An engine tune-up to get your car ready for spring and summer road trips used to be a fairly routine and simple process. That was before car manufacturers elevated our vehicles from being a ‘mode of transportation’ to a ‘medium of entertainment’. There is no other way to describe my favourite set of wheels, the Tesla Model S. It’s not just my vehicle, or an amusing toy, or even a status symbol; it is, above all else, a source of immensely gratifying entertainment. It never ceases to surprise me. I know that I’m driving a better car every day because software updates are done while I sleep. Elon Musk and his team of brilliant innovators didn’t stop at creating a hybrid electric car designed for a certain level of performance. They continue to monitor and tweak their baby to push performance further and higher. That is why customers like me enjoy a better driving experience than the one I had when I first bought the car two years ago. Here is a car that simply didn’t try too hard to “fit in”—it was designed to “stand out”!
That is a very important lesson for us marketers, especially in the world of B2B lead generation. We are completely overwhelmed with factors such as the evolution of the B2B buyer, the fast-paced advancements in marketing automation, the plethora of social marketing channels, and all the glitz and glamour of digital marketing. Most B2B companies will try to do a little bit of everything and create lead generation campaigns that will “fit into” the current scenario. What if we tried instead to “stand out”?
You can start by asking these 4 questions:
- How do we focus on a mission that will make life (a lot) better for our customers?
- Can we take a bold step and foray into areas that others avoid because they are too challenging?
- How do we build a sustainable marketing strategy that will work now and into the future?
- Are we prepared to take measured (and sometimes crazy) risks, fail fast, and then strive to not just recover, but work like hell to win?
10 Steps to Boost B2B Lead Generation Performance
Here is a checklist your B2B organization can use to monitor your lead generation process and work towards higher performance, better results and ultimately, happier customers.
- Multi-tone Paint a.k.a. Personalization: You have seen cars with two-tone paint which shows a different colour when seen from a different angle. Think about branding your lead generation campaigns with the multi-tone paint of personalization. Each prospect and customer must find something of relevance, interest and appeal in your campaign. If that isn’t happening, you may be trying to sell a hybrid car to someone looking to buy a boat!
- Make Marketing the Customer’s Champion: Now here is a fundamental issue in a vast majority of organizations—product development creates the offering, marketing builds a lead generation campaign to attract buyers, then sales goes out to convert leads and close. Marketing can no longer just sit on middle ground. CMOs and their teams have to step up and become the internal champions to help product development design what customers are really looking for.
- Use Big Data to Nail the Brand Qualities Customers Want: Most often, the C-Suite is mired in analytics and complicated metrics. The CMO is drinking from the fire hose when it comes to Big Data. Yes you do need data, but the actionable insight you want to extract from that data is to find out the most desirable qualities your customer wants to see in your brand. Only then can you work towards delivering that brand experience. As Elon Musk advises, “Apply the rules of physics when you want to do something new.” That is how the Tesla was designed and it continues to raise the bar on innovation.
- Ensure a Lead-to-Revenue Process Model: Even as newer and more advanced marketing automation software and systems emerge, remember that there is no substitute for proper process, planning and preparation. You need an integrated lead-to-revenue process model. When deciding to invest in marketing automation, check to ensure that your existing systems and processes are compatible.
- Follow Life After the Close: Today’s buyer may go all the way from initial interest to the sale independently. But as a seller, you have to remember that there is life after the close. In fact, the post-sale relationship is the biggest factor to impact customer loyalty and referral business. I bought my first Tesla in the showroom, but whether I will buy the next one is determined by my experience behind the wheel and the service department.
- Use Predictive Analytics to Measure LTV: B2B lead generation is empowered by predictive analytics. Use the reports to measure the Lifetime Value (LTV) of your customers. Know where you stand currently and then work to enhance that value. Try some Growth Hacking.
- Get a 360 Degree View: Check whether your lead generation program offers a 360° view. If it does not, then how will you monitor and manage your return on investment? Request a demo of the revolutionary, transformational lead generation program, MyLeads2Go.
- Omni-Channel Customer Experience Management: In order to offer a consistent customer experience across all channels, you need to have a responsive marketing strategy. Start at the basics: make sure your website uses responsive design, your digital content is mobile-friendly, you create branded apps that will collect user information and feed it into your database, your email campaigns are not batch-and blast, but personalized (and also mobile friendly), your channel partners have the training and tools to be flexible and agile, and so on.
- Break the Ice: Many C-suite executives tend to make decisions that suffer from a skewed vision or a lack of it. They cling to legacy issues with an approach of “it’s how we’ve always done things”. Break the ice and take responsibility for change. Steer your organization towards greater success by becoming an early adopter of transformational processes that will boost your B2B lead generation performance.
- Document Your Content Marketing Strategy: This 2015 B2B Content Marketing Benchmark Study shows that 48% of B2B marketers say they have a content marketing strategy but it is not documented. How then do these organizations expect to stay on track or course correct when they roll off target? Make your B2B content marketing drive greater lead generation and ROI—10 Things to Keep in Mind.
Have questions about how to drive better performance for your B2B lead generation campaigns? Join this exclusive, B2B LinkedIn Group to exchange notes with thought leaders in the industry.
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You can also email or call me, Louis Foong, at (905) 709-3827.
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