B2B lead generation is hard enough when you’re a small business, but it gets much harder as you grow and need to scale – you can’t just cold call anymore. So, how do you do it? Here are some tips that can rev up your lead generation efforts and give you the results you need.
Create Excellent Landing Pages
Landing pages play a significant role in converting visitors into leads, so make sure yours is fully optimized. Marketing experts agree that putting more than one offer on a single landing page can reduce your conversion rates by up to 266% (source), so don’t make the same mistake.
The quality and relevance of your landing page content dictate the kind of results you’ll get, so it pays to do it right the first time. Consider these tips.
- Make sure your messaging matches your ads.
- Keep important elements (e.g. headline, USP, CTA) above the fold.
- Minimize distractions by focusing on a single goal. Remove navigation and avoid putting unnecessary links that will take your visitor away from the page before completing the desired action.
- Use a strong, clear, and actionable CTA to tell your audience what they need to do next.
For more actionable tips on improving your landing pages – and the ads that drive people to them – here are some PPC best practices that you may want to consider.
Additionally, you may want to take a second look at your lead generation forms. Do you need to focus on the numbers or concentrate on the quality of leads instead? Remember, you can’t accomplish both at the same time – you need to prioritize one over the other.
And since you’re in the B2B industry, quality trumps quantity. Even when you’re scaling, casting a wide net may not be a good idea, since it can be quite expensive and unproductive. Be smart about your targeting – it’s worth it to get the right lead in your B2B lead generation campaign.
So, instead of only asking for your visitor’s name and email address, consider adding additional form fields to a landing page to further qualify your lead. If you think this will greatly affect your numbers, consider making some form fields optional and mark them accordingly. This will at least assure your prospects that they are not required to fill everything out.
Alternatively, you can use a multi-step process to capture most of your landing page visitors. Ask for their name and email address during the first step, and ask for additional information on the second step. They may find it harder to say “no” at this point since they’re already close to your offer.
Landing pages can also be customized or even automated so that the text accurately matches the ads that brought them there. You wouldn’t want your visitors to think they landed on the wrong page and send them scurrying off, would you?
Here are some excellent SaaS and eCommerce landing page examples that you can refer to, in case you need some inspiration.
Create Content Businesses Want to Consume
Creating and publishing high-quality, value-packed content can attract qualified leads and help you earn their trust and loyalty. Here are some facts and figures that highlight why you need to create informative evergreen content regularly.
- 51% of B2B buyers rely on content for research and purchasing decisions (Demand Gen Report).
- B2B buyers consume at least three pieces of related before contacting a salesperson (Marketing Insider Group).
- Companies with blogs produce an additional 67% leads per month. (Demand Metric)
If you have the resources, you may likewise consider doing independent research or case studies and then gating that content behind an email download to attract leads that genuinely care about your business. Case studies are extremely effective in generating B2B leads so adding them to your marketing arsenal will work in your favor.
Consider Automation – Seriously
SaaS solutions like CRM tools can help you keep track of contacts, refine marketing processes, target potential customers across multiple channels, manage social media campaigns, nurture leads, and more.
CRM tools are so versatile you can use them to set reminders to touch base with potential leads that haven’t converted yet at regular intervals or when they are most likely to buy, provide cross-selling and upselling offers to increase revenue and deal size, and cut down on manual, repetitive work to enhance your staff’s creativity and productivity.
CRM tools and applications are considered extremely critical to the success of any business; 64% of sales professionals use them, according to LinkedIn State of Sales 2018.
Set up Email Campaigns
Despite the emergence of new technologies, email marketing remains one of the most effectiveB2B lead generation techniques. According to a study conducted by McKinsey & Co, a global management consulting firm based in New York City, email marketing is about 40 times more effective at reaching your target market compared to Facebook or Twitter.
So, when someone gives you their email address on a landing page, enter them into a lead nurturing campaign programmed to send high-value, relevant content regularly. It will help them see the value of your proposed solution.
And since 60% of emails are opened and read on mobile devices, you’ll score big by optimizing your emails for mobile.
Explore the Power of Social
There are numerous ways to leverage social media for lead generation purposes. You can use it to promote lead gen content, discuss topics and issues relevant to your industry, and tell people about your brand. Running ads (e.g. LinkedIn Ads, Facebook Lead Ads, Facebook ThruPlay) on various social media platforms can also produce the desired results.
Follow these tips to ensure that your B2B lead generation will scale alongside your business. Good luck!
Image Credit: LeadBoxer
The original version of this article was first published on V3Broadsuite.
- 5 Tips to Scale Your B2B Lead Generation - April 27, 2020
