We can classify a lead as any person or company that shows interest in your service, product or content. It is a potential client, which needs to be worked on within the sales funnel to actually become a customer. To understand more deeply about what leads are and how to turn them into customers, we must also understand how we relate to them through Inbound Marketing.
It is not enough to understand the profile of a certain target audience. It is necessary to go further in strategies and decision-making that involve capturing, managing and converting leads. These strategies must be based on the study of people’s behavior, the market and your own institution. While many understand that to attract leads It is necessary to change the entire personality of your educational institution, what actually brings positive results is the way in which institutions show their value.
That is why it is important to know the concepts and definitions of digital marketing, clearly structuring the relationship between “the organization and people''. This entire relationship to be built will directly influence the development of a suitable sales funnel, who knows the path that the lead takes, until becoming a student.
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What are leads?
When one client or consumer, interested in consuming products from a certain brand, provides their contact details, becoming your lead. In other words, leads are potential customers who show interest in a specific product or service from a company.
In addition to traditional formats, the use of short videos and interactive visual content has gained prominence in content marketing strategies. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels have been used to create engaging narratives that resonate with young audiences, facilitating the dissemination of information about courses and institutional differentials in an attractive and shareable way.
The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools has become a significant trend in educational marketing. AI allows for personalized communication with leads, automated nurturing processes, and predictive purchasing behaviors, optimizing the student journey from first contact to enrollment.
Tools such as intelligent chatbots and predictive analytics systems have been widely adopted by educational institutions to improve user experience and increase conversion rates.
It is common to have doubts regarding the definition of leads and prospects. So let's clarify! While prospects remain at the beginning of their search for information and have not yet identified the need to purchase, leads show interest in consumption and fit within your buyer profile. That's simple.
To summarize, within the action scenario of inbound marketing and Educational Marketing, leads are pre-university students who are in the process of deciding on a course or university. When well managed, they are strong candidates for your educational institution.
The importance of generating leads
Lead generation offers real and tangible opportunities for a considerable increase in enrollment numbers. This is because relationship management in decision funnel is a mandatory subject for every manager who seeks to develop relevant work in the digital environment. This relationship occurs through the intelligent management of leads and their movement from content channels to your classroom.
Working with relevant content is an excellent way to optimize student acquisition with inbound marketing. Whether through infographics, streaming videos, gamification or even webinars, all of this contributes to the lead reaching you. With the lead in hand, it’s time to understand why the sales funnel stage.
The sales funnel
To facilitate our understanding of the sales funnel, we must understand that it is not just a step visualization model. In fact, the sales funnel is a strategic model that, through the construction of stages, reveals the customer's journey, from the first contact with the product brand to the purchase phase. It is the simplified design of the path a prospect takes to become a lead, and what a lead does to become a customer.
When we think about the path that students take until their graduation day, we often don't imagine how many stages and processes of information, reflection and decision-making they have gone through. It all starts much earlier, when they understand that in the 3rd year of high school they must make a decision and choose a course at an institution if they want to enter university. The dialogue between educational institutions and students must start there. This is why many colleges offer high school and technical courses. These institutions aim to capture attention and generate a relationship with their “future university”, from then on.
But how does this work in Inbound Marketing and applies to the sales funnel?
The entire journey that this student takes online, before, during and after the purchase, is related to the steps defined in the funnel. These steps are important so that you understand the needs of your potential customers and develop good attraction strategies. In this journey, at each stage, an action must be defined for the customer to move on to the next one. And it doesn't end at graduation. After all, we want him to start his postgraduate, master's and doctorate studies, right?
Read too:
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- What is link building? Learn how to make it successful;
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Funnel steps
To know the stages of the funnel It's super important. There are strategists who divide the funnel into 5 or 7 phases, depending on the business and its target audience. To simplify, the sales funnel is commonly divided into 3 main stages:
- TOPO: It is the knowledge stage, in which the person did not know what their needs were and, only upon contact with its content, begins to reflect on whether or not to purchase your product. It's the ideal time to show yourself relevant.
- QUITE: In the middle of the funnel, the person understands that they have a problem that needs to be solved and then begins to consider a solution. At this point you must position yourself as a solver.
- BOTTOM: At this stage of the funnel, the lead realizes that they cannot solve the problem they identified on their own. This is when you must show yourself as the best option.
How to set up a suitable sales funnel
The main focus is to move the potential customer towards purchase. Never lose sight of this. To help you with this, we’ve put together some best practices for building your sales funnel:
1 - Knowledge is everything
Start at the top of the funnel and understand why your institution was, is or could be relevant to the lead at this stage. Knowing how users experience your content for the first time is a key point. In short, the ideal is to know your leads, your content and your brand well!
2 – Be objective
Have a well-defined objective in your strategy. Many sales are lost because managers get lost in the flow of information and saturate the lead with what they don't need. Whatever you understand to be solving the problem of those who consume your content, must always come first.
Caption: Understanding the funnel: team analyzes strategies to attract, nurture and convert leads efficiently.
3 – Don’t be in a hurry
Sometimes the purchasing journey can take longer than expected. No problem. Of course, a faster purchase journey can help you if you need a faster inbound flow. However, having patience to build a trusting relationship is the best thing to do.
Rushing the lead through the funnel because you are in a hurry can be quite a strategy to break the solidity of your conversions. Build steps that work at the correct speed and you won't have a headache.
Monitoring and analyzing key metrics has become essential for the success of educational marketing strategies. Indicators such as conversion rate, cost per lead, campaign engagement, and return on investment (ROI) provide valuable insights to adjust actions and maximize results. Adopting a data-driven culture allows for more informed and effective decisions in student recruitment and retention.
It is essential that marketing strategies are aligned with the institution's pedagogical proposal. Authentic communication that is consistent with the institution's values and culture strengthens the trust of potential students and contributes to a more solid and satisfactory decision-making process. This alignment is crucial to avoid dissonances between the expectations created by marketing and the reality experienced by students.
Conversational marketing, through chatbots and virtual assistants, has established itself as an effective tool for engaging leads in real time. These technologies allow for personalized interactions, answering immediate questions and guiding potential students throughout their journey, increasing the chances of conversion and improving the user experience.
Summary: Lead generation and conversion in educational marketing demand a well-structured funnel and strategies aligned with student behavior. With relevant content, automation, chatbots, and data analysis, institutions can effectively attract, nurture, and engage prospects, reducing costs and strengthening the journey to enrollment — and beyond.
How to generate and nurture leads with funnel strategies?
What is a lead in educational marketing?
Leads are prospective students who have shown interest in an institution’s courses or services, usually by providing contact information. Unlike prospects, they fit the buyer profile and are closer to making a decision.
Why is lead generation essential for educational institutions?
Generating leads increases enrollment potential, nurtures student relationships with data-driven strategies, and guides them through the decision journey efficiently and cost-effectively.
How does the sales funnel help with student acquisition?
The funnel maps the lead’s journey from first contact to enrollment, helping institutions identify the student’s stage and apply targeted actions at each step.
What are the three main stages of the sales funnel?
Top (problem discovery), middle (solution consideration), and bottom (purchase decision). Each stage requires specific content and strategies to guide the lead toward enrollment.
How to build an effective sales funnel for your institution?
Start by understanding lead behavior (awareness), focus on delivering your solution (objectivity), and respect the student’s timing for decision-making (buying journey).
How does conversational marketing support conversion?
Chatbots and virtual assistants engage leads in real-time, answer questions, and guide them through the funnel, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
What role does data analysis play in lead nurturing?
Metrics like conversion rate, cost per lead, and ROI offer valuable insights to refine strategies, address bottlenecks, and personalize actions for better results.
Why is it crucial to align marketing with your academic mission?
Coherent communication that reflects the institution’s values builds trust with leads, reducing disconnects and supporting a more meaningful and satisfying student journey.
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