Do you already use lead generation processes in your company? Do you differentiate between "inbound" and "outbound"? And how do you qualify newly acquired leads?
Questions like these need to be answered in cooperation with your sales team.
To get you started, we offer you an overview of the most important concepts in B2B lead generation below.
Generating high-quality leads is one of the most important goals of the sales teams and marketing departments of B2B companies. In the past, personal contact was achieved at trade fairs or through cold calling. Nowadays, however, the methods of lead generation are wide-ranging.
Information on the net is freely available to potential leads and is used independently. This offers industrial companies new opportunities, but also requires a rethink and the establishment of new processes.
In the following, we provide an overview of channels and content types and highlight how you can find a suitable and sensible implementation for your company and thus optimally exploit your potential.
There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Combine already used strategies with new channels and coordinate them optimally.
Channels to Lead generation
- Outdoor lead generation
This type of generation refers to the generation of leads outside of one's own company. For example, "outdoors" at trade fair stands and events or via competitions and raffles. - Print
Although less and less advertising material is printed in times of digitalisation, print still generates special attention among target groups due to its haptics. High-quality print products can also be combined with the advantages of the digital world. For example, by sending greeting cards or flyers with QR codes, it is possible to refer to a special landing page through which potential leads can register to take part in a competition with their e-mail address. - Online
In addition to a company's own website and supplementary landing pages, online lead generation channels are more extensive than ever. These include newsletters or digital offers such as white papers, case studies and checklists, as well as the use of social media and a corporate blog to offer potential customers additional touchpoints. Ads, online banners and the placement of professional articles on online portals are also widely used methods. - Telephone or video calls
Picking up the phone is probably the most tried and tested method of lead generation. A distinction is made between inbound and outbound. In the case of so-called "inbound calls", interested parties seek contact with the company themselves for advice.
By providing sound advice and arranging follow-up meetings, you can interest leads in further topics.
In outbound calls, on the other hand, a group of potential leads is asked about interests by telephone without having been in contact with your company before.
All these methods can become part of your strategic mix. However, you should make sure that your lead generation activities comply with the GDPR. For example, it is worth tackling the topic of "double opt-in", especially for the expansion of your digital lead generation.
Why between Inbound- and outbound leads distinguish?
In general, marketing distinguishes between inbound and outbound leads. These different approaches to lead generation have an impact on subsequent processing procedures.
The potential customer base is selected with the help of a defined customer profile. This is called outbound lead generation. If your customer profile matches the profiles in your pool, the next step is to contact them by e-mail or telephone and ask them about their specific interest in your product.
In outbound lead generation you can reach a large group of potential customers, but it is difficult to estimate how high your success rate will be in terms of buying interest.
Inbound lead generation works differently. Here, the focus is on your content. You can assume that interested parties are looking for a solution to their problem. Ideally, your company already has the solution ready and thus offers concrete added value. Leads exchange contact data for your content, e.g. in the form of a practical guide or white paper.
The disadvantage of this approach: Since inbound lead generation does not select according to customer profiles, you often receive contact data that do not directly match your customer base. That's why many companies follow up with a so-called "lead nurturing process" at this point.
In this process, generated contacts are filtered for relevance to your business. The process also provides for leads to be further developed with specific content until they are ready for sales. With the help of "marketing automation", it is possible to check and evaluate when this is the case.
Overall, it depends on the right mix of measures. For example, you can put interesting case studies with SEO texts on your website (inbound) and then promote them to your target groups via a Google Ad (outbound). If you also use the case study as "gated content", the website visitor has to enter his contact details and can download the content in full length. In this way, you collect valuable data to further develop your leads in the subsequent process with follow-up measures, such as an emailing.
B2B companies that maintain their customer databases well and use a functioning CRM system can also define a scoring model. Here, leads are evaluated according to previously defined standards and sorted according to their relevance for the company. Criteria for lead evaluation are, for example, position, decision-making authority, size of the company or budget.
Conclusion
Successful lead generation requires a thorough examination of the company's own marketing mix.
Determine which actions you can add to your mix and which channels and content types you want to use to engage with your target audiences. Make sure that the measures are strategically coordinated in order to develop leads from touchpoint to touchpoint until they are ready to be sold.
In the end, it's all about the right mix of inbound and outbound. Especially in B2B, content-focused inbound measures can be complemented very well by target group-specific outbound measures such as advertisements or social media ads. In this way, you reach new contacts and increase your visibility and relevance among your target groups at the same time.
Further information on the topic of inbound marketing can be found here.
Yvonne Willmer
At Blaupause , my main task is to structure and manage complex projects for industrial clients. From time to time, however, I also write blog articles and social media posts on B2B topics that are close to my heart. Have you already put some of our suggestions into practice? Then I would be happy if you tell me about your results.