Minneapolis-based LeadPages, a lead generation platform, has raised $27 million in a recent Series B funding round led by Drive Capital, with Foundry Group and Arthur Ventures also participating.
LeadPages has raised $38 million in total funding since it commenced operations in January 2013. It now plans to expand its engineering and enterprise sales teams, as well as acquire two or three companies in the next year, the company reports.
With a client base of 35,000 companies based around the globe, LeadPages focuses on offering a wide variety of lead-generating solutions, such as a new landing-page creation tool, as well as Web forms and SMS-based campaigns, among other things.
With the debut of its new landing-page creation tool, LeadPages is taking on more established players in this growing niche, including Unbounce and Optimize Press. However, the company believes its wider product offering gives it a leg up on the competition.
Then, there is the funding round, which is unheard of for companies in this space.
“We are the largest company and the best funded” in the lead-generation sector, Clay Collins, CEO and co-founder, said in an interview with Small Business Trends.
The company differentiates itself based on the variety of digital marketing tools it offers its clients in their quest to ignite engagement with the reader and thereby increase conversion rates.
LeadPages is the only company that allows its customers to generate leads via so many different channels: Web pages, email, social media and SMS text messaging.
“Our mission is to power the number of digital signups,” he said, referring to the various engagement tools the company has on hand. To tap the widest potential audience for its clients, the company offers multiple touchpoints between potential customers and the client’s online offerings.
“We use text messages, signups by a link in an email. We’re about enabling those signups to happen in a multichannel fashion,” Collins explained.
“The more signup events and channels, the better” the client’s success rate.
The company’s primary customers are small businesses “where the value of a lead is very high,” Collins said, adding that this category includes attorneys, cosmetic surgeons, real estate agents and insurance brokers.
One secondary category includes “professional experts—consultants, coaches and others – people who sell their knowledge, ebook courses from their own website.” The category also includes “professional content makers: bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, people looking to amass an audience.”
LeadPages has seen a huge uptick in interest from marketing agencies and franchise owners, Collins noted.
By offering such a wide variety of potential touchpoints, LeadPages’ assortment includes something for just about every kind of conceivable web presence in terms of fueling engagement with its particular audience.
“If you’re a podcaster, people often listen to podcasts while they are driving. Asking them to go to a landing page with a long URL is difficult. Allowing people to text the link is easier,” meaning the podcaster will see better engagement via the text messaging function.
For online companies building a long list of email addresses of potential customers is a definite asset. “When you have email addresses you own those email address,” Collins noted, as opposed to building followers on social media. “That is a tangible resource you can control that you don’t need to pay to get access to. The real asset to your business is your email list.
“If you have something on the side of your blog and you offer x amount of options and you do a webinar and a free online course people can opt for,you should offer as many opt in offers as you can.”
In terms of the fees it charges, Collins said the amount is based on the support level. The more support, the higher the fee. Also, a factor is the number of channels a client wants access to.
The LeadPages platform offers solutions for holding a variety of customer-interaction events, such as compelling readers to sign up for a webinar, download a free whitepaper, purchase products and services, or simply to offer their names and contact information.
Customers can capture data on every interaction driven by LeadPages, which can also be sent to several online platforms, including Salesforce, Mailchimp, and HubSpot.
Image: LeadPages/YouTube
Aira Bongco
Landing pages are essential for businesses. More than capturing the attention, it should display all you have to offer in a single page and direct the viewer on what he or she should do. The funding shows how vital these pages are to businesses.