non peak hours. It presents you with a constant stream of income without having to worry about dry periods because of their extensive client base.

The benefits mentioned above are only the tip of the iceberg. There are many other ways in which a property management platform can help you generate more leads and income as a service provider.

To know more, get in touch with us at Tirios - the one-step solution for streamlining property management for single family rentals. We will be happy to guide you with the smallest of queries and help you become a better provider!

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