What Does Leads Mean in Marketing and How to Get Them

Let’s be honest: if you’ve ever tried to grow a business, you know the thrill (and sometimes agony) of chasing down new customers. I still remember my early days in SaaS, where “lead generation” sounded like some mystical art reserved for marketing wizards. Fast forward to today, and I’ve seen firsthand—at Thunderbit and beyond—how understanding leads in marketing is the difference between a sales pipeline that’s humming and one that’s, well, a little dusty.

But here’s the kicker: even though over 60% of marketers say generating leads is their biggest challenge (), the companies that get lead generation right see 5 to 8 times higher ROI (). So, what exactly are leads in marketing? Why do they matter so much? And how do you actually get business leads—especially in a world where AI tools like are changing the game? Let’s break it all down, step by step, with a few stories, some hard data, and plenty of practical tips.

What Are Leads in Marketing? Your Guide to Business Leads

Let’s start with the basics. In the world of marketing, a lead is simply a potential customer who’s shown some level of interest in your product or service. Maybe they filled out a form to download your ebook, signed up for a webinar, or just handed over their email for a discount code. In other words, they’ve raised their hand and said, “Hey, I’m curious!”

But not all leads are created equal. In my experience, there’s a big difference between someone who’s just poking around your website (maybe looking for cat memes—hey, we’ve all been there) and someone who’s actually ready to talk business.

Here’s how I like to think about it:

• Business Leads: Anyone who’s expressed interest in your brand, product, or service. This is the broadest category.
• Marketing Leads: Folks at the top or middle of your funnel. They’re still learning, maybe downloading a guide or subscribing to your newsletter. They’re not ready for a sales pitch—yet.
• Sales Leads: These are the hot potatoes. They’ve shown clear buying intent—like requesting a demo or asking for pricing. Time to pass them to your sales team.

In short, leads are the starting point of the lead generation process. They’re the people who could become your next customers—if you play your cards right ().

Types of Leads: From Curious Clicks to Sales-Ready Prospects

Not every lead is ready to buy right now. (If only it were that easy, right?) That’s why marketers break leads into three main types, depending on where they are in the buyer’s journey:

Think of it like dating: IQLs are just getting to know you, MQLs are considering a second date, and SQLs are ready to meet the parents (or at least talk price).

Why does this matter? Because 79% of marketing leads never convert to sales—mostly because they weren’t properly qualified or nurtured (). If you treat every lead the same, you’re bound to waste time (and annoy a few people along the way).

Why Leads Marketing Matters for Business Growth

Let’s get real: leads are the lifeblood of your business. Without a steady stream of qualified leads, your sales team is basically fishing in an empty pond.

Here’s why leads marketing is so crucial:

• More Qualified Leads = More Sales Opportunities: Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost ().
• Bigger Deals: Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads ().
• Better ROI: Businesses using data-driven lead strategies see 5-8x higher ROI ().
• Solves the #1 Marketing Challenge: Over 60% of marketers say getting leads is their biggest hurdle ().

Practical Scenarios Where Lead Generation Makes a Difference:

Bottom line: if you want to grow, you need a reliable process for attracting, qualifying, and nurturing leads.

How to Get Business Leads: Proven Lead Generation Strategies

Now for the million-dollar question: How do you actually get more business leads? (And no, the answer isn’t “just buy a bigger email list”—please don’t do that.)

Here are the channels I’ve seen work best, both for Thunderbit and for teams I’ve advised:

Content Marketing for Lead Generation

Content is king, but only if it’s actually helpful. 74% of marketers say content marketing has helped generate more demand and leads (). The trick? Create resources your audience actually wants—think blog posts, ebooks, webinars, or even a good old-fashioned checklist.

Examples:

• A SaaS company publishes a “2025 Guide to AI Automation” and gates it behind a form.
• A real estate agent hosts a webinar on “How to Buy Your First Home.”
• An ecommerce brand offers a downloadable style guide in exchange for an email.

The best content doesn’t just attract leads—it educates and nurtures them, moving them from IQL to MQL and beyond.

Email Marketing Lead Generation Tactics

Email is the classic workhorse of lead generation. For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $42 (). That’s a better return than my last attempt at day trading—don’t ask.

How to do it right:

• Use opt-in forms and lead magnets (like discounts or free guides) to build your list.
• Segment your list by interest, behavior, or lifecycle stage.
• Send regular newsletters, drip campaigns, and personalized offers.

Best Practices:

• Personalize emails (even just using someone’s name can boost open rates).
• Time your sends—mid-week mornings often work best ().
• Always provide value—don’t just sell, educate.

Social Media and Event-Based Lead Generation

Social media isn’t just for memes and cat videos (though I do appreciate a good meme). Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram are powerful for building awareness and capturing leads.

• LinkedIn: Especially for B2B, it’s a goldmine. 89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for lead generation ().
• Lead Gen Forms: Use built-in tools to capture info without users leaving the app.
• Events: Webinars, workshops, and trade shows are still fantastic for high-intent leads. 80% of marketers hosted live events in 2022 ().

Tips:

• Offer something valuable (exclusive content, a free consult, a giveaway).
• Follow up quickly with everyone who engages or registers.

Affiliate and Referral Programs

Don’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. 46% of marketers say affiliate/partner marketing delivers the highest ROI for lead generation (). Set up a referral program where happy customers or partners can send new leads your way in exchange for a reward.

The Lead Generation Process: Step-by-Step Overview

Let’s map out the typical lead generation process—because winging it is not a strategy (trust me, I’ve tried).

1. Attract: Use content, SEO, ads, and social to get visitors to your site or landing page ().
2. Capture: Offer something valuable (lead magnet) in exchange for contact info. Use forms, pop-ups, or chatbots.
3. Nurture: Build the relationship. Send educational emails, invite to webinars, share case studies.
4. Qualify: Score leads based on behavior and fit. Segment them for targeted follow-up ().
5. Convert: Sales reaches out to SQLs, demos the product, and (hopefully) closes the deal ().
6. Delight: Post-sale, keep nurturing for upsells, referrals, and repeat business.

Pro tip: Use lead scoring and segmentation to focus your efforts where they’ll have the most impact. And always, always follow up quickly—contacting a new lead within 30 seconds can boost conversion by nearly 90% ().

Modern Tools for Lead Generation: How Thunderbit Supercharges Your Marketing

Now, let’s talk about how technology—especially AI—can make all of this a whole lot easier. (Yes, this is where I get to geek out about Thunderbit.)

Why Thunderbit?

I co-founded because I saw how much time marketing teams were wasting on manual data collection. Copy-pasting leads from directories, scraping LinkedIn profiles by hand, or wrangling with code-based scrapers that break every time a website changes its layout—it’s enough to make anyone want to run for the hills.

Thunderbit is an AI-powered, no-code web scraper built for marketers and sales teams. Here’s what sets it apart:

• No-Code, 2-Click Setup: Just click “AI Suggest Fields,” let Thunderbit read the site, and click “Scrape.” That’s it. No coding, no headaches. (You can .)
• Batch Scraping: Scrape thousands of pages or records at once. Perfect for building big lead lists fast.
• Subpage Navigation: Need to grab contact info from profile pages or event attendee lists? Thunderbit can automatically visit each subpage and pull the data you need.
• Data Enrichment: Not just scraping—Thunderbit can clean, format, tag, translate, and summarize data as it goes.
• Prebuilt Templates: For popular sites like LinkedIn, event pages, or ecommerce directories, just pick a template and go.
• Multi-Language Support: Scrape and process data in 34 languages.
• Easy Export: Send your leads straight to Excel, Google Sheets, Airtable, or Notion with one click.

Thunderbit Use Cases for Marketing Teams

Here’s how I’ve seen Thunderbit used in the wild:

• Email Marketing: Scrape names, emails, job titles, and company info from directories or LinkedIn-like platforms. Build targeted lists for your next campaign.
• SEO Planning: Extract keyword-rich content, meta descriptions, and titles from top-ranking competitor pages. Plan your own content to attract inbound leads.
• Event Marketing: Pull attendee names, emails, job titles, and company info from event landing pages. Follow up with personalized offers right after the event.
• Data Enrichment: Already have a list of leads? Use Thunderbit’s to enrich them with up-to-date contact info, emails, and more.
• Market Research: Scrape pricing, product details, or reviews from ecommerce sites to inform your go-to-market strategy.
• Real Estate Prospecting: Pull property listings, agent contacts, and price data from real estate portals for targeted outreach.
• Recruiting: Build lists of candidates from job boards or professional directories.

And honestly, that’s just scratching the surface. If you can see it on a website, Thunderbit can probably help you turn it into structured, actionable data.

Comparing Traditional vs. AI-Powered Lead Generation Tools

Let’s put Thunderbit side-by-side with the old-school ways of gathering leads:

Bottom line: Thunderbit gives you the scale and speed of big-data tools, without the technical headaches or the need for an army of interns (). It’s like having a research assistant who never sleeps (and doesn’t complain about coffee breaks).

Lead Generation Best Practices: Tips for More Sales Leads

After years in SaaS and marketing, here are my go-to tips for generating more (and better) leads:

1. Prioritize Quality Over Quantity: Use lead scoring and segmentation to focus on the leads most likely to convert (). It’s better to have 50 solid leads than 500 tire-kickers.
2. Respond Quickly: Speed matters—a lot. Contact new leads as soon as possible. Even a quick “thanks for reaching out!” can make a huge difference ().
3. Offer Value at Every Stage: Make sure every touchpoint—email, ad, webinar—gives your leads something useful.
4. Use Multi-Channel Outreach: Don’t rely on just one channel. Mix email, social, events, and even direct mail for high-value prospects.
5. Optimize and Iterate: Track your metrics, A/B test your campaigns, and keep refining your approach.
6. Avoid Hard Sells Too Soon: Don’t push for a sale on the first touch. Build the relationship first ().
7. Stay Compliant: Always get proper consent for communications. Respect opt-outs and privacy laws.

Key Takeaways: Building a Strong Business Leads Pipeline

Let’s wrap up with the big picture:

• Leads in marketing are potential customers who’ve shown interest. They come in all shapes and sizes—from IQLs to SQLs.
• Lead generation is a process, not a one-off campaign. Attract, capture, nurture, qualify, convert, and delight.
• Modern tools like Thunderbit can save you hours (or weeks) by automating data collection, enrichment, and export—no coding required.
• Best practices matter: focus on quality, respond fast, provide value, use multiple channels, and keep optimizing.

If you’re looking to level up your lead generation, start by evaluating your current funnel. Where are the bottlenecks? Are your sales reps spending too much time researching leads? Are you following up fast enough? Pick one or two areas to improve, and try out some of the strategies from this guide.

And if you’re tired of manual data collection (or just want to see what Thunderbit can do), . We built it to make marketers’ lives easier—because I’ve been there, and I know how much time you can save with the right tools.

Remember: lead generation is a journey, not a sprint. Stay curious, keep testing, and you’ll build a pipeline that keeps your business growing—one happy customer at a time.

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