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Are you stumped on how to find business-to-business (B2B) leads this year? You’re not alone. According to a study from Marketing Profs, 78% of B2B marketers say generating B2B leads is one of the biggest challenges they are facing in 2014. But don’t despair – we have good news for you.
We rounded up three of the top ways to find precious B2B leads this year. And the best news yet is that when it comes to B2B leads, you don’t have to totally change your current strategies. However, even if they don’t need to be replaced, that doesn’t mean it’s not time for an update.
Content marketing, or distributing valuable content for customers and businesses, is a valuable way to generate new B2B leads. But with so many types of content around, it can be hard to decide which you should choose to invest your time and resources in. Blog posts, infographics, and webinars are still extremely valuable, but case studies and customer testimonials were voted the most effective content marketing strategies. Additionally, more than half of surveyed responders agree that leads generated from whitepapers are valuable or extremely valuable to them.
No matter what content type you choose, it’s important that you re-think your strategies for generating content aimed at possible B2B leads, just as you would with any other content. If you don’t have the time to invest in every type of content (and really, who does?), just pick a few to excel at so you stand out in the crowd. Evolve your thinking when it comes to content. You can use videos and animation to make your blog posts more engaging or combine case studies with great infographics for added oomph.
Remember, it’s not just about how many leads you are gaining, but how many high-quality leads you are gaining. According to Pardot, 61% of marketers pass on every possibly lead, but only 27% of the leads are qualified. This means that 73% of the leads passed on to sales are unqualified.
Though every B2B lead has potential, use lead scoring to gain information so you are better prepared to follow up with each lead and potentially gain more traction. Lead scoring helps you assign scores to determine potential lead’s chance of being a qualified lead, so you can pass on the qualified leads and understand how to assist and nurture those that need additional help before passing on to sales.
Think of social media as your way to spread your content, link up with other relevant companies, and gain valuable research information for your company when lead scoring. When generating B2B leads, help possible customers help you. Build relationships by swapping blog posts and creating conversations through social media. Share others’ content as well as your own. Create a well-branded Facebook or LinkedIn group with relevant discussions to share content and learn more about possible leads.
LinkedIn is a true B2B lead generator. You just need to find the right groups to participate in and even spend a couple of dimes on a well-targeted LinkedIn PPC campaign. Keep in mind that LinkedIn clicks are more expensive than AdWords clicks (around two-dollars per click on average), but they are super sharp as you can pre-determine your desired clicker, for example, a CEO of a startup.
The final verdict when it comes to finding leads: think fresh. If you have limited resources, apply them in the best areas possible, and of course, always analyze the potentiality of leads.
Ofer Yourvexel is CEO of WRNTY, a provider of mobile sales apps for catalog and order taking. His management experience spans the global high-tech and retail sectors.
