Lead generation strategy and tactics for B2B companies
What if you could transform your B2B lead generation by choosing the right strategy and tactics? It’s a challenging puzzle, but once you have the pieces in the right place, the result is extraordinary. In this article, we discuss the various lead generation strategies and tactics and help you find the perfect combination of strategy and tactics for your business.
What is lead generation?
Lead generation is the dynamic and exciting process that bridges your brand and your customers. You do this by attracting potential buyers with interesting, valuable content, engaging them with powerful calls to action, and ultimately building a long-lasting and profitable relationship.
Sounds logical, but how consciously are you working on this?
Many companies, especially in B2B, have a traditional sales process. They attend a trade show to make contacts, salespeople visit customers, and if they happen to come by at the right moment, an order results. For many relationships, it sometimes takes years before real results are achieved. How do you ensure a higher return on all your efforts?
Lead generation strategy for B2B
Lead generation strategy for B2B is often a structural approach to the marketing and sales process. The main difference nowadays is that the customer has already gathered much more information before engaging with your sales team. Where you used to go to a trade show to collect product information, this increasingly happens online. We notice that potential customers often only become open to a salesperson after creating a shortlist.
An important difference with traditional business is that lead generation starts much earlier in the sales process. We distinguish 3 important lead generation strategies:
- Inbound marketing
- Outbound marketing
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
What fits your company? We explain the main strategies and tactics in the rest of this article. But of course, you can also ask a specialist for help. Merkelijkheid helps B2B companies in various markets to develop and execute their lead generation strategy. Because we have so much experience, we can get started quickly and begin lead generation. Want to know how we do that? Get in touch for a short, no-obligation introduction.
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing is a lead generation strategy focused on creating valuable content and experiences tailored to your target audience. The idea is to attract customers to you instead of actively approaching them. Advantages include building trust and brand loyalty, and it is often more cost-effective in the long term. The downside is that it takes time to create effective content and see results.
Outbound Marketing
Outbound marketing includes more traditional forms of marketing where you send your message directly to potential customers, such as through advertising and direct sales. The advantage of outbound marketing is that you can see results faster, and it can be effective for reaching a broad audience. The downside is that it is often more expensive and can be perceived as intrusive or annoying.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
ABM is a lead generation strategy focused on identifying specific ‘target accounts’ within your target market and creating personalized campaigns tailored to those accounts. ABM can be very effective for B2B companies with a clearly defined target segment, and it can lead to higher conversion rates and larger deal sizes. The downside is that it requires a high level of personalization and resources.
Building out your lead generation strategy
The above lead generation strategies are of course quite general. Each strategy can be executed in various ways. For example, you can use Social Media Marketing or E-Mail Marketing not only to build a relationship with your audience but even to directly generate leads over time. A good lead generation strategy employs different tactics throughout the process.
Lead generation tactics
Some commonly used tactics are:
- Social Media Marketing
- E-Mail Marketing
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
- Event Marketing
- Sponsorship
- Content Marketing
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Referral Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Social media can be a powerful platform for lead generation. By maintaining an active and engaged presence on social media, companies can build relationships with their audience, promote their brand, and generate leads. This can happen by sharing engaging content, holding contests or giveaways, interacting with followers, and much more.
E-mail Marketing
E-mail marketing remains an effective lead generation strategy. By building a list of email subscribers, companies can communicate directly with potential customers and offer them valuable deals, updates, and information. This can lead to higher conversion rates since you are communicating with people who have already shown interest in your company.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
PPC is an online advertising strategy where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their online ad. This can be a quick way to drive traffic to your website and generate leads, especially if you use targeted keywords and demographics to focus your ad on your ideal audience.
Event Marketing
Events, both physical and virtual, can be a great way to generate leads. By organizing events such as webinars, conferences, workshops, or networking meetings, companies can directly connect with potential customers, demonstrate their products or services, and build valuable relationships.
Sponsorship
By collaborating with other companies, organizations, or even influencers in your industry, you can increase your reach and visibility. This helps you ‘fish in a different pond,’ allowing you to come into contact with potential customers you might never have thought of. By creating content together, organizing events, or supporting each other in other ways, you can reach each other’s audiences and generate new leads.
Content Marketing
Creating valuable, relevant, and engaging content can help attract and convert leads. This can include blog posts, whitepapers, case studies, e-books, infographics, videos, and webinars. Content marketing can help position your brand as a thought leader in your industry, build trust with potential customers, and guide leads through the sales funnel.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO can help improve your website’s visibility in search engines, which can lead to increased organic traffic and potential leads. This includes optimizing your website for relevant keywords, improving your site’s speed and usability, and building backlinks from other reputable websites.
Referral Marketing
This involves encouraging your existing customers or partners to refer new customers to your business. This can be done through a formal referral program, where you offer discounts or other rewards for each successful referral. This may sound very ‘American,’ but it certainly has a place; recommendations are an excellent way to gain warm contacts.
Choosing lead generation strategies and tactics
Choosing the right lead generation strategies and tactics is a matter of understanding which methods best align with your business goals, your target audience, and the resources you have available. Every company is unique, and what works for one may not work for another.
First and foremost, it is crucial to fully understand your target audience: who they are, where they spend their time online, what types of content they consume, and how they make purchasing decisions. The answers to these questions can help you determine which tactics will be most effective in reaching and engaging them. For example, if your audience is primarily on LinkedIn, it may make sense to have a strong focus on this social media platform.
Secondly, consider your resources and capabilities. Different tactics require different levels of investment, in terms of time, money, and expertise. Assess what you can realistically achieve given your current situation. There is no point in choosing a complex and time-consuming tactic if you do not have the resources to execute it effectively.
Finally, continuously test and measure your results. The world of digital marketing is constantly changing, and what works today may not work tomorrow. Experiment with different tactics, track the results, and adjust your strategy based on what you learn. This will help you continuously optimize your lead generation efforts and achieve the best results.
Lead generation with Merkelijkheid
Would you like to see some examples of B2B lead generation in practice? We are happy to take you through interesting customer stories and share what we have been working on for years. Get in touch for an introduction and make sure your lead generation gets up to speed quickly.
