According to a press release by Gartner, 80 percent of B2B sales interactions will happen through digital channels by the year 2025. 

Why?

Because 33 percent of buyers prefer seller-free experiences. This number is set to rise as the years swing by. 

How far is 2025 from where we are at?

Don’t answer yet.

Every marketer knows that generating leads is critical to business continuity.  

It allows you to target desired audiences, gather important information about them, and then tailor solutions to meet their needs. It is important to detail analysis of your profit and loss i.e. win loss analysis to know the result which also helps in your next actions.

If B2B customers are already showing a preference for remote interactions, doesn’t it make sense to prepare early? 

Shouldn’t you start investing in effective lead generation strategies to maximize your market share? Now you can go back and answer the question.

If you recognize the need to start now, we have some fine strategies for you.

  1. Enhance Your Online Presence

With most buyers researching solutions online, an effective online presence helps buyers evaluate your ability to provide solutions. 

From your website to social pages, prospects will look at the reliability of the information you provide, the value behind your offerings, and your credibility.

An online presence that covers these aspects will attract more leads and drive conversions. Consider:

  • Create a resources section on your website where visitors can access educational information that addresses their problems and provides solutions. 
  • Gate premium content like research, white papers, and ebooks. People interested in this information will share their names and email contacts to access it. The data they share provides opportunities for targeting and nurturing. 
  • Provide a positive experience by prioritizing mobile-friendliness on your website’s design. People access B2B websites on mobile devices. If their experience is not pleasant, they will abandon the site.
  • Include attractive CTAs that usher audiences towards a particular task. Take a more creative approach rather than the usual “Buy now” or “submit now.”
  1. Content Marketing

According to a study from Demand Gen Report, buyers are increasingly leaning on educational content to inform purchase decisions. 

They also have high expectations out of the content provided by the brands. This means that creating run-off-the-mill content to generate traffic or leads won’t work.

You’ll need to put together well-researched, high-quality information that generates trust, authority, and value.

Here are content formats we expect to take a front row in the coming years:

  • Blog posts. These are relatively cheap to produce, boost SEO efforts, and attract comments from readers. They are highly versatile as you create both long or short forms, add images or embed videos in them.
  • Videos. They are popular, engaging, and easy to share. Companies use videos to drive awareness, explain how products/services work, and discuss industry trends.
  • Case studies. With an increase in fancy and sometimes not-so-true sales pitches, case studies act as proof that your products/services actually work. They reinforce this point by depicting the journeys of previous customers and how you helped fulfill their needs.
  • Infographics. These are great for sharing complex information in an easy to consume format and easy to share on social channels. Interactive infographics allow users to alter data to receive varying results.  
  1. Cold Calling

The primary reason for cold calls is to make prospective customers aware of our solutions. 

For as long as demand for products/services exists, for as long as companies are in business, marketers will need to create brand awareness

And cold calling is an effective strategy to reach these prospects.

Here are practices worth incorporating:

  • Research your prospects. People and companies leave digital footprints online, giving you a unique opportunity to learn about them. Have a decent understanding of how their industry works and the challenges they face. 
  • Know what you’re selling. The last thing a prospect wants is to have their day interrupted by a person who doesn’t have a strong grip on their products/services. Knowing your stuff allows you to demonstrate value effectively, improving credibility and trust in the eyes of the listener.
  • Unless you’re required to speak verbatim, use a calling guide to direct the conversation and encourage dialogue. Write the points you wish to cover, relevant statistics, variations in your offerings, questions for the listener, common objections, and answers. 
  • Timing is everything. PhoneBurner suggests 9am through to 11am as ideal for cold calling and this success can be replicated between 2pm-4pm. We say, look at historical data too. It will help you identify the best times for dialing those numbers.
  1. Social Media Lead Generation

According to Statistica, there were more than 3.6 billion social media users on the planet in 2020. This figure is expected to rise to over 4.4 billion by 2025.

Social media presents an opportunity for marketers to do more than create brand awareness

You can generate leads and these leads may help you reach more leads through content sharing or referrals.

Here are ways to maximize lead generation from social channels:

  • Create and share lead magnets. Incentivize your target audience on social to share their information by gating valuable content, trial offers, or free tools. Ensure that whatever you offer is high-quality, useful, and relevant.
  • Social media ads. Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook offer sophisticated features that allow you to reach target audiences with amazing precision. As with traditional ads, tailor your ads to match the interests and needs of your audience.
  • Work with social media influencers. Influencers may help increase exposure, credibility, and qualified leads. Identify influencers that your audiences are following and engage them. You can even allow them to offer exclusive subscription discounts to help skyrocket your lead generation rate. 
  • Host “sign-up only” events on social. Virtual events are great for flaunting your expertise and establishing industry authority. By introducing the “signup” element, you evoke an “exclusive” feel that attracts high-quality audiences that you can pursue afterward.
  1. Invest in Lead Generation Software

Many marketers find lead generation challenging and, for the most part, tedious. 

We agree. Combining through data researching leads is time-consuming, and who is to tell if, by human error, you miss something?

That’s where lead generation software comes in. 

These tools use automated processes to help teams capture leads. By analyzing information and providing insightful information, they drastically cut down the work and allow teams to focus on putting together campaigns.

Benefits of working with lead generation software include:

  • Maintaining accurate contact information. Outdated data is commonplace since decision-makers change jobs, businesses change addresses, telephone numbers change, etc. It’s a costly affair keeping outdated data since you’ll be spending resources chasing after ghosts. 
  • Identifying new prospects. Lead generation tools capture information at points of contact—think site visits, downloads, or opening emails. Knowing how brands are interacting with your company allows you to tailor solutions and personalize the journey to suit their needs.
  • Pinpointing marketing campaigns that produce great results. You’re probably using several campaigns to reach new clients, right? These tools can pinpoint which one of your strategies is generating results and which ones need tweaking.
  • Distinguishing quality leads from casual browsers. It will help unclog your pipeline while allowing you to focus on those with a greater propensity to convert.

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