7 Tips for getting the most out of lead generation.

There are so many variables to consider as “the best” lead gen strategies to deploy, and there’s no silver bullet. Every business and market has variation and buyers with different challenges.

However, I see many companies missing the mark not because they selected the wrong marketing channel, but because they don’t have a data-driven understanding of their Brand, Ideal Customer Profile, or Customer Journey. These three pillars support the foundation for the lead generation program. Your existing database is filled with opportunities to increase demand gen because you have an excellent opportunity to generate MQLs through nurture campaigns that should be part of the “lead gen program.”

Brand Identity, Ideal Customer Profile development, and Customer Journey help you reduce the friction for getting your target audience to respond to your campaigns (Digital and traditional). I guarantee you’ll have higher lead gen and demand gen success by running these exercises and layering the Covid-19 effect (empathy, shared concern, all in this together) into your marketing programs. They must proceed before going after marketing channels, somewhat blindly and costly.

Brand

Evaluate what Real Value and Differentiators (quantifiable, qualitative) your brand offers customers. Your Personas, Their Perceptions, and Unique Differentiators and Voice will carry the value your brand brings to each customer’s success. Define customer success and how your brand promise delivers on it.

Ideal Customer Profiles 

Do not churn as long as you deliver on your brand’s promise. They have unique needs and bring your company the top percent of revenue. Focus on the demographics, behaviors, drivers, and behaviors (intent data). You might have several Ideal Customer Profiles in a few markets! Zero in on target audiences with a personalized content strategy.

Customer Journey

Develop your Customer Journey (pre-sale, during the sale, activation, renewal, advocacy) overlaying the sales cycle. You can prioritize what’s needed along the Funnel (Top, Middle, Bottom), and this should include customer success. The customer journey includes business goals and produces opportunities for your firm to capitalize.

Now that you have a clear brand value prop and understand who to target, and where the opportunities and priorities for each stage of the funnel for your firm, you’re ready for 7 proven strategies to consider for your lead generation strategy. You must always follow the ROI and continually optimize.

1. In general, one of the most effective and efficient ways of generating leads for a SaaS startup is by focusing on content development (telling a more compelling story) and inbound marketing. Blogging and developing pillar content based on ranking keywords relevant and timely to your audience should be a high priority to gain organic traffic and more leads over time.  SEO is marketing with Search Engines and should be established along the funnel (Awareness – Rank for informational traffic; Consideration – Rank for evaluation clicks; Decision – Rank, attract/promote conversions.) Fortunately, all of this content can be repurposed into drip marketing campaigns along nurture tracks and sales enablement emails for specific target audiences. Hence, your Outbound model is fueled with very targeted assets that have consistent branding and messaging. PERSONALIZE!

2. Create premium and personalized content. Premium content like guides, eBooks, and whitepapers represents one of the best lead generation opportunities for SaaS companies to begin targeting your Ideal Customer Profiles. Conduct campaigns by channel and target audience and optimize Calls to Action and Value Props to assess what is performing optimally.

3. Integrate with other products and start a referral program that also includes customer referrals. Partners and customers are a fantastic vehicle for leads if you can execute. Create a “Referral Program” then break it down by audiences (Channel Partner, Clients, etc.) and alter the terms and conditions.

4. Offer a free trial and path to subscribers.  Online Chat is also a fantastic tool for engagement, so integrate AI Bots and staff it accordingly.  Also, set up tracking processes for Online Chat, free trials, and call-in lead programs.

5. Host regular webinars in a series and become Thought Leader in your niche – Create a Best Practices series that pushes the industry forward – your product (and sales) should be secondary to becoming a leading voice in your market.

6. Optimize your lead funnel (Awareness, Consideration, Decision) conversion rates.  The funnel must be thought of as a project plan – Goals, plan, process, resources, and implementation. Your tech stack needs to offer workflow reporting, dashboards for evaluating traffic trends, testing offers, landing pages, campaign/page tracking, and tracking Video across your Website to measure ROAS. If you are not able to track, optimize, and attribute revenue to lead gen programs, you’ll never gain the credibility and trust from your C-level stakeholders.

7. Prioritize Lead Quality over Lead Quantity by simply reviewing leads moving along the success path and out of the success path. Tracking lead statuses is a simple method for evaluating out of market leads and comparing them to lead volume to determine quality. For example, if more than 5% of leads generated through the Website are getting “unqualified – not a fit,” you most likely have a content messaging problem in your SEO plan. Each marketing channel can provide indicators for shifting and adjusting spend every month. Track insights and continually make changes to move the needle.

Conclusion 

B2B Lead Generation and growing revenue are challenge for companies. Without a strategy, plan and resources it can become quite costly.  Have good conversations as often as possible about where and what to invest marketing dollars in. Twitter can be a good source of leads.  Your website is a highly valuable asset if you invest in it.  Use lead databases and marketing automation. Leverage a partners audience and their reach to generate leads.  Referral websites are also a great source for leads.  Good luck!