Lead generation is a crucial part of any worthwhile inbound marketing strategy. If you find that your leads are often leading you straight into a dead-end, it's time to consider the following 6 Dos and Don'ts of B2B Lead Generation:
Do: Jump on the social media bandwagon.
If you haven't already embraced social media as a legitimate part of your marketing efforts, now's the time to do it. Gone are the days when your website was sufficient as the sole representation of your business online. Social media is an effective way to drive traffic to your site, so make your virtual presence known. This doesn't mean that you have to join every social networking site available, but you should use the most effective ones to your advantage. Not sure where to start? Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn allow you to directly connect with your prospects in a laid back, casual manner.
Don't: Have a slow response time.
If your marketing and sales teams haven't already collaborated to create a lead response strategy, it's time to start the process. Without a prompt response, leads are highly unlikely to convert to customers. Yet, there's often a disconnect between marketing and sales teams when it comes to lead response time. That's why cooperatively developing a lead response strategy is crucial to the effectiveness of the entire B2B lead generation process. Ensure that your marketing and sales teams are aligning their efforts to identify qualified leads and then contacting those leads in a timely manner.
Do: Blog regularly.
Don't underestimate the power of blogging in B2B lead generation. The purpose of a blog is to provide your readers with valuable content that helps to establish your company as an expert in the industry. Thus, just having a blog that sits around collecting virtual dust is ineffective. Your blog must be updated regularly and provide useful, worthwhile information. An effective, well-run blog helps to build trust and credibility with users.
Don't: Buy your leads.
Direct marketing campaigns-- in the form of a mailer, an email campaign, or even a sponsored Facebook post-- can be an effective way to generate leads. However, direct marketing campaigns require lists including contact information for leads. While there are a variety of ways you can approach developing this list, there's one that you should always avoid: purchasing leads. Buying a list of leads might initially seem tempting, but it's rarely an effective way to gain customers. In fact, it often has the opposite effect; most people do not appreciate spam and will waste no time making that clear to you.
Do: Offer free content.
A simple and effective way to increase website traffic is by offering free content. Let's face it: all consumers enjoy feeling like they're getting a good deal. But what type of content should you offer? That should vary, depending on the user's stage in the buying process. If they're in the earliest stage of the process, consider offering a complimentary ebook that can help them solve a problem in their job, use this to educate your prospect and establish credibility. If they're ready to buy, offering a consultation or demo provides an excellent route for them to make the conversion from lead to customer.
Don't: Spam your network.
You've devoted a great deal of time, effort, and energy into being viewed as a trustworthy, credible business. One of the quickest ways to destroy that trust is by spamming the network you worked so hard to develop. A good rule of thumb is use an 80/20 technique when it comes to online marketing. That is, ensure that 80 percent of your marketing online focuses on providing your audience with valuable information. Only 20 percent of your online marketing should focus on directly selling to your audience.