Obtaining sales leads in the B2B sector is a challenge. Reaching out to companies potentially interested in a product or service is usually more difficult than in the B2C sector. The biggest difference is a much longer and more methodical purchasing process. It is not only the interest in the product that matters here, but also reaching out to the decision-makers in the company. Although it is a long road, well planned, it can bring measurable benefits. There are no ready-made solutions that guarantee success in every company, but in the case of online activities there is a certain process that will work for many services and products. Aneta Głowala from the KERRIS interactive agency tells about it.
Targeting
The way to get a B2B lead should start with asking yourself a question: "who can be our potential customer?" We must immediately be aware of who in the companies we are interested in is responsible for obtaining a given solution. It may be a business owner, director of a given department or an assistant. Everything depends on the product offered. We must remember that in this case very precise targeting of advertisements is the key to success - thanks to that we can be sure that the budget devoted to marketing activities will not be wasted.
Select the paths of arrival
Once we know who we want to reach, we need to think about how to get to that person. On which websites does our brand persona spend time? What is it looking for? In case of B2B, LinkedIn may prove invaluable. Targeting of this platform allows us to reach people on the positions we are interested in, members of groups focused on a given issue. We can also adjust the targeting to the size and profile of the company. This is exactly what we need in case of business clients. However, there can be many channels of reaching the target group and it depends on a given product and target group which platform we choose.
Prepare the lure - landing page
Making a given user enter our website is only the first step to success. On our landing page we should set out a clear path to a form or other form of contact. Too much information on the website may make the potential customer feel overwhelmed or confused and leave the site. That is why it is important to design an appropriate landing page. What matters is not only the appearance, but also its functionality. Therefore, at the design stage we should put ourselves in the user's place and consider what is clear, which sections of the website are potentially problematic and how we can improve it.
Call for action
The ideal complement to the content of the website is an appropriate "Call To Action". Call to Action are like signposts for the user - thanks to them he knows how to navigate the site and what he can do on it. When designing a landing page, we should place visible buttons on every step of the potential leada path. This will increase the probability of conversion considerably. The call itself should not only be well visible, but also its content must correspond to the action we expect from the user. Generic password like "Find out more" wonders will not work. "Call To Action" should give a clear message and show what the user can gain - it could be e.g. "Download free trial" or "Sign up for webinar".
Give something more
Once we know who we want to acquire and how we want to get to such a person, we should think about what we can offer them. What distinguishes us from the competition and will make our product choose. An attractive price may be the first thing that comes to mind, but in the case of B2B services, we need to think about whether our customers always care about the lowest price? Often not necessarily. In the case of companies, it happens that the price does not play a role, because they care about something completely different. It is worth focusing on added values preferred strictly by business customers, such as comfort and comprehensiveness. Companies count on professional equipment or services, so this is what we should give them.
The added value should also be a solution to a potential customer problem. This way we prove to potential customers that we know what we are doing. A popular solution is to offer some kind of expert knowledge. It can be a possibility to download a free guide, a webinar, or participation in a seminar. This works on a simple one-to-one principle: you give the users knowledge and they reciprocate by providing their contact details, which can lead to conversion. Such practices also help to create the image of an expert in your industry.
Don't demand too much
Observing various offer pages you can see that unfortunately, most mistakes are made just before the finish line, that is in the contact form itself. It is up to us what information we want to obtain from a potential customer, but it is important to remember that the simpler the better. Few people will want to fill out multi-poland forms. We need to think about what we really need so that the sales department can contact the customer and present them with an offer. Of course, this is based on contact information such as name, telephone number or e-mail address, but sometimes other information such as place of residence or age is also crucial. The ground is not to sabotage our actions by believing that if we already have an opportunity to obtain additional information, we should make full use of it.
If it fails, try again!
However, what to do if the user hasn't managed to convert into a potential client? The answer is simple: try again. If you managed to interest someone enough to visit the site and spend some time on it, there is a chance that our offer may interest them in another form. This is where retargeting comes in, i.e. targeting ads at users who have already visited the site. The next time you try it, you should try a different approach. If, for example, someone has found the site through brand awareness building activities, then the next time you try, it is worth to offer him something extra that he may not have found before. Here again the question of added value comes up. With retargeting, however, one cannot exaggerate. Setting a limit for the display of ads for such a user (capping) is a must. After all, nobody wants to be associated with those annoying ads you encounter at every turn.
Test, analyze, don't be afraid of failures
Finally, a very important principle, actually for all marketing activities. To choose the right solution, you usually have to test a few ideas and choose the one that brings the best results. When generating leads sometimes even a small change can work wonders - a different color of the buttons on the site can increase the conversion rate by up to a few percent. The same goes for the target page structure or channel selection. Our original assumptions can change many times. It is important not to be afraid of new solutions and to measure everything. That's why from the start of the campaign we should befriend Google Analytics - set appropriate targets and follow the conversion path. It is on this basis that we will be able to estimate the effects and plan further actions.
