Lead generation can be one of the most crucial elements in any B2B business, but it can also be very tricky to get right. To generate leads, you need to identify and reach out to your target audience and persuade them that your products or services are perfect for them – and this isn’t always easy! Read on to discover seven different B2B online lead generation tactics that really work, so you can increase the chances of converting your leads into paying customers and growing your business.
1. Consistent Blogging Program
If a company wants to build a successful blogging program, they need to have a content strategy that provides its readers with useful information and makes them want to visit its site on a regular basis. Most companies begin with four key ingredients that help grow traffic:
- Consistent publishing schedule
- Quality content
- Strategic promotion
- Data-driven analysis
Choosing what to write about for your company’s blogs can be one of the most challenging steps in maintaining a successful program. Make sure you pick topics that you know will interest your target audience and include trending topics, as well as industry-specific news.
Remember to include clear calls to action within your posts so your readers know what they should do next after reading them. Include an email signup form at the end of each post if possible so you can capture those readers who might not buy from you now but are interested in getting information from you down the road.
All this should be logged in a 6-12 month editorial calendar which becomes the focal point for all content creation and distribution. This should also be coordinated with the company’s general marketing calendar to make sure content topics match events, product introductions and other important company activities occurring at the time of content distribution.
2. Informative Monthly eNewsletter
One way to create a successful online marketing campaign is to utilize newsletters. In fact, many marketers look for ways to increase conversions via an email blast that reaches past customers and gathers new sets of leads. By making your email communications useful and interesting, you can generate qualified leads as well as build brand loyalty.
Newsletters are one of the most effective tools in any marketer’s arsenal as they provide multiple benefits such as:
- Extended engagement with existing clients
- Introducing products and services to prospects
- New lead generation
The easiest way to make your newsletter more effective is to keep it short, but make sure it gives a description and link to information that interests your readers. Remember that your subscribers are busy people and don’t want to spend too much time reading. Instead, give them valuable information and a call-to-action that they can respond to quickly, such as a coupon code or link.
Never use more than one paragraph to focus on the benefits and features of your products or services. Rather concentrate on customer challenges and important industry-related content which has a clear benefit for your readers whether they select your product or not.
3. Landing Page Automation & Optimization
Landing page automation is used to optimize your landing pages according to the requirements of individual visitors. This includes which search terms, email blasts, social media shares and blog post links brought them to your landing page. Each visitor is served the content which best matches this and other criteria. This is what is referred to as landing page automation or smart content.
When it comes to Landing page optimization, it's all about testing and tweaking your landing pages to improve conversion rates for each of the automated pages.
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) seeks to understand how different aspects of a landing page impact conversions by doing A/B testing, funnel analysis, heat mapping, click tracking and other tests that help you find the most effective way to drive conversions. The ultimate goal of CRO is to make sure your lead generation activities are getting as many qualified leads as possible.
4. Live Chat & Chatbots
Live chat helps B2B companies generate qualified leads and nurture them until they're ready to speak with a rep or place an online order. In fact, research by Campaign Monitor found that visitors who used live chat were 20% more likely to convert into leads, while customers using live chat were likely to spend 60% more than average.
The downside of live chat is that it requires a live person to interact with the website visitors. While a single person can handle multiple chats simultaneously, it is still limited. According to TELUS International, a good agent can handle up to six users at the same time. This might work for smaller sites, but requires training, and retention incentives and is difficult to scale.
This is where Chatbots come in. What are chatbots you may ask? Chatbots are automated conversational agents used to answer frequently asked questions and give users the feeling of real-time human engagement. They're often deployed as a part of a customer service strategy to serve as a frontline filter that can answer questions, provide useful content and prevent engaging expensive support reps.
Chatbots are also used in a variety of ways to generate leads and nurture customer relationships. Most commonly, through a series of questions, they can determine whether the user is a first-time visitor or an existing customer and suggest appropriate content accordingly.
5. Buyer Journey
At each stage of the sales journey, leads should receive different communications according to where they are in the purchasing decision, such as an email, call or in-person meeting. An average prospect goes through 4 to 6 stages before eventually buying a product.
As an example, let’s look at a typical 4 stage Step of Sale schema and the content that is recommended for each stage:
|
Stage |
Description |
Content |
|
Awareness |
This lead is only becoming aware of the problem and considering a solution. |
Educational content explaining the challenge and the pros and cons or potential solutions |
|
Consideration |
The lead becomes a prospect as they start to evaluate and compare product features. |
Descriptive content of the product, product features and competitive analysis. |
|
Decision |
The prospect becomes a potential buyer as they finalize their decision. |
Customer stories showing the success of others in the industry. Deeper dive into technical, operational, and support issues which could influence the potential customer’s selection. |
|
Repeat |
The prospect has now become a customer who should experience post-sale engagement for upgrades, peer recommendations and future sales. |
Monthly newsletters with the latest company/product news. Special offers for existing customers on consumables, upgrades or similar. Membership in user groups that encourage dialogue between users. |
Content for each stage can be delivered through digital marketing automation tools or at the initiative of the sales team.
6. Proactive LinkedIn Activity
LinkedIn is one of the most important social media platforms to consider when conducting B2B marketing activities. LinkedIn offers endless opportunities for B2B companies to market their products and services, including LinkedIn groups, sponsored InMail messages, and LinkedIn ads. By taking advantage of these features as well as establishing a strong presence on your own profile, you can attract thousands of potential clients to your business every year.
What makes LinkedIn unique is the ability to not only reach specific target companies but having the granularity to reach the individuals within the company who deal with your product. This also includes reaching out to specific individuals if you have their information.
The most effective way to use LinkedIn as a tool for lead generation is by building your personal profile, establishing connections with potential clients, and proactively working to create content that will interest your target audience.
Your main objective should be to get industry colleagues connected with you directly on LinkedIn so you can build trust. Once the trust is established, then you can generate more leads when you claim to have solutions for your industry’s challenges.
7. Special Value Added Offers
B2B value-added offers (VADs) are a crucial part of any business’ online lead generation strategy. VADs are special offers that target an audience and reward them when they take specific actions on your website, such as filling out a contact form. As you’re considering which types of VADs to offer, consider these three questions:
- What makes them valuable?
- Why would people want them?
- What do they get out of it?
There are several different types of Value Added Offerings (VADs), and you can use them to provide more than just added value— you can also use them to generate leads. Free trials are far and away one of the most effective types of special offers for B2B lead generation. This is because they give prospects an opportunity to interact with your product at no cost and then decide whether it’s right for them—there’s no pressure involved in signing up or feeling like they have to commit. Other common VADs include: Ebooks, Videos, Virtual Calculators, Whitepapers Webinars and Online Courses.
Conclusion & Summary
For today’s B2B companies, online lead generation tactics are more important than ever. This is because a high percentage of all new leads and come from online campaigns. Traditional activities like trade shows and other live events are still part of B2B sales, but they are losing popularity and have lower conversion rates when compared to digital marketing, SEO and content-driven campaigns.
When it comes to succeeding in today’s B2B business environment, online lead generation strategies are essential for success. If you need to upgrade your online B2B Lead Generation activities, then call the digital marketing experts at KeyScouts to see if you qualify for a free consultation.
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