4 Ways to Feed Your B2B Sales Funnel in 2018
by Emily Swet
Few things are worse for B2B business growth than a stalled out sales funnel. Even though your company may be using the same funnel-feeding tactics as before, what once worked may not be as successful now. To keep it going strong, we’ve compiled four ways to feed your B2B sales funnel in 2018.
1. Align Sales and Marketing Teams
Sometimes sales and marketing teams clash, despite having the same end goal. And this misalignment can lead to staggering losses. To get everyone on the same page, start facilitating communication between the two groups. Ask marketing to sit in on sales calls. Encourage sales to share their customer details with marketing. And encourage uniformity with constant updates between both departments. (Get more tips on sales and marketing collaboration here).
2. Consider Predictive Lead Scoring
Predictive lead scoring is a scoring methodology that leverages historical data and predictive analytics. It takes the data from successful leads (ones that you have won) and adds digital footprints from third-party sources to pool as much data as possible. By crunching the numbers, predictive lead scoring can identify patterns or relationships you’ve never seen before. It also aids in aligning your sales and marketing teams (see above) by providing data-backed reasoning behind lead qualifications. And last but not least, it reduces the margin of error in traditional lead scoring.
3. Don’t Forget the Mid-Funnel
Most marketing and sales teams focus on the top (lead quantity) and the bottom (the percentage of leads closed) of the sales funnel. However, when the middle is unattended to, the information and goals get murky. You could be losing leads without knowing why. To clear this up, ask: how many touches does the average lead need before they move to the next stage? Where do your leads seem to leak out? What is the difference between the ones that leave and the ones that move on? Diagnosing and addressing the issues mid-funnel will have a big impact on your results.
4. Use Video
We’ve made it clear in past blogs how important video has become. You can use it throughout your funnel to keep moving prospects to the bottom. To attract leads at the top, consider how-to’s, thought leadership videos, and any content that showcases your brand’s personality or authenticity. As your leads move to decision mode, product demos, client testimonials, and video case studies can be very compelling. Close the deal with nurture videos, FAQ’s, and instructional videos – and be sure each has a strong CTA (like signing up for a demo or webinar).
No matter what, it’s essential to keep the customer at the center of each stage. Every small fix you can make will help produce better results, and help grow your leads as well as your revenue.
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B2B Myth of the Week: Content Marketing Is Overcrowded, Oversaturated, and Useless
by Emily Swet
The Myth: Content Marketing is Overcrowded, Oversaturated and Useless
The Fact: Content Shock Can Be Your Strategy, Not Your Roadblock
White papers. Emails. Ebooks. Long Form. Blogs. Infographics. Videos. Influencers. Vlogs. It’s official. We have finally reached Content Shock status. The exponentially increasing volume of content is exceeding our human capacity to consume it. As a result, we are becoming far more selective about what we want to see and engage in.
Before you throw up your hands over another fleeting marketing trend, take a pause. Content isn’t going anywhere. (If it was, why would big brands like Unilever be investing in in-house content creation studios?) Content saturation isn’t your white flag, it’s your call to arms. You’d be sorely remiss to think it was time to give it up.
Your customers still engage in content 100%. And your competitors utilize it full-tilt. According to Forbes, 89% of B2B marketers report they use content to increase leads and drive their brands forward. Fine-tune your content program now, or get left behind. To stay in the game, you need a focused, aggressive strategy based on human experience.
From now on, your content strategy needs to:
- Be written directly for each of your customer personas
- Create an immersive experience
- Determine when it makes sense to pay-to-play
- Have a clear-cut customer payoff
- Include video
- Use data to gain a competitive advantage
If you think content marketing is overcrowded, you’re right. But have a look at these false predictions of the past, then ask yourself: can your brand afford to stand this one out?
Continue ReadingB2B Myth of the Week: Simply Having a Website Is Enough
by Emily Swet
The Myth: Simply Having a Website Is Enough
The Truth: How Your Website Is Designed, Written, and Programmed Determines Its Performance
When was the last time you took a critical look at your B2B website design? In today’s market, B2B marketers simply can’t take a “one and done” approach to their web presence. Buyers have become acclimated to today’s standards. Content, searchability, user experience, aesthetics, and responsive design should be the drivers of your site layout. If your website hasn’t been updated in years, or if you haven’t fully fleshed out a recent redesign, we’ve put together a quick cheat sheet to get you up to speed.
5 Essential Building Blocks for B2B Websites
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Killer Content
Creativity and persuasive insights don’t just work for B2C companies. There is a still a person on the other side of your website making purchase decisions every day. The content on your website has the potential to differentiate you from your competitors and lead your prospects further into your sales funnel. Make sure yours is compelling and directive. And more than anything, check your content for clarity, accuracy, and usefulness to your prospects.
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Smart SEO & SEM
B2B marketers are getting savvier with search engine optimization and search engine marketing. And so should you. Since the rules are constantly changing, you can’t expect your site to produce results all by itself. Investing in an SEO/SEM specialist or using an agency to maximize your results based on cost efficiency is one of the smartest moves you can make. Use SEO and SEM to drive customers where you want them to go, then analyze their experience so you can make educated tweaks in the future.
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Intuitive User Experience
Is your site easy to navigate? Where are your visuals placed? Are your call-to-action buttons easy to find? The answers to these questions can mean the difference between a click and a bounce. Your users want to be led, and your user experience dictates where you lead them. A successful user experience follows the natural eye flow pattern across a website. If your site feels clunky or fraught with stopping points, you’re more likely to lose users. Consider a redesign that leads your user to a purchase decision.
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Engaging Aesthetics
The graphic design of your website has the power to elicit an emotional response as it is the first thing your buyer will see. Smart design works seamlessly with your content to convey a feeling, insight, or solution simply through imagery. You can set the tone right on the home page. The colors, fonts, photography, and illustrations you select can all affect those who visit the site. When done well, design can be a major point of differentiation from your competitors.
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Responsive Design
Considering Mashable called 2013 The Year of Responsive Web Design, if your site isn’t by now, you’re woefully behind. Responsive sites “respond to” the type of device they are being viewed on, resizing to a more appropriate layout and view. (Think: desktop vs. laptop vs. tablet vs. smartphone). Why is this important? Because your buyers aren’t on their desktops all the time. If they are on the road or in meetings, and unable to really experience your site on their mobile device, you’re likely to lose them – and fast.
Online presence isn’t something that is created overnight. It takes time, research, and a budget to make a website worth having. Yet the initial effort up front can pay you back in spades for the long term. Your ROI can make it well worth it. So with this in mind, it’s worth repeating: when was the last time you took a critical look at B2B website design?
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