Introduction
Lead generation tactics for B2B companies can be as vast as the open ocean, and this blog will outline some tactics that could be best suited for your lead funnel. (Note, at times Lead and Demand Gen are confused. While the latter attempts to create brand awareness and is higher up the funnel, the former is all about obtaining the leads. So both work together.) However, from a marketing provenance perspective, what are the initial stages prior to arriving at lead generation?

Provenance
Acquiring leads originates from the alignment of corporate objectives, where the end result should be increased sales. For example, to “capitalize growth revenue” means this initial axiom needs to align with its respective corporate strategies, tactics and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). For instance, targeting a new, segmented audience (strategy) means building your CRM list either via acquiring contacts from a trade show, purchasing a list, or purchasing a service from a related vendor to deliver your message to that new audience (tactics). Next, respective KPIs need to be determined and analyzed.

This goes without saying, per my previous blog, the company’s (or organization’s) branding needs to align with all the stages in order to deliver integrated marketing to the respective audience. With today’s numerous ways of delivering messages, it’s imperative that all messages work cohesively to work effectively—mixed messages will only confuse the audience and suppress the company’s complete story.

Strategy
So from the corporate objective comes strategy, and there can be numerous strategies addressing the objective, such as company positioning, increasing market share, segmenting market/audience, creating product/service awareness, announcing company news, and demonstrating a product virtually (webinar). One needs to research which strategies are best for the objective, or what are the current tactics the company has utilized in their budget that best compliments the strategies. For instance, if the company has a strong digital presence (tactic), using landing pages are best utilized (see below under Digital Ads).  

Tactics
From a corporate objective, we arrived at its strategy, then aligning the correct tactics. Depending on your strategy, target audience, and also budget, there are numerous tactics for acquiring leads. Traditional tactics such as print ads are difficult to measure, but there are more effective ways using digital tracking. Each of these tactics is a blog topic on its own, but here’s my 10,000-foot (or 3,048 meter haha) overview on some key B2B tactics…

• Blogs: Writing blogs on a consistent basis builds trust with search engines, and it informs them that your company is a subject expert in your industry who can be trusted. Hence, your website will be indexed better versus sites that do not generate blogs. Another reason why content is at the forefront of today’s digital age.

• Digital Ads: These forms of ads (e.g., banner, mobile, Google Ads, and retargeting) are best linked to a landing page that can capture the visitor’s information; thus, a simple form asking for name, company, region and email are required. Further, the information provided on the landing page should be consistent with the messaging that the ad outlined. Industry practitioners say it’s best practice that the landing page be free of any website navigational functions, which allows the visitor to focus solely on the content and not be distracted by methods where they may deviate from the ability read the page content and fill out the form.

• eBlasts: Email blasts will become more and more important as Google will eliminate cookie tracking based on consumers who voiced their opinions about privacy issues. Cookies are associated with retargeting ads; and a simple example is when you visit a website then the product you were shopping for has appeared on your social media channel as an ad. Hence, this eBlast tactic will rely on the ability of your CRM to generate a contact list that’s clean, up to date and nurtured. The main eBlast can be followed up by drip campaigns complementing that initial send. A customer who is fully engaged from the first email, should be eliminated from subsequent emails (explained below under customer journey). In general, a high percentage of potential customers who initially fill out a form are not ready to make a purchase; hence, they need to be nurtured through the buyer’s journey.

• GEO Fencing: This tactic digitally fences a building, and informs potential/new customers—who are in proximity to, or inside, the building—your ad through their mobile device. A vendor providing this service is Reach Local, who are affiliated with USA Today and have access to their vast consumer data. (Note: Per my last research, this tactic could be best suited for B2C as there were wasted audience reached for B2B.)

• SEM: Search Engine Marketing is a tactic with faster effects versus SEO (see below). An example of a sponsored SEM is paid Google Adwords, where greenfield (potential/new) customers arrive to your website instantaneously but is costly. SEM is akin to a prescription medication—pricey but kicks in fast.

• SEO: Search Engine Optimization is a tactic with slower results versus SEM (see above) that has faster results but is more costly. Organically, SEO, in a nutshell, is choosing the appropriate keywords and adding them to your website in various areas (url, title header, and copy, for instance). A goal can be to achieve page 1 placement on a Google search for a specific keyword(s). Programs for researching keywords include SEMRush, SEO Quake, Google Analytics, Moz, and Google Adword Planner, for example.

Two SEO game changers include choosing the appropriate keywords to its relevant “search intent” (informational, transactional or navigational, and know when to use each); and the creation of a negative keywords list where you do not want your ad to appear during a search (e.g., a conflicting word search such as “used” when you’re selling a “new” product; during a company career search; and/or to have your keyword be associated with an adult content search). SEO is like a slow-acting, over-the-counter medication—but once it kicks in, it’s effective.

• Social Media: When utilized properly, social media is effective. A key to social is to post regularly during defined schedules best suited for your industry and audience. Posting does not have to be five-business days per week, it can only be three days to avoid audience fatigue. But post consistently in order for your audience to know when to expect it.

Also, social is a form of off-page SEO, and this is where activities outside your website can impact brand reinforcement and search ranking (SERP). Another form of off-page SEO is through the use of backlinks, where you will contact reputable industry-related websites to link to your site, or review your product. Further, the use of #FlashbackFriday posts adds historical establishment to your company.

• Trade Shows: This can be virtual or traditional in-person; and either way, there needs to be ways to capture attendee information. Also, show messaging (such as through booth display panels), needs to align with the corporate messaging, imagery, colors, etc. (that branding concept I mentioned earlier). Trade shows can best be advertised to your audience by way of an eBlast or through the show organizer’s advertising efforts.

• Vendors: Industry vendors providing services such as digital ads, webinars, social media postings, app ads, and eNewsletter insertions delivered to their contact list, can be vital assets to your lead generation efforts. Read beyond a vendor’s media kit to determine if they will truly deliver on their promise; and with virtual metrics available for digital methods, vendor advertising results can be effective.

• Video: 1990s web pioneer Roger Black once said (to paraphrase) motion is physiologically built in us. If we see something that moves, it captures our attention—as that movement is either going to give us something to eat, or eat us. In this regard, various marketing literatures such as a brochure or white paper, can be repurposed as a short, informative, educational and entertaining video with sound track, voice over, animation/live action, etc.—then posted on your relevant industry channel. SME say videos cater to our emotions, compared to print that caters to our logic.     

KPIs
There are numerous KPIs to measure the effectiveness of your respective tactics, these include click through rate, open rate, search engine results page, customer conversions, delivery rate, soft/hard bounce, buyer’s journey points, etc., where each can have its own ideal benchmark. These can be determined through the use of marketing automation apps including SEMRush, Hubspot, Pardot, Sales Force, and Google Analytics, for example.

In a more complex tracking method of a buyer’s journey (which is also known as “revenue marketing”), for instance after an eblast campaign, pre-determined calculated points (aka lead scoring) can be awarded when a buyer visits your website and/or downloads a gated content, for example. When the buyer achieves a total score of 100 points, accumulated from all the possible points combined, that buyer is then forwarded to a company sales representative to be contacted as they are ready to purchase. An example of this can be Salesforce utilized as a CRM for its contact list, and Pardot (Salesforce’s optional module) delivers/schedules tactics (e.g., social media or an eBlast), then provides the respective tactic metrics, and tracks the buyer’s journey.

Conclusion
In closing, when the corporate objective is aligned with the strategy to deliver the tactics chosen, the KPIs need to be analyzed regularly in order to determine its success. Are the numbers telling of the tactic and if not, what can you do to make the necessary adjustments? Are there customer conversions? Are the customers opting out of the eBlast? Did the one- or two-drip campaign generate any interests? There are numerous factors that will affect these metrics, and there are no sure methods for achieving your goals. However, you can indubitably choose the appropriate tactic to match your strategy—then gradually adjust your execution to achieve your goals.