B2B Monday Myth: The More Leads the Better
by MGB2B
The Myth: More Leads Means More Conversions, and Thus More Profits
The Truth: Quality and Not Quantity Is What Leads to Conversions
Sure, it might seem like common sense. But how many times have you heard someone say “we’re just not getting enough leads coming in”? If you’ve heard this complaint once or twice – or perhaps you’ve complained about it yourself – you’ll want to read on about how to get quality leads over quantity. Often, it’s better to narrow your approach instead of casting a wider net and catching whatever happens to float in. By filtering out bad leads, you can increase your conversion rate, which is more important than having more leads.
To keep with the fishing metaphor, let’s say you’re only looking for red snapper. If you throw out your lines where snapper don’t usually swim, you’re going to catch a lot of fish that you don’t want and no snapper. Best to drop your line in the spots where snapper like to swim. You may only catch one or two, but you’ll get what you want. It’s as simple as that.
How to Get Quality B2B Leads:
- Tightly Define What a Quality Lead Means. Start with some buyer personas, to make sure all of your marketing efforts are targeted at the right people. But go beyond that. While there are many people who might fall under your buyer persona categories, you also need to examine their behavior. Perhaps a lead is someone who has spent time on your website and downloaded a particular piece of content like a white paper. Or maybe it’s someone who’s filled out a form on your website. You and your team need to agree on the criteria to determine what is considered a quality lead and not just a tire-kicker.
- Implement a Proper Paid Search Campaign. Paid Search is perhaps one of the most misused tools in the B2B marketing arsenal. When done properly, it can get the right leads through the right doors, and thus turn into an effective lead generation machine.
- Consider Retargeting Ads. Retargeting is when you serve up ads to people who visited your website, but the ads appear on other websites. Undoubtedly you’ve experienced this from other brands. A jacket you looked at on one site shows up on a news site your visiting. Or a hotel website you visited for your upcoming vacation serves you an ad on a blog you like to read. It’s not by accident that this is happening. It’s a highly effective tactic that works just as well for B2B brands as B2C.
- Partner with a Trade Publication Who Will Share Lists. Supplementing your own list of prospects with one from a trade pub is a smart approach to lead generation. Even if they won’t give you the list, they might allow you to send out an e-blast to either a portion or all of their subscribers if you already spend money on advertising opportunities with them. It’s a great way to keep your list growing with high quality leads.
- Score Those Leads. If you use CRM (customer relationship management) software, you most likely have the ability to score all leads that come in online (via website, social media, emails, online ads, etc.). They are scored based on a number of things including behavior, engagement, and demographics. And you can weight them however you like. So if Engineer is the most important job title you’re looking for, you can give that a higher score than other job titles. If you don’t want administrative staff to get into your sales funnel, you can give them a lower score.
- Look at Your Data Frequently. You can’t just set it and forget it. The data that comes from your campaigns will tell you what’s working and what’s not. And whether you use a CRM system or Google Analytics, or any other program to measure data, what you see happening each month can tell you quite a bit. You’ll discover which campaigns, search terms, and platforms are most effective.
- Refine Your Process Based on What the Data Is Telling You. Take what you learned from the previous step and rework each step to fine-tune your approach. Cut out what’s not working and test new things to make your marketing dollars work harder.
Again, the overarching goal is to increase your conversion rate. When it comes right down to it, what would you rather have: more fish in your net, or on your table?
Continue ReadingB2B Monday Myth: Creating Content Is All You Need To Do
by MGB2B
The Myth: All I need to do is create good content, and people will find it.
The Truth: Content found organically is wonderful, but you’ll need to distribute it in other ways to get more quality leads.
In the last few years, the role of content marketing has grown exponentially. Many businesses, large and small, have poured a hefty share of their marketing budgets into content creation and have increased conversion because of it. But is creating quality content with great SEO all you need to reach your target? Accomplished content marketer and author of The Content Formula, Michael Brenner, puts it this way: “Even great content needs a push.” So what are the best ways to push your content?
How to Distribute B2B Content:
Paid Search
Paid Search, also referred to as Pay-Per-Click (PPC), is one of the best ways to reach prospects with your content. That’s because you are reaching people who are actively searching for what you have to offer. Plus, when done correctly, it can help you secure a spot on Google above organic listings. Although it can be a bit costly, the benefits are well worth the investment.
One of the main benefits is that you can make real-time changes to your messaging. Arguably the best feature of Paid Search is that you can target your messaging, and then easily change it up at a moment’s notice. You can run several different ads to see which copy drives the most prospects to your content, then cut out the ads that aren’t performing and sink that money into the high-performing ad to drive more quality leads.
You can also geo-target your ads, so that you are reaching people only within the markets you want to pursue. If you have a limited Paid Search budget, this feature can be very useful.
Paid Social
A close relative of Paid Search is paid social. The major difference is that instead of advertising on search engines, Paid Social allows you to advertise on social media. Paid Social allows you to reach beyond just your followers. Facebook in particular, really enables you to narrow your target. You can actually have a Custom Audience made up of your database of prospects. If you have over 100 people on your list and they are on Facebook, you can serve up ads directly to them. You can also retarget people who have visited your website to capture those who have shown interest in your product or service, but maybe weren’t ready to convert yet.
You can also target your ads in order to add new people to your prospects list. You can target by demographics and location, but also by categories like Employer and Job Title, so your content is getting directly into the hands of people who will find it useful.
Trade Publication Programs
While the consumer magazine industry may be dying, the trade pub industry is alive and well. And a good relationship with your industry trade pubs can be a great tool to have in your arsenal. Getting access to their lists is one of the best ways to grow your list of qualified leads. These are people who are already in your world, looking for content that is relevant to them. Some publications already have elaborate content distribution programs in place. All you have to do is give them your white papers and infographics, and they’ll circulate it to the right people in their database for you.
Creating compelling and relevant content is only the half the battle. Paid media strategies greatly improve the chances of your content being seen by the right people at the right time. And that translates into highly qualified leads for your sales team. It’s an effort that is easy to fine-tune and well worth the money.
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B2B Monday Myth: Old-School B2B Marketing is Dead
by MGB2B
The Myth: Old-School B2B Marketing Is Dead.
The Truth: A Perfect Mix of Old and New Marketing Tactics Makes for the Most Effective Marketing Strategy.
Cold calls, trade shows, print media, and traditional sales methods – do they still work in this day and age? Many would have you think they don’t, and that is true in part. But much of what used to work still works today — just in different ways. So don’t swap out the old wholesale for shiny, new marketing approaches; just figure out the mix that works best for your business.
In order to achieve maximum results, your strategy must bridge the gap between both schools of thought.
Consider these points when creating that perfect mix of traditional B2B marketing strategies and new ways to promote your brand.
- Trade Publications Offer More Than Just Print Ads. You might think that putting your ad in a trade publication is a waste of time since the future of print magazines is not looking great. But B2B publications are more important than ever, and if you develop a good relationship with your rep, it could mean editorial preference, digital opportunities and access to leads you wouldn’t otherwise have, and enhanced trade show experiences (see #3).
- White Papers Are No Longer White Nor Paper. But they are certainly still effective in the B2B realm. White papers still serve the same purpose as they did back in the day and contain the same valuable information as before. Only now, you can make them a whole lot nicer looking and easier to navigate. Of course, your content still needs to be fresh, relevant, and engaging. Today, you have more ways to get your white paper seen – whether it’s distributed to your email list, offered in a Facebook ad, or geo-targeted at attendees of a trade show, which brings us to…
- Playing the Trade Show Game. Trade Shows are a lot different than they used to be. It’s not just about setting up a booth and putting out a print ad in the event program to tell people to come for a visit. Social media can be used to engage with visitors before, during, and after the show. Try using a contest to drive people online and capture new, engaged leads. Or advertise a white paper on mobile phones within a certain radius of the hotel or convention center. There are lots of possibilities – here are a few to get you started.
- The Evolution of Cold Calling. Cold calling in its traditional sense is fairly controversial in the marketing world. Some think it’s dead. Others think it is still effective in the hands of the right salesperson. A few even think it is borderline unethical. But the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. The call has, in most cases, become an email. And the best part is that it’s not cold at all anymore; it’s warmed up a bit. Using content marketing, you can build a database of warm leads who have actually expressed some interest in what you have to offer. Maybe they’ve signed up for a webinar your hosting or downloaded one of your white papers. The key is to nurture these newly cultivated relationships so that they convert to sales.
Old School B2B is not dead. It’s just changed a bit. Get the right mix for your brand, and watch the leads come rolling in.
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