Although it may seem like it’s too early to start thinking about next year’s lead generation strategies, it’s actually the perfect time. This year, B2B businesses should focus on creating a plan that will help them succeed in the future.
In the next few years, we can expect businesses to become more sophisticated in their use of website optimization tools, including chatbots and artificial intelligence, content marketing, paid advertising, and omnichannel marketing. They will also use more unique lead generation tools.
To stay ahead of your competitors, it is of high importance to be up-to-date with the latest trends in the industry. To help you boost your lead generation efforts, here are the most crucial lead generation trends to make use of immediately:
1. Website Optimization And SEO
Search engine optimization continues to be an excellent lead generation method for business-to-business companies. This is because it is able to bring in an audience that is organic and ready to purchase. There is no better quality lead than one that is looking for brands, products, and services like yours.
This year, expect to invest more in your website optimization to increase your business’s rankings in search engines (namely, Google and Bing). By improving your website’s optimization, you can rise above your online competitors, drive organic traffic, and boost conversions on your website.
This will involve improving your site for target keywords, improving your website content, generating backlinks from high-authority sites, and optimizing your business’s online listings.
2. Chatbots and AI
Forbes magazine is predicting that this year, “brands that master two-way conversational marketing and commerce will also deploy chatbots and AI”. AI (artificial intelligence) can be a powerful tool to help create realistic conversations with potential clients, widening your marketing reach, and generating new leads.
AI can help marketers create a more custom-tailored experience for clients and a more streamlined lead generation process. The question is: Are you using AI effectively for your business?
3. Content Marketing
The saying “content is king” is still true today. Clients look to brands to provide them with engaging and interesting information, making content marketing a powerful tool for generating leads.
Content marketing refers to creating and sharing content that is interesting to your target audience. This can include blog articles, eBooks, and videos. As a marketer, your job is to promote this content across different platforms and include calls to action to encourage people to become paying clients.
4. Paid Advertising
You have to pay to use PPC advertising platforms, but you often get better and faster results than with organic methods. In fact, people who arrive at a business’s website from a paid ad are 50% more likely to buy than those who come from an organic link.
If you want to see more results from your organic marketing tactics like SEO and social media, you should invest in PPC. PPC will allow you to set your targeting parameters, write compelling ad copy, direct users to a set landing page, and generate more leads for your business.
5. Omnichannel Marketing
Rather than focusing your energy on one primary channel, omnichannel marketing involves marketing your business across a variety of platforms, so you’re able to stay top-of-mind with your audience and engage users at multiple touchpoints.
An omnichannel strategy involves reaching users on multiple platforms. For example, you might publish an engaging blog article and share it on social media. You might also distribute the article to your email list and run a paid ad campaign. You might also direct visitors to your article via a YouTube video.
6. Lead Generation Software
More and more B2B companies are turning to lead generation tools to improve their marketing efforts. Lead generation software can save your marketing team time, keep your marketing efforts organized, track progress, and much more.
A tool like Visitor Queue can provide you with lead generation capabilities by capturing website visitors’ information and compiling it into a centralized database. This means you can generate leads passively with little effort.
7. Email List Generation
You can save time by using a B2B email list provider to grow your email list. The provider can find users who fit your target audience, so your team can spend more time on things like closing deals and providing service to existing clients.
The email list providers mentioned in the linked guide are more reputable than others. You can subscribe to the service you want and generate a list of targeted email addresses. Follow up with users to generate more leads for your business.
8. Mobile Optimization
From 2019, Google began using mobile-first indexing to give searchers more accurate results. Although some companies didn’t immediately adopt these changes, by 2022, they should be prioritizing mobile optimization.
What are the benefits of mobile optimization? Mobile optimization can improve your brand’s visibility, as well as click-through and conversion rates. Additionally, it can also help to improve your search engine ranking.
Make sure your web design works well on mobile devices. Use images that are sized for mobile devices, include content that is easy to read on a small screen, and make sure the mobile version of your site loads quickly.
9. Guest Blog Posting
If you post articles on your website’s blog, you can generate organic traffic and leads. But if you also submit guest posts on third-party sites, you can make a big impact on your website’s SEO (link building) and traffic (more exposure).
If you want to write guest articles for other websites, start by contacting websites that are popular in your industry. Ask if they accept guest articles. You’ll get more exposure for your writing if you target websites that have a lot of traffic or a large social media following.
10. Lead Generation Pages And Funnels
Sales funnels often get a bad reputation because of the cult-like culture and spammy sales tactics. However, the concept of lead generation pages is powerful. These pages are designed to convert new visitors into high-quality prospects.
First, you need to decide what traffic channels you want to use to drive users to your site. You can use lead page builders to create a high-converting landing page. You might also hire an expert copywriter to make your message more effective and increase conversions.
Many B2B businesses create targeted campaigns by having dedicated landing pages for each type of service they offer. This allows them to better organize their leads and direct their sales agents to follow up with the best offer.
11. Data-Driven Approach
There has been a significant increase in the importance of data and analytics in decision-making processes for businesses in the last few years, as noted by Forbes. Around 59% of enterprises are using analytics to some degree.
A data-based approach is important to B2B organizations, according to 95% of C-level executives. Having a data-driven culture in your company can improve your business’s operations and help you develop a more effective go-to-market strategy.
12. Client Data Platforms
Once you understand how important data is, you can start building a lead generation process that uses client data platforms. This will help you manage the huge amount of data that’s available.
The information that a potential client leaves behind when they interact with various online platforms (such as your website, social media, etc) can be very useful in terms of creating a stronger lead generation process. This data is known as a “Client Data Platform” (CDP), and extracting and analyzing this data can give you some valuable insights.
The last thing to remember is never to violate data collection policies, such as GDPR rules, to avoid any legal proceedings, which could be very harsh for your business.
13. Intent Data
The data helps identify people who are looking for solutions to their business challenges and are more likely to buy your product.
Knowing what keywords your ideal client uses in their Google search, what sources they trust, and what topics they are most interested in can allow you to target them more precisely and effectively.
14. Account-Based Marketing
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) enables organizations to target an entire account rather than reaching out to separate individuals each time. This overcomes the challenge of having to constantly build new relationships with potential clients.
The usage of ABM has increased by 47% since 2016, showing how effective it is for B2B lead generation.
Use smart targeting to find prospects who fit your ideal client profile, who potentially need your product, and to whom you can reach out. Some targeting strategies to keep in mind for 2022 include account targeting, retargeting, and pre-targeting.
15. Sales Specialization
The sales process is becoming more sophisticated and now requires trained specialists for each step. These new roles in lead generation are: researchers, copywriters, campaign strategists, SDRs, and BDRs. Each specialist has different specializations and skills.
Based on LinkedIn’s 2021 Jobs on the Rise Report, business development and sales professionals are one of the fastest-growing job positions. The number of hires for these roles has increased by 45% compared to last year, and this trend is expected to continue to grow in 2022.
16. Automated Sales Cadence Tools
Another popular trend on the verge is the automation of sales cadences. These tools enable salespeople to:
- Check data more easily
- Assign certain routine processes to the computer
- Spend more time on personalization
- Reach out to more leads
- Customize the outreach process
- Keep track of the progress made
Automated cadence makes lead generation much easier and gives salespeople more freedom to focus on more difficult tasks while less important tasks are taken care of quickly and efficiently.
17. Omnichannel Outreach
The most important part of generating leads is starting a business conversation with the right person. In the last few years, there has been a growing trend of digital self-serve channels and remote human interactions. This trend is only going to continue in 2022, with more and more buyers using this strategy.
If you want to engage a prospect, you should try using multiple channels at the same time.
Other channels that are growing in popularity are cold emails, phone calls, and social platform interactions. A sales cadence tool can help you coordinate all of these channels to get the most out of your outreach.
18. Interactive Content
The competition for attention online is only going to get more fierce as more and more companies create content to draw in leads. By 2022, experts predict that video content will make up 82% of all internet traffic. To make sure your message stands out, you need to create interactive content in the form of videos, quizzes, surveys, infographics, or audio. This will keep your prospects engaged with your content.
CIENCE has just launched the Enterprise Sales Development podcast to keep its audience updated on the latest industry trends. As podcasts become more popular every year, this could become another source of incoming leads in the future.
19. Outsourcing
Many companies are trying to find ways to save money and make their in-house team’s time more efficient in the aftermath of the COVID crisis. If you don’t have the resources to invest in hiring, training, and sustaining an in-house team of sales representatives, outsourcing lead generation may be a smart solution, according to HubSpot.
Outsourcing lead generation can be beneficial for companies as it can be less expensive than if done in-house, and professionals who are experienced in conducting successful lead generation campaigns can be enrolled to do the job.
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