5 Game-Changing Tips for B2B Lead Generation That Work
Unlocking effective and innovative lead generation strategies is vital to attracting the right prospects and turning them into paying customers. But how can you best capture and convert these potential customers? Discover five B2B lead gen tips that help you deliver quality prospects to your business.
Lead generation is the beating heart of any successful business, creating a steady influx of potential customers as your lifeline. By actively generating leads, you establish a robust pipeline of potential customers, enabling you to cultivate relationships, nurture prospects, and ultimately convert them into loyal, paying customers. Tailoring your lead generation to your prospective customers is key. Before we talk tips, let’s be clear on what lead generation is and isn’t.
What is Lead Generation?
Simply put, lead generation is the process of turning interest from a potential customer into tangible contact information that can be used, for example, by a sales team. Lead generation can be confused with demand generation, but they are two distinct and effective marketing strategies. While demand generation focuses on taking potential customers from building brand awareness to creating demand for your product or service, lead generation translates this interest into something actionable. Both generation strategies can be effective; however, understanding the distinction is important to get the biggest bang out of your marketing efforts.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you are introducing a new product to the market. You share content highlighting the product’s features and benefits, publish thought leadership pieces that showcase your company’s expertise, and make free resources available that raise awareness of the new product and why it’s needed. Your goal is to create demand — to have as many people as possible be exposed to your new product, learn more about your business, recognize your expertise, and plant that seed that they might want to buy your product one day. These are demand generation strategies, and solids ones at that.
Now, let’s say you have a whitepaper full of data that showcases why your new product is the greatest thing since sliced bread. But, rather than offering this whitepaper for all eyes to see, you gate it behind a form. To see your great data, the potential customer must share their contact information. Your goal has changed. You’re no longer interested in as many people as possible engaging with your content. Rather, your goal is to capture as many relevant leads as possible — by giving potential customers a great reason to share their contact information and making it easy for them to do so with an easy form to submit. That’s lead generation.
Lead Generation That Cuts Through The Clutter
So, with so much competing for your potential customer’s attention, how do you break through and get that vital contact information? By making it easy and providing compelling content.
Here are 5 tips to get the most out of your lead generation strategies.
1. Be Relevant
A lead magnet is a special offer only given to customers who provide their contact information. The more you know what appeals to and drives your potential customers, the more you can craft your lead magnet to offer something of enough value that they are willing to trade their contact information to get it.
What entices your potential customer?
2. Make an Offer They Can’t Refuse
“Contact us today!” just doesn’t cut it anymore. To get a potential customer’s contact information, your offer needs to do more right away. Offering a free trial may put a skeptical prospect at ease. Or, signing up for a product demo delivers instant gratification and helps your potential customer decide if your product is the right fit.
3. Power-Up Popups
It’s no secret that visitors often leave websites without making a purchase. Strategically placed exit-intent popup forms that appear just as the prospect is about to log out, helping capture valuable leads that would have otherwise slipped away. Typically, exit-intent popups entice the prospect with an incentive, such as a discount code, free download, or demo, and serve double duty — gathering contact information and establishing your company’s credibility.
4. Compel With Case Studies
Do your prospects need more reassurance before committing to a product or service? Highlighting case studies in your email campaigns, social posts, and blogs may be the answer. Showcasing customer success stories can be an effective tool to convince potential leads. Promoting the benefits of working with you and demonstrating how your organization fosters strong business relationships provides tangible and relatable evidence of your company’s worth.
5. Leave Them Wanting
You’ve got your potential customer where you want them — you’re offering information they can’t easily get elsewhere. And to get your prized information, they will give you their contact information. Whether it’s a solution to solve a common pain point or a unique industry insight, be careful not to give away the store for the sake of their contact information. For example, provide access to some, but not all, of your product’s features and leave them wanting more.
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Written By
Lori Weisberg
Lori lives by the mantra, “It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.” As Director of Content and Client Strategy, Lori is the wordsmithing wind beneath many of our clients’ wings. Known for capturing our clients’ brand voices with compelling clarity and consistency, she also is a frequent Tuna blog contributor. When not perusing a thesaurus, Lori can be found adding more zing to her arrabbiata sauce or searching for an easier way to pill a cat.