If a client can’t understand what you do, they won’t buy your product, service, or free “lead magnet.” Unfortunately, marketing terms can be overwhelming and are especially daunting for people new to marketing. So, I translated five marketing terms into plain English, served with just a dash of salt.
Marketing words defined in a non-marketing way
Leads
Potential customers are often called leads. Likewise, they are people interested in a service or product.
To complicate things there are also warm and cold leads. Warm leads are interested while cold leads are disengaged. Warm leads have already had contact with a business either directly or through advertising. Cold leads are people who haven’t shown any interest in what a business is offering and are considered at “the top of the sales funnel.”
Used in a sentence: I got so many new leads from the networking event I went to last week!
Lead generation
Lead generation means finding potential customers. This includes any action that attracts clients to a business. Social media, email marketing, blogs and good SEO can all be methods of lead generation.
Used in a sentence: I’m really struggling with lead generation so I hired a copywriter to optimize my website.
Used in another sentence: Our CEO posted a picture of her dog to the company Instagram and it generated so many leads!
Lead magnet
A lead magnet is a product or service that introduces people to a business. Common examples include eBooks, free webinars, and short courses.
The easiest way to understand lead magnets is to think of food samples. People try the food and like it, so they come back to buy it.
Point of confusion: Sometimes people talk about writing a lead magnet in the context of email marketing. In this case, they mean emails that often get leads. If you are working with someone and think there is a misunderstanding , ask for clarification. For example, “you mentioned you want me to write you a lead magnet. What deliverables are you expecting with that?”
Used in a sentence: I just published my eBook and it was a great lead magnet, I have so many new customers!
Sales funnel
“What the heck is a sales funnel? I just want customers.”
A sales funnel takes people from being interested to being customers. Variations include “lead generation funnel,” “marketing funnel,” “conversion funnel” and, simply, “funnel.”
It takes from seven to 13+ interactions for someone to make a purchase (source). That’s where the sales funnel comes in. People start at the top as leads and work their way down the funnel, called “lead nurturing,” before they buy a product, called “converting.”
For example, John sees an ad on Instagram and is interested but clicks away. Now he’s a lead at the top of the funnel. Later that day, he sees a personality quiz for the same product and takes it. Because of the quiz (a lead magnet) he begins getting the company’s newsletter. Still, he’s not sure he wants the product. Over the next week he sees the product on social media and slowly becomes more interested. Finally, he gets an email with a coupon and buys the product, coming to the bottom of the funnel.
You might also hear terms like “top of the funnel” or “bottom of the funnel.” This refers to how close people are to making a purchase. Some versions of the funnel also include a very bottom part called “loyalty” for people who make multiple purchases.
Used in a sentence: A client starts at the top of the sales funnel as a lead but my favorite part is when they get to the bottom and convert to a loyal customer!
Conversions
Your business may not be a cult, but you convert people - into paying customers! For whatever reason, this term was developed to make “sales” feel fancy. At it's core, it just means making a sale.
To complicate things, it can be used as a noun, verb and probably everything in between. When said as “converting” it means turning into a paying customer. But, it can also be used as “conversions'' to mean sales.
Used in a sentence: Someone requested a sample of my work and talked like they were going to make a purchase but never ended up converting! So annoying!
Used in another sentence: You need to work on your website copy so you get more conversions (sales).
5 marketing terms oversimplified
Too long, didn’t read? Many of these terms have important nuances but here’s the oversimplified version.
Leads - potential customers
Lead generation - finding potential customers
Lead magnet - items to attract customers (newsletters, eBooks, quizzes, etc.)
Sales funnel - the process of taking someone from interested to paying customer
Conversions - sales, making a sale or turning someone into a paying customer
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