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 way too many times. Yes, we all know it is of great importance. What you need to focus on instead is what techniques you can deploy for bringing better leads. 

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

In this blog, I am going to list down the B2B lead generation techniques that work in 2022. 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 definitely 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. A lot of prospects might become convinced of your knowledge of the subject matter because of your blog channel. 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 that may bring value to your business directly, 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 the content you create, which can help you develop an all-rounded picture.

5. Add a demo video to your homepage

Definitely try this one out if your goal is to leverage your website home page for B2B lead generation. A short demo video could let your prospects know what they can expect from your product or service. It will also act as a medium that arouses curiosity and will compel prospects to sign up for a full demo session. Just remember to use creative techniques that put your point forward in a straightforward way.

6. Implement conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategies

CRO strategies are crucial for B2B companies and need to be updated on a timely basis. Think of interlinking opportunities, building backlinks, using heat maps, and optimizing forms. However, you have to keep in mind 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 are using resource forms in-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. Based on the results, you can then move on to use whichever version works best for you. 

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 in the sense that 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 in case you are away.  

8. Create high-value lead magnets

Guides, reports, blogs, eBooks, and whitepapers are the type of content that act as lead magnets. This kind of detailed content can help you get more leads if you market it the right way. 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 on the basis of their past activity (blogs and pages that have 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 gives you a way to leverage the connections of your existing clients while also 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 an overwhelming process, but if you get creative, you’ll appreciate the process. Just make sure to understand any channel you use to get the most out of it. Without a good idea about what works on which platform you’ll essentially be shooting in the dark. 

When it comes to B2B lead generation, you may realize that a channel that works for some other business isn’t profiting you, but that’s okay. Identifying what exactly 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