I can start by emphasizing the importance of lead generation for business or B2B lead generation, but I guess we have all heard the story too often. Yes, we all know it is of great importance. Instead, it would be best if you focused on what techniques you can deploy to bring better leads. 

The prevailing opinion is that strategies should evolve over time and as your business grows. You’ll receive the same results if you keep using the same techniques (not much of a shocker). Indeed, the main channels for procuring leads change rarely in a year or a couple of years. However, you can use these channels innovatively to get better results. 

In this blog, I will list the B2B lead generation techniques that work in 2024. Let’s get to it then.

1. Email marketing automation

Email marketing automation is no longer a practice that you can consider as an add-on to your regular strategies. The strategies should be powered by automated processes if you want to generate high-quality leads. 

The industry is constantly praising the effectiveness of personalized emails and triggered sequences. It’s because they work. But email marketing automation is much more than sending emails. It tells you the right way to reach each and every one of your prospects, thereby increasing the chances of them becoming a lead. Power your nurture campaigns with personalized emails and efficient workflows to tap into a wider set of audiences.

Ideally, you should pair out-of-box email campaigns with marketing automation to convince your prospects. Don’t underestimate the potential of human touch. 

77% of email marketing ROI comes from segmented, targeted, and triggered campaigns. According to DMA

2. Create a free tool or offer a free service

A free tool or service can become a way to gain the trust of your prospects, which can further pave the way for these prospects to convert into leads and clients. The prospects will get to see the kind of support you are providing and become convinced to try any other products/services that you offer. 

This could also be used as a channel to build a great subscriber list. The beauty of this move is that this set of leads will already be familiar with the industry and you will have the right intent to nurture them in the future. The whole process of increasing the lead score before a lead can move to the sales team can be eliminated. The likelihood that these leads will eventually turn into clients could be extremely high. 

3. Content marketing

You and I both know the importance of content for a B2B company. It may sound like a broken record at this point but pay attention to the kind of content that you are preparing. Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical but don’t compromise on quality and account for SEO at every point. Also, a good rule of thumb is to always keep the content updated. Your blog channel might convince many prospects of your knowledge of the subject matter. So, keep it fresh and informative.

Use your blog channel in imaginative ways. For example, you can use the blog sidebar to promote gated content, events, or newsletters. Another option is to include forms with catchy CTAs in between the content to get relevant people to sign up. You can also leverage landing pages to get more leads. Keep in mind that content marketing is a channel that will be highly valuable in the long run (unlike paid mediums).

Another way to get more leads is to use case studies. Creating thoroughly researched case studies about the experience of your existing customers can help you get high-value leads. You also ask your clients to create short videos that can act as testimonials. This type of content can be leveraged in email campaigns to inculcate a sense of trustworthiness amongst your prospects and leads.

Automated emails drive 320% more revenue when compared to non-automated emails. According to Campaign Monitor

4. Social media marketing

While social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook can be used to reach out to a specific set of people who may directly bring value to your business, platforms like Reddit and Quora could be used to discover a completely different set of audiences. 

For effective social media marketing, you have to know which platform to use in what manner. Take, for instance, Quora, which can be used to discover common queries that people put up about the industry. You can work these questions in your content, which can help you develop an all-rounded picture.

5. Add a demo video to your homepage

Try this one to leverage your website home page for B2B lead generation. A short demo video could let your prospects know what to expect from your product or service. It will also act as a medium that arouses curiosity and compels prospects to sign up for a full demo session. Just remember to use creative techniques that put your point forward straightforwardly.

6. Implement conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategies

CRO strategies are crucial for B2B companies and must be updated on time. Think of interlinking opportunities, building backlinks, using heat maps, and optimizing forms. However, it would help if you remembered to A/B test the strategies you end up using because you never know what might work better for your website. 

For example, if you use resource forms between blogs to get more sign-ups, you’ll have to see how many fields you can put up in the form. You can create two variables with different numbers of fields and see which one is performing better. You can use whichever version works best for you based on the results. 

7. Use chatbots to provide timely support

Customer experience is a key ingredient these days when we talk about successful businesses. And chatbots can help you do exactly that. Thanks to artificial intelligence, chatbots are now highly efficient because they can be automated to provide quick responses. At the very least, you can let the leads know when you’ll be available to offer assistance if you are away.  

8. Create high-value lead magnets

Guides, reports, blogs, eBooks, and whitepapers are the types of content that act as lead magnets. This detailed content can help you get more leads if you market it correctly. Furthermore, the leads that come through such content will be of higher value than, say, the sign-ups you get from a blog lead gen form. 

43% of marketers said they have generated at least one customer from their blog. According to Hubspot.

You can use this content in your email campaigns, send regular marketing nurture emails stating how a resource can be helpful for your audience, and market it through paid channels. Another option is to segment your audience based on their past activity (blogs and pages visited) and send them resources related to the information they are seeking. This way, you’ll be able to run highly targeted campaigns, thereby increasing the chances of getting better leads. 

9. Create a referral program

A referral program can go so far as to get to clients by eliminating the entire process of finding and nurturing the leads. It allows you to leverage the connections of your existing clients while strengthening the relationship with them. 

Almost 40% of major companies with more than 500 people are going to implement at least one intelligent assistant or AI-based chat robot in 2019. By the end of 2020, 80% of entrepreneurs will use chatbots. According to Chatbots Magazine.

In Closing

Generating quality leads could be overwhelming, but if you get creative, you’ll appreciate the process. Just understand any channel you use to get the most out of it. You’ll essentially be shooting in the dark without a good idea about what works on which platform. 

Regarding B2B lead generation, you may realize that a channel that works for some other business isn’t profiting from you, but that’s okay. Identifying what works for you may involve some trials and errors, but that is part of the process.

Sources

• Essence of email: Email Marketing Segmentation – Slice Your Email Database Effectively
• Campaign Monitor: Marketing automation
• Hubspot: Blogging Increases Visibility and (in-turn) Leads
• Chatbots Magazine: Chatbot Report 2019: Global Trends and Analysis