B2B lead generation is the process of identifying potential customers then encouraging them to buy your product or service. When you’re looking to increase the number of daily/weekly/monthly leads for your sales team, B2B lead generation is a great marketing option.
This article will provide you with five lead generation strategies and tips on evaluating the quality of your leads. It’s imperative to remember that quality is the most important part of lead generation. Setting standards and categorizing leads will help you to accurately evaluate the success of your marketing efforts.
B2B Lead Generation
B2B lead generation focuses on finding people who are already interested in what your company offers, unlike traditional advertising strategies. If you want to learn more about lead generation, read “What is Lead Generation, and Why is it Valuable.”
5 B2B Lead Generation Strategies
Here are the five effective B2B lead generation strategies you can implement.
1. SEO and Content Marketing
Search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing are a great match! SEO focuses on increasing your organic (unpaid) search rankings by using popular search keywords. To find the best keywords for your audience, you will have to conduct some research. Once you know the best keywords and keyword phrases, you will need to write unique, quality content using those keywords.
It’s important to note that SEO is a long-term strategy, but once it starts bringing in leads, you should see a high conversion rate!
2. PPC (Pay-Per-Click)
PPC allows you to explicitly target potential customers looking for your products or services. You will need to conduct ongoing research to determine the best keywords for your target audience.
PPC is an effective and quick option to generate leads, but it’s a higher cost than other strategies.
3. Quality Backlinks
A backlink is when a credible company includes your company’s website information on their site. Backlinks can help you reach a larger audience and builds credibility with your audience (backlinks also help improve your SEO).
It’s imperative that you never pay for backlinks and do your research before adding your website to another site. Backlinks from untrusted sources could do more harm than good.
You can gain backlinks through:
- Guest blogging on other sites
- A website resource page
- Others sharing your blog content
4. Company Directories
A business directory is a website that provides information on industry-specific businesses and sorts them based on categories. Find directories that are related to your industry to see about having your company listed.
5. Lead Nurturing Email Marketing
Lead nurturing email marketing uses the strategy of “dripping” emails to a person’s inbox over a long period. Write emails that provide value to the reader. Depending on your target audience, you might need multiple drip emails for specific audiences.
This lead generation effort is a relevant and targeted strategy that keeps you “front of mind” with the reader.
Evaluating B2B Leads Quality
Before you begin your B2B lead generation strategies, make sure to identify the criteria for a quality lead. Some ideas for determining a quality lead can include:
- Is the lead an “ideal” prospect?
- Does the lead show immediate interest in your product or service?
- Closing potential?
- Revenue potential?
3 Types of B2B Sales Leads
Once you identify the criteria for a quality lead, you will need to categorize them into three types.
- Hot Leads (SQL) – Ready to buy/close the deal.
- Warm Leads (MQL) – Interested in the product or service, might not be ready to buy yet, and is likely to purchase in the future
- Cold Leads – Isn’t aware of your product/service or is only looking for information with no intent on buying.
Keeping track and identifying incoming leads will help you to evaluate the success of each of your lead generation strategies.
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