Do you know what really works when it comes to B2B lead generation? In this blog, we’ll break it. But before we do that, let’s discuss some basic concepts to understand B2B lead generation strategies better.
What is a lead?
People that have been recognized as potential customers for your business are referred to as leads. A lead is any person who expresses interest in a company’s product or service.
Consumers go through a lifecycle as they convert from visitor to customer, and leads are part of that. No two leads are created equal; nor are they qualified the same.
There are various types of leads depending on how they are qualified and where they are in the sales cycle. Take a look below:
What is B2B lead generation?
B2B lead generation is the process of drawing businesses in by getting them interested in what you have to. It may include collecting potential customer’s information such as name, email, job title, and more. This information is then used to target them with ad campaigns and sales pitches.
Check out this video for a quick breakdown:
Implementing B2B strategies is not easy. Not only do you have to find a way to attract customers but you also have to sift through a barrage of information to figure out what is relevant and reliable and what is not.
Why is B2B lead generation important?
B2B lead generation is critical to a company’s success
If you really want to generate leads in an era where consumers are well aware, you will have to put in a lot of hard work. That’s why B2B lead generation strategies are important, they help you get more leads and sales.
How does B2B lead generation work?
The middle of the sales funnel is lead generation, it happens after you’ve drawn in an audience.
This stage aims to move prospects through the funnel to the final sale. Figuring out how to obtain B2B sales leads is only a part of the puzzle The main three steps of a B2B lead generation process include
i. Find potential buyers who are facing a problem that your product or service can solve
ii. Show them how can your product or service help them
iii. Successfully convince them into buying
Before trying any lead generation strategy, always keep in mind that it might take some trial and error before you get the right strategy for your business. What seems to be working for other businesses may not work for yours.
Knowing your target audience is essential so you don’t waste time and money promoting to those who aren’t interested in your business. Advertising or creating content for your target market, on the other hand, will help raise brand awareness, which will have a knock-on effect on your lead-generating capabilities.
Furthermore, having a well-designed, interesting website that is mobile-friendly for your leads to visit has become increasingly important, and this is a crucial component of lead generation.
The design and feel of your website will influence how a potential customer perceives your company. Other than design, video also plays a role in keeping viewers on your website.
Related: Tips for Creating a Successful Video Landing Page
Now, let’s talk about some B2B lead generation strategies.
1. Content marketing
Content marketing is an effective strategy for businesses that can demonstrate their expertise through articles, videos, images, and other forms of content. To implement content marketing successfully, you’ll need to do some research. But here’s what you’ll need to figure out before you get started:
i. Understand your audience
ii. Figure out what type of content your target audience wants
iii. Set a tone of voice
iv. Work on SEO
v. Always think of how you can provide value
Here are some content marketing tips from Moz to help you get started.
2. Email marketing
The number of global e-mail users reached four billion in 2020. That’s a large reachable audience. However, the same audience is already drowning in a sea of spammy marketing emails. So to attract people, you must begin thinking strategically.
Here are a few things to consider:
Knowing your prospects and then segmenting them into lists is the most important initial step for email marketing for B2B lead generation.
You can segment your audience by industry or vertical, region, company size, and other characteristics that are relevant to you.
Keep the title short and relevant. Your open rate depends on it, so hire a good copywriter to get the job done.
State the purpose clearly. B2B prospects are usually well-informed and have limited time to peruse emails. So be honest and don’t beat around the bush.
Avoid typos and clickbait. Using clickbait may make your email look like spam and typos can make it lose credibility.
And last but not the least, add a compelling CTA.
Related: Complete Guide to Using Video in Email Marketing
3. Implement Pay Per Click (PPC)
You can generate leads within your target audience with the correct PPC advertising. However, many B2B companies with niche offerings may find it difficult to get people interested compared to B2C companies.
For B2B companies, the sales cycle is also much longer. But through organic search, PPC advertising can help speed up the process of bringing in relevant, high-quality leads.
Keyword research is a very important part of PPC. For this, you might want to consider putting yourself in your prospects’ shoes.
Come up with keywords that are relevant to your products and services, as well as how your target audience might use them in search searches.
After you’ve created a relevant keyword list, it’s time to start organizing them into campaigns and ad groups. Usually, a campaign is made up of several different ad groups. You must be really clear on which ad goes in which campaign.
It’s important that the landing page for PPC ads that are meant to create new leads is focused on collecting email addresses and contact information rather than marketing a product or service.
Let’s say you’re a B2B manufacturing company looking for a content analytics tool. You conduct a Google search for “content analytics platform” and select the first result. Before making a purchase, you’ll probably want to do some preliminary research on the company. To learn more, you might wish to sign up for a free trial or contact a sales representative. In this case, it’s critical that your landing page makes it simple for the consumer to fill out a contact form and learn more about your company.
4. Make it easier to book a demo
The product demo is the most important part of a B2B company’s sales process. It’s a chance to show a potential buyer how valuable your product is.
Close rates are dramatically slowed by poorly executed demos. However, they can be quite effective and are capable of turning tables if done right.
Reduce friction as much as possible to stand out to your leads. Make your website and demo option simple for prospects to use it.
5. Case studies to encourage purchases/sales
Case studies are a great way to establish proof that what you are offering has good quality and value. People would be interested in knowing what your product or service offers and if it has what they are looking for. There are different ways you can implement case studies on your website to attract leads. Some of these ways include
i. Have a separate case studies page
ii. Implement case studies on the home page
iii. Come up with blog posts for your case studies
iv. Make videos out of case studies
Here’s one by Winnow:
6. Use YouTube for lead generation
According to our latest video marketing statistics report, YouTube is the number one platform for sharing videos. 68% of people picked YouTube as their favorite platform for watching videos.
There is no doubt that YouTube is very powerful but how do we use it for lead generation? Well here are some things you should work on:
i. Target the right keyword: make sure the topic you are choosing is worth making a video about and relevant to what you are offering
ii. Optimize your YouTube videos: optimizing on YouTube is a simple process. Fill your ‘about’ section, add relevant keywords in your title and description, insert a compelling thumbnail, and add closed captions. You can also add a URL to your website in the about section.
iii. Add a CTA in your videos: the internet can be very distracting, don’t expect your viewers to visit your website all the time.
Read more: 50 YouTube Video Ideas for Your Business
7. Perform market research to inform your audience
Market research is important to improve your lead generation strategy. It highlights business opportunities and challenges and also helps you make improvements to current processes/strategies and design new ones. It’s why big companies invest in R&D. Understanding what people want and anticipate is critical.
8. Host webinars
During the pandemic, webinars and other forms of the online video became very popular. And many people found out how effective webinar marketing can be for lead gen as well.
A business leader can utilize webinars to discuss industry concerns to highlight the benefits of a service or advertised product.
Webinars are a very cost-effective way to reach your target audience and they offer:
- Convenience
- Wider audience reach
- Interactivity
Here are some tips on generating leads using webinars:
9. Use videos for better engagement
There is no doubt that video content is leading in this fast-paced world. Video has become an essential tool for all marketers and advertisers. Video grabs attention on social media. In a recent survey, we found out that 59% of consumers spend a quarter or more of their time on social media watching videos.
One of the most important things in lead generation, and marketing in general, is trust between consumers and business. Video is widely used to build it.
Here are two main ways you can implement video on your website:
- Include video on a landing page with a form
- Gather leads within the video player
According to a survey by MotionCue, 62% of people found a landing page with video content more interesting than the one without.
When it comes to videos for lead generation, you can use different types depending on the context.
One of the most commonly used is the explainer video.
Explainers are short marketing videos that explain a company’s product or service in a minute or two (sometimes even less). Generally, these are 2D or 3D animated videos.
Here’s an example of an explainer video we made for one of our clients. Just goes to show how B2B content doesn’t have to be boring:
If you liked the video and want one for your business, get in touch. We’d love to brainstorm ideas.
Want a video for your business?
Read more: 12 Video Marketing Examples to Inspire Your Next Video
10. B2B podcasts
You might not have expected podcasts to be on the list, but B2B podcasts can be great at grabbing new leads if you have high-quality content and the right strategy.
Podcasts are trending and you shouldn’t miss out. They can help you build a loyal follower base and increase brand awareness.
Here are three types of podcasts that are widely used:
We’ve experimented with podcasts, too. Here’s one where we talk about how businesses can take advantage of video!
11. Effective CTAs/ relevant CTAs
A call to action (CTA) is a statement or directive intended to get quick action from the person reading it. CTAs benefit both the potential customer and the advertiser.
They’re usually seen at the end of a sales pitch to let a person know what they should do next if they’re interested in the offer.
Because CTAs are so important for generating leads, you’ll want to include them on your high-traffic website pages. You can find some more places for them like on blog posts and in your videos, too.
12. Conduct surveys
A simple survey with the correct questions could give you the answers you are looking for. There are several ways to attract leads with B2B surveys. The following key actions may help you with lead generation:
- Identify marketing qualified leads (MQLs)
- Improve content strategy
- Have an insight into buying readiness
- Eliminate pain points
- Provide incentives
Your survey is likely to be one of several marketing messages your audience receives every other week. So with so much noise, how do you break through the clutter and get them to not just pay attention to but also fill your survey? Here are some tips
- Be polite with the main message. For instance, “we want to know what you think about it” instead of “fill this form”
- Don’t waste time. Keep the survey relevant and to the point.
- If possible, offer discounts, gift cards, etc. You can attract more leads if you offer them something.
13. Importance of optimization
Optimizing your landing page is one of the simplest ways to generate more leads.
The first thing visitors see when they visit your website is your landing page. If they don’t think it’s interesting, they’ll leave.
As a result, landing page optimization is something you should pay attention to. Here are some tips you should keep in mind for your landing page to be effective:
i. Write compelling headlines
ii. Easy navigation
iii. Limited CTAs
iv. Responsive page design
v. Fast loading speed
vi. Add video to engage visitors
Watch this video for more details:
Wrap up
It may seem tricky to generate leads, especially in the B2B industry, but it’s not impossible.
The goal is to develop a plan that works for you, and in most situations, content is at the heart of an effective lead generation.
It all boils down to knowing your target market and connecting with them in a way that makes them realize that you have the solutions they’ve been looking for.
We have explained some popular lead generation strategies to give you a head start. Now get out there and put them to work!
