Lead Generation Strategy and Tactics for B2B Companies

What is lead generation?

Lead generation is the dynamic and exciting process that bridges the gap between your brand and your customers, by attracting potential buyers with engaging and 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 doing this?

Many companies, especially in B2B, have a traditional sales process. They attend trade shows to make contacts, salespeople visit clients, and orders result if they happened to be in the right place at the right time. For many relationships, it sometimes takes years to see real results. How can you achieve a higher return on all your efforts?

Lead generation strategy for B2B

The lead generation strategy for B2B is often a structured approach to the marketing and sales process. The most significant difference is that customers nowadays gather much more information before they engage with your sales. While you used to go to a trade show, for example, to gather product information, this now often happens online. We find that potential customers often only open up to a salesperson after creating a shortlist.

A crucial difference with traditional business is that lead generation starts much earlier in the sales process. We distinguish three important lead generation strategies:

• Inbound Marketing
  Outbound Marketing
  Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

What suits your company? In the rest of this article, we explain the main strategies and tactics. But you can also ask a specialist for help. Merkelijkheid helps B2B companies in various markets with conceiving and executing their lead generation strategy. Due to our extensive experience, we can get started quickly with lead generation. Want to know how we do that? Contact us for a brief, no-obligation introduction.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is a lead generation strategy that focuses on creating valuable content and experiences tailored to your target audience. The idea is to attract customers to you rather than actively approaching them. The advantages are that it builds trust and brand loyalty, and it is often more cost-effective in the long run. 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 more quickly, and it can be effective in reaching a broad audience. The downside is that it is often more expensive, and it can be seen as intrusive or annoying.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

ABM is a lead generation strategy that focuses 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.

Expanding Your Lead Generation Strategy

The above lead generation strategies are quite general. Each strategy can be implemented in various ways. For example, you can use Social Media Marketing or Email Marketing not only to build a relationship with your audience but also to generate direct leads eventually. A good lead generation strategy employs various tactics throughout the process.

Lead Generation Tactics

Some commonly used tactics include:

• Social Media Marketing
• Email 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, businesses can build a relationship with their audience, promote their brand, and generate leads. This can be done by sharing engaging content, hosting contests or giveaways, interacting with followers, and more.

Email Marketing

Email marketing remains an effective lead generation strategy. By building an email subscriber list, businesses can communicate directly with potential customers and provide them with valuable offers, 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 fast way to drive traffic to your website and generate leads, especially if you use targeted keywords and demographics to target your ad to 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 events, businesses can directly connect with potential customers, demonstrate their products or services, and build valuable relationships.

Sponsorship

By partnering with other companies, organizations, or even influencers in your industry, you can expand your reach and visibility. This helps you to ‘fish in a different pond,’ exposing you to potential customers you might never have considered. By creating content together, organizing events, or supporting each other in other ways, you can reach each other’s audience 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, leading to an increase in organic traffic and potential leads. This includes optimizing your website for relevant keywords, improving your site’s speed and user-friendliness, 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 since recommendations are an excellent way to generate warm contacts.

Choosing a Lead Generation Strategy and Tactics

Choosing the right lead generation strategies and tactics is a matter of understanding which methods best align with your business objectives, your target audience, and the resources at your disposal. 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 target audience primarily uses 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, both in terms of time, money, and expertise. Assess what you can realistically achieve given your current situation. There’s no point in choosing a complex and time-consuming tactic if you don’t have the resources to execute it effectively.

Finally, continually 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’d be happy to take you through interesting customer stories and share what we’ve been working on for years. Contact us for an introduction and ensure that your lead generation gets off to a quick start.