The challenge in generating B2B sales is that today’s world is so noisy and crowded that it is harder than ever for a B2B brand to stand out. You are competing with not only the companies in the same industry you work in, but with other companies that are trying to get your targeted businesses to engage with different products and services.
It has never been more difficult to drive B2B sales, but that doesn’t have to hinder your growth.
Here are some ideas that you can experiment with and see what works for you.
Be Strategic about your Lead Gen Efforts
Instead of grasping at any opportunity that arises, be strategic about your lead generation by mapping out a clear plan that will allow you to put your message in front of the right people and in the right places.
Consider a paid vs. organic strategy. Facebook and LinkedIn both offer organic and paid marketing. Paid traffic means running ads, and organic means not running ads but publishing content.
Find longtail keywords that are relevant to your target market, terms that would be relevant and interesting to your ideal target market. This is going to give you a greater likelihood of gaining traction and building rapport and authority within your niche.
Share Valuable Insights and Answers
Quora is a questions and answers site you can use to answer questions that are relevant to your industry. People might be asking questions about your product or your business. Instead of leaving the answering to the public, jump in, engage, and deliver accurate answers. This way you can stand out as a leader in your industry and become recognised as a reliable source of knowledge. You can also add links and resources that drive valuable traffic to your site. When users get to your website, they can be guided to subscribing which will increase your volume of leads.
Your content is being seen by a highly relevant audience because they had a specific question or concern that led them to post or search for answers on Quora.
Leverage Facebook and LinkedIn Paid and Organic Marketing
When it comes to generating B2B leads, Facebook and LinkedIn are major players, for both organic and paid marketing. The people you are trying to reach may not be using Facebook for business purposes, but those business owners and decision makers still use Facebook, and you can place your business in front of them by strategic use of Facebook and paid ads.
LinkedIn is an organic platform. LinkedIn is the major business-oriented social media platform. Organic content is getting a lot of reach on LinkedIn. LinkedIn also allows for advertising, but prices are high in comparison to Facebook.
Participate and Engage in Relevant Industry Communities
One of the most important things you can do when it comes to generating B2B leads, and leads in general, is identifying your ideal target market and finding out where they spend their time online.
Other than Facebook and LinkedIn, there are also many online forums that are relevant to your industry. Find those forums and join the conversation. Authenticity and a personal touch go a long way in improving your reputation and getting people to listen, especially in the B2B environment. Create genuine connections and provide real, valuable advice by posting content, answering questions, and engaging in conversations.
Forums are an excellent means of finding communities that are interested in your business. Check out Hackernews, Indie Hackers, or even Reddit forums to find out more about what people are saying about your business type and what needs are not being met by competitors.
Leverage Facebook Groups
Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide. As of the first quarter of 2020, Facebook boasted over 2.6 million monthly users[1]. Business professionals use Facebook, Facebook groups in particular, to see what is happening in their industry and find out more about other people in the industry. Join Facebook groups and stand out as an active participant to get seen and increase awareness among other businesses about what you have to offer.
Distribute Content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other channels
Content creation, like blogs and videos, help businesses generate 67% more leads than businesses who do not post content.
Some people make the mistake of posting content once, believing it will perpetuate itself. Customers and other business owners use different channels and are active at different times of the day, so it helps posting content like blogs and infographics more than once a day and on more than one channel.
Build a Lead Generation Funnel
Funnels help to attract, connect, and convert your leads. Take leads from cold traffic having no idea who you are, all the way through to prospects, to becoming an ideal client.
Attract with traffic through paid or organic strategy. Connect with a lead magnet, perhaps a pdf download, where you gain contact information like name and emails in exchange. Next, convert with a strategically designed email follow up sequence.
A key aspect of generating greater B2B sales is generating a sense of trust authority and rapport between your business and the businesses with which you want to engage. Consider your target’s first point of contact with your business. This could be content, like a video or a blog post, that demonstrates your expertise and your potential to help them grow.
Chances are, you have a product or service that is going to carry their business to get from where they are to where they want to be. Increase the potential for sales by delivering an audit, highlighting their problem, and showing how you would help to solve it.
In Conclusion
While the world of B2B marketing is becoming more and more crowded, there are also more opportunities than ever before to generate leads and nurture those leads to becoming loyal customers.
One key thing to remember is that B2B buyers, and in fact all buyers, are becoming increasingly savvy and sophisticated. If you want to generate more leads, it is essential to keep up to date with industry and marketing trends. You can do so by using data analytics and hiring a reliable marketing team who can carry out diligent research and investigation.
If you need help generating B2B sales, or would like support in developing an effective marketing strategy for your business, get in touch with Mint. Creative Marketing.
Source(s):
[1] Statista. 2020. Facebook: Active Users Worldwide | Statista. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/> [Accessed 9 August 2020].
