proven methods to generate more b2b leads

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1 A SMARTSEARCH MARKETING WHITEPAPER proven methods to generate more b2b leads at every stage of the b2b sales cycle Updated: JANUARY, 2015

2 More Leads = More Customers An Introduction For most business-to-business (B2B) marketers, mastering the complex sales cycle is essential to your business success. You need prospects to turn into quality leads, and for leads to become loyal customers. But how do you achieve this goal when the B2B sales cycle is complex and lengthy, often lasting 6-12 months? With economic downturns, growing competition and a renewed focus on the bottom line, how do you meet your company s strategic goals while keeping today s web searchers with their short attention spans engaged at every step of the B2B complex sales cycle? The Challenge of Lead Generation You re not alone in this challenge. Marketing Sherpa s 2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report found a top challenge for B2B marketers is generating a sufficient volume of high-quality leads. A telling 80% of B2B marketers indicated they struggle with generating high-quality leads, while 62% said they face challenges in generating a significant volume of leads. In addition, Marketing Sherpa s report summarized that 55% of large B2B companies say that lead nurturing is Organizations that nurture their most challenging aspect of the their leads experience sales cycle. According to Marketing a 45% increase in lead Sherpa s findings, organizations that generation compared with nurture their leads experience a 45% organizations that don t. increase in lead generation compared with organizations that don t. In order to successfully manage the B2B complex sales cycle, you must understand how to retain and nurture leads at every stage. You must understand who is searching for what information and why in order to deliver the content they re looking for at the very moment they need it. About This Guide In this guide, we ll provide the tools and tips you need to be successful and reach your prospects at every stage of the B2B complex sales buying cycle. We ll show you how to: Master the four stages of the B2B complex sales cycle Keep your prospects engaged at every step of the B2B complex sales cycle Match content to the buyer at each stage of the sales cycle Where to focus your team s efforts How to integrate social media into your lead generation strategy How to nurture the sale after you ve won the deal 2

3 Complex Sales: A Matter of Time Mastering the B2B Complex Sales Cycle Let s face it: The B2B sales cycle can be long, very long. Since most B2B buyers make high-cost and high-consideration purchases, it takes time to get purchase decisions through the corporate maze. This means B2B marketers must remain motivated and engaged throughout the entire buying cycle to ensure they find, nurture, win, and ultimately keep a customer. Marketing Sherpa s 2012 Lead Generation Benchmark Report shows that 17% of B2B marketers experience sales cycles from 7-12 months, while 16% report a 4-6 months sales cycle. The good news: when managed effectively, a lengthy sales cycle can create a predictable and reliable revenue stream months 11% 4-6 months 16% More than 1 year 11% 1-3 months 27% Less than 1 day 7% 1 day 3% 2-7 days 13% 8 days - month 17% Source: 2012 MarketingSherpa Lead Generation Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded January 2012, Average Length of B2B Sales Cycle Managing the Complex Sales Cycle For B2B marketers in complex sales, you must develop a plan to engage a prospect at each of the four stages of the cycle, from first touch to closed deal. Your company must be present, from the first inkling of we need a solution to the final decision and delivery of your product or service. You must communicate effectively with every person and every influencer, at every stage of the sales cycle. You must communicate at every stage of the sales cycle Characteristics of B2B Complex Sales Cycle Complex products or services High-consideration purchases Important emotional or expensive products Long research cycle Multiple buyers and influences involved Delayed Purchases Negotiation and/or purchases occur offline 3

4 The Four Stages of B2B Complex Sales Cycle As a B2B marketer, you ll need to understand every stage of the B2B sales cycle in order to meet your prospect there, provide relevant content, and stay in front of your prospect s needs. Understanding the four stages of the B2B sales cycle Awareness, Research, Negotiation, and Purchase will help you deliver the right content at the right time ensuring you re a top contender until the sale is made. Purchase Vendor Selection and Contract Negotiation Awareness Independent Investigation of Opportunity Research Solidfy Facts. Formulize Needs. Identify Vendors. Vendor Evaluation B2B Complex Sales Stages Matched to Buyer Needs B2B Complex Sales Cycle Searchers and Buyers You ll also need to understand the B2B searcher and buyer at all stages of the B2B complex sales cycle. The job title and demographic of your searcher is valuable intelligence, as it can help you craft effective calls-to-action and develop marketing tools based on the job level, education and needs of your searchers. Searcher demographics can vary from industry to industry, so it s a good idea to ask for job title information in your forms Purchase C-level/Purchaser Negotiation Awareness Research Executive Intern/Assistant Manager B2B Complex Sales Stages Matched to Target Searcher 4

5 At each stage of the B2B complex sales cycle, your buyer becomes more sophisticated. In the initial or research phase, entry-level employees or interns may conduct the online search to compile general information on a product. As the sales cycle progresses, the search is managed by higher-level, more experienced employees looking to streamline the list of possible vendors and make a purchase. Therefore, your late-cycle marketing assets need to be increasingly sophisticated. Ensure your marketing assets match the searcher profile at every stage. Sales Cycle SEO and Keywords Because both searchers and their searches evolve through the sales cycle, you ll want to create a keyword strategy tailored to each stage. Typically, early stage searches begin with general, short phrases of two or three words. As the cycle progresses, the keywords often change to multi-word, detailed long tail keyword phrases to help produce more targeted search results. Typically, early stage searches begin with general, short phrases of two or three words Searchers use 2 3 word phrases early in the B2B sales cycle 5

6 Stage 1: Awareness Reach Prospects Early in the Buying Cycle It s early in your prospects buying cycle it s important to reach your buyers now. During Stage 1, Awareness, the hunt for a new product or service begins. At this stage, searchers look to develop a short list of vendors How CMOs improve Lead Generation ROI Improve Use of CRM Quicker initial contact with customer Elimination of print media spending Focus on Quality Implement and integrate lead tracking system Measure and refine you want to make sure your company is on that list. Your potential customer has a problem, and needs a solution. The search often begins online by an intern, researcher, or entry-level employee assigned with finding baseline information about prospective companies that can provide a solution. There is no need to engage with a sales person at this point. While an executive may initially identify the need, the preliminary research will likely be delegated as a fact-finding mission. Before compiling a list of vendors, the researcher will scan through the wealth of information available online including company reviews and reputation, product and services offered, team members, and social media. Provide Helpful, Expert Advice The key at this stage of the sales cycle is to provide helpful, expert advice on a regular basis. Make sure you establish your presence, consistently and broadly, on multiple websites, in particular in places frequented by potential clients. Think of your marketing efforts literally as providing a valuable service to your prospects: Marketing as a Service. When measuring your return on investment in marketing, it s essential to measure the value of each stage. Frequently, too little value is placed on early stage, too much on late stage. But brand building and site visits in the early stage often plant the seeds for end sales. During Stage 1, provide content without asking anything in return. You ll see more website traffic and quickly position your company as a thought leader. A good strategy during this stage is to give away information both on-site and off-site without requiring searchers contact information. You can ask for information, but do so without requiring it. During initial searches, your potential customers will be averse to giving out their address or contact info. The average person receives more than 7,000 advertising impressions per day and they don t want more! Give away just enough useful information to position your company as the leading expert in your field, while incenting the searcher to return to your website at stage 2 for even more compelling information. 6

7 Tailor Your Content to the Buying Stage Content is key for success at each stage of the B2B Complex Sales Cycle content that wows the reader and presents your company as a trusted expert. Differences in Content Marketing Usage ( By Tactic) Blogs Videos White Papers Print Magazines Print Newsletters ebooks 9% 31% 20% 25% 16% 41% 43% 42% 51% 52% 51% 65% B2B Content Marketing: 2012 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends According to B2B Content Marketing: 2012 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends, on average, marketers use eight content marketing tactics to achieve their marketing goals including article posting, social media, blogs, e-news, case studies and events. Develop a content strategy to manage as well as to create new content. Stage 1 Marketing Tools: Use these marketing tools to provide relevant and compelling content during Stage 1: Website Your Calling Card Blog Thought Leader Guest Articles Third Party Validation News Release Brand Presence Social Media Peer Influence Stage 1 Tools and How Each Influences Your Buyer 7

8 Website: The Modern Calling Card Your corporate website is most likely the first stop for most B2B buyers. It s the modern calling card used to introduce your company to the world. You ll want to ensure your website message and services target your potential audience. Provide overview and concrete information, customer testimonials, and information about company leadership. Also, offer free thought leadership assets such as webcasts and s, to prompt the researcher with enough data to include your company on the short list of potential vendors. Your Corporate Blog Be a Thought Leader A corporate blog provides an opportunity for you to provide thought leadership outside the scope of your main website. Your corporate blog can focus on an endless list of topics all designed to position you as a thought leader and trendsetter of your industry. From tips and advice, to commentary on industry topics and current events, your blog provides limitless opportunities to hook the buyer. The more valuable your content is, the more inspiration you ll provide to visitors to return to your blog and your corporate site on a regular basis to see what s new, and to discover information to help them do their job better. Plus, fresh content is key to improving search engine rankings. The fresher the content, the better the rankings. The more often you update and add content, the better you ll do with search engines and prospects. Guest Articles Third Party Validation Trends in B2B Marketing Budget Allocations Increase your conversions: Offer more than one call to action such as a white paper download and newsletter sign up. Consider publishing articles written about your industry but by experts in your field, rather than your staff. You can offer content that s similar to that on your corporate website or blog, but the articles are hosted off-site rather than on your corporate site. This is a valuable method for creating third-party credibility for your product or service. Ideally, your guest articles are hosted on authoritative sites that link back to your site which helps improve SEO rankings. Track your results to see what s working and where to make improvements to better reach your target audience and make the sale! Many websites especially industry or trade sites are starved for content, and welcome well-written, informative articles authored by out-of-house experts. The more useful information you provide, and the more third-party websites will publish it, the more you ll entrench your brand name across the Internet. 8

9 News Release Brand Presence The news release is one of the most effective ways to drive brand awareness and thought leadership. Your news release can announce almost anything about your company including a new product launch, an award your company has won, events you attend or speak at, and new industry experts you ve added to your staff. Your news release will be distributed across the web, increase your SEO rankings, and provide journalists and analysts with information about your company helping to build brand awareness. It also shows perspective buyers you re vibrant, engaged, and providing thought leadership in your industry. It shows them that your business is a serious contender. Social Media More Than Just Friends In the past, marketing was brand-to-consumer. Today, it s increasingly peer-to-peer: people want to hear from their peers about why they should or shouldn t buy a particular brand. In the last 12 months, use of social media by B2B companies has increased an average of 20%. Position your company as an influencer. That s the main reason why, even in complex B2B sales, social media plays a key role. Your company will need an intelligent, professional strategy for social media to influence your rankings among search engines. Bing, for example, publicly declared that it relies increasingly on Facebook and other so-called social signals to deliver rankings. But don t wing it on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter with great expectations only to experience underwhelming results. The key to success: avoid lumping social media into a single group, and understand the unique value proposition of each. LinkedIn The foremost social media platform for B2Bers, LinkedIn has 175 million members in over 200 countries and territories and adds two new members per second. You need to make sure your company is capitalizing on this audience by being present. You must share ideas, post links to blogs and articles, join LinkedIn groups frequented by customers and potential prospects (or create one of your own), and promote your business. On LinkenIn, focus on posting in groups frequented by potential customers rather than your industry Facebook With more than 900,000,000 users, Facebook is an exciting daily stopping point for users. The problem: prospects seeking an esoteric $1 million B2B purchase are unlikely to post an information request on Facebook, which is more of a personal and social website. Twitter B2B marketers should think of Twitter as a headline generator. Some large companies including divisions of Fortune 500 companies delegate their Twitter account to young new hires, who tweet about travel, music, and drinking. Don t do this. Your goal with Twitter should be to publish compelling, intriguing headlines that drive visitors to your website to read the actual article. Using Twitter in an informed, professional manner will help build the value of your brand. 9

10 Stage 2: Research In Stage 1, you built awareness about your brand. You posted expert advice on a regular basis on multiple websites, especially in places frequented by potential clients. Now it s time to up the ante. In Stage 2, Research, you ll offer more valuable content in exchange for a prospect s contact information gaining quality leads. The more compelling the information you provide, the more likely prospects will offer their contact information to you. More Compelling Content Your potential customers need a solution, and they re seeking information on what to look for and what to avoid in a product or service. During Stage 2, you should provide more detailed and more valuable information to your potential customers such as a white paper solving a specific issue, a webcast featuring your staff expert, or a customer case study demonstrating a client s challenge and success. Stage 2 Marketing Tools: The Form The more compelling the It s essential that you ask for as information you provide, much information as necessary to the more likely prospects move the prospect to the next stage, will offer their contact but as little as possible to ensure information to you. the prospect feels he/she has the time needed to complete the form. Studies show that asking for less information, such as only name and address, leads to higher conversion rates and therefore increased leads. It s great that you ve captured the contact information. But remember the key to web marketing is building trust. So live up to your promise, and provide an asset filled with unique, valuable, expert information. As your leads move to the Research phase, use the marketing tools below to provide relevant, and compelling content: White Paper Thought Leader Case Study Third Party Validation Web Cast Expert Knowledge Center Industry Teacher e-news Expert Advice Stage 2 Tools and How Each Influences Your Buyer 10

11 White Paper It s important that you invest time and resources to create a useful guide that solves a common problem your customers have. Avoid repurposing some dull FAQ from years ago. Act is if you re publishing a book. Aspire to create something so valuable that you could charge money for it but you give it away in exchange for contact information. Quality Counts In return for a download, you ve likely received your web visitor s contact information. But don t slack off. You need to deliver a quality download: your white paper will reflect the quality of your brand and product. Get Organized People increasingly read by skimming. Use plenty of headlines, bullet points, bolded text, etc., for quick navigation and easy reading. Have a clear index and table of contents, repeated throughout document. Make sure you deliver a quality product: your free download will reflect the quality of your brand and your product Peer-to-Peer Increasingly, the most effective marketing is peer-to-peer. Get insights, comments and quotes from your customers or other client peers, rather than just your in-house experts. Get Graphic Downloads are like free publishing: there s no printing cost. So be sure to use colors, photos, graphics and more. A highly visual look is an excellent way to increase engagement and effectiveness. Call to Action The web visitor has downloaded your white paper. Now what? Be sure to have a clear call-to-action and links, embedded throughout the document. Case Study Case studies should provide information on generalities and best practices. It s best to focus on general tips to help your leads increase their sales and cut costs, rather than aggressively pitching your brand. Your case study might focus on how Acme Co. (which happens to be your client) slashed data storage costs by 17% by moving to cloud storage. Remember, the visitor is still in the research phase. If your case study is a heavyhanded sales pitch for your brand, the value is lost and the potential customer will move on. Webcast In the Research stage, the great value of webcast is that potential clients can ask and receive expert answers that will help with their research. It s essential that a) your presenters are industry experts, and b) the webcast is interactive and allows plenty of opportunity to ask questions. Webcasts present an opportunity for your company to position itself as an industry expert. An expert authority that is knowledgeable, eloquent, and cheerfully provides expert answers will go a long way toward building this trust. 11

12 Knowledge Center Knowledge Centers are powerful tools for creating stickiness on your website. You can boost traffic and increase the length of site visits with tips, tutorials, best practices and more. The more visitors you have, and the longer their average site visit, the more likely you ll convert them to leads. One method to create an engaging knowledge center on your website is with video. YouTube is the third most popular site on the planet, and roughly 25% of Internet users worldwide visit YouTube every single day! People like to watch. Informational videos are low-cost and easy to produce, and could give you a powerful marketing advantage. e-news Publish a regular news to be delivered on a subscription basis to prospects and customers alike. Keep the sales pitch out of the e-news, and instead publish tips and advice on doing something better something that you happen to be the expert on. Your company gains followers, and you further your company s reputation as a thought leader. Publish tips and advice on doing something better something you happen to be an expert on. Extra, Extra! e-news Tips Open and Click An newsletter has two main metrics for success: open rate and click through. First, your recipients need to open your . Then they need to click on the desired action. Subject Line The #1 factor for a successful is your subject line. Make it short, dynamic, attention grabbing and honest. Best practices continually evolve: stay up to date and continuously test different subject lines. Give Choices The goal of most s is to get recipients to click through to your site. So give them multiple reasons to click through. While you should have a clear, primary call to action, offering additional links can increase your click-through rate. Now What? The recipient is on your website, now what? Every landing page should have a clear and specific goal, usually in the top right corner. Know what you want your visitor to do next, and escalate to the next level of engagement. When a visitor gets to your landing page they must instantly know a) where they are, b) what they are supposed to do, and c) why they should do it (what s in it for them). Measure and Grow That which is measured, usually grows. Track your opens, clicks, and on-site conversion. Continuously test, learn from each campaign, and always grow. 12

13 Stage 3: Negotiation Once you get to Stage 3, Negotiation, searchers have narrowed their selection of products and services and are comparing features, benefits and pricing to choose a new vendor. During Stage 3, you should provide concrete content to guide a buyer to a final decision to purchase your product. You should provide content that helps to close a deal by answering all questions and removing all ambiguity and competitors from the equation, leaving your company, products, and services as the sole contender. Stage 3 Marketing Tools: Your leads know they have a challenge to solve and a need to fill, and they ve researched various solutions and providers. Now it s a matter of choosing the ideal vendor. Use this short list of marketing tools to close the deal: Buyer s Guide Product Specifics Audit Sample the Product Product Demo Understand the Product Free Trial Experience the Product Stage 3 Tools and How Each Influences Your Potential Customer Buyer s Guide While you re an expert in your industry, your lead likely is not. Therefore, your prospects will be seeking how-to information or a buyer s guide to review comparative product information, features, pricing and more. Provide unbiased information to increase reads and shares among your prospects, their team and executives. If the guide s goal is solely to sell your brand, the customer is more likely to move on. Useful information will provide more traction than a sales pitch. Create a list of how your products are superior to your competitor s products You might create a list of how your product and service is superior to your competitors, and situations in which another brand might be a superior choice. This will convey a sense of honesty and build trust. Think of features and 13

14 benefits, buyer regret (especially with competing brands), and anything that a buyer needs to know about making the best decision regarding purchasing a product in your industry. Audit Complimentary audits performed to analyze a prospect s problem or challenge delivered with a few teaser techniques on how to solve each may land you the deal. If a prospect can see your team in action, what you offer, and understand what it will be like working with you, then the business may be yours. Make sure you are highly responsive during this phase, as prospects are likely requesting audits from your competitors as well. Product Demo Offer free product demos to ensure your prospects have a grasp on what you offer. Demos allow you to meet your prospects in person, understand their unique challenges, and answer all remaining product and company questions. You ll also better understand where your prospects are in the decision-making process and how close they are to closing the deal. Demos allow you to meet your prosects in person and understand their unique challenges Free Trial Although not applicable to all products and services, free product trials can help automatically close a deal. A thirty-day free trial can convince a buyer to convert a free trial into a paid subscription with a monthly or yearly contract. Using the product allows your prospect to experience the features and benefits you ve been touting. Also, if the customer starts a project or enters data as part of the free trial, they are most likely hooked and do not want to re-enter the data, or start the project again, on a competitor s product. 14

15 Stage 4: Purchase Congratulations, the prospect purchased your product! Don t pat yourself on the back for too long, as the real work has just begun. First, you ll want to ensure you retain your new customer. Second, customer retention provides increased opportunities to continue to sell additional products and services to your customer. Stage 4 Marketing Tools: Many of the assets we ve explored can be useful in staying front and center with your clients. These include, but are not limited to, e-news, events, in-person meetings, monthly reports, and social media. e-news Solidify your Reputation Events Share the Knowledge - Get Social In-person Meetings Build the Relationship Monthly Reports Deliver / Show Success Social Media Keep the Conversation Going Stage 4 Tools and How Each Influences Your Buyer e-news Publish a monthly news to be delivered on a subscription basis to prospects and customers alike. Publish tips and advice on doing business better something that your company has expertise in. You ll gain followers, and further your company s reputation as a thought leader. You can also include a summary of current events at your company, such as a list of events, new customers, new employees, and more. Publish tips and advice on doing business better choose a topic where you have expertise. Events Invite your customers to meet you at industry events provide complimentary passes as an incentive. It s a great way to catch up, gain social traction, and discuss topics key to your customers success. If you have the right fit, you can even ask key customers to co-present at important industry conferences. 15

16 In-Person Meetings Make sure you meet in person on a regular basis with your new customer to build your relationship, connect with C-level executives, and guarantee the continued success of your project. Monthly Reports Deliver regular monthly reports that provide an overview of project success and direction. Meet to ensure your customer understands the report, and that it provides the data they need to report to the C-level. Social Media More Than Just Friends Continue your company s social media strategy to influence your rankings among search engines, and to ensure your customers know you are active. Make sure you re connected with your customers on LinkedIn, share articles and blog posts often, and keep your account profiles up to date. Summary For most business-to-business (B2B) marketers, understanding the long sales cycle is essential to business success. At every stage of the buyer s search, your company must be present, offering quality content tailored to each stage of the sales cycle. Understanding the cycle, nurturing your leads, and maintaining customer relationships are the keys to success and the secret to generating more profitable B2B leads. 16

17 ABOUT SMARTSEARCH MARKETING SmartSearch Marketing is a full-service search engine marketing agency that helps their clients generate leads, acquire new customers and position brands online through search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC) advertising, conversion and usability, mobile search marketing, website analytics, and local listings search marketing. SmartSearch Marketing serves both B2B ad B2C companies by offering comprehensive search solutions that include: Strategic planning Search advertising Search engine optimization Media buying and creative services Website usability Landing page development Conversion improvements Marketing analytics Local list management Mobile search marketing DISCOVER MORE EXPERT TOOLS FOR B2B MARKETERS AT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Dale Hursh SmartSearch Marketing dale@smartsearchmarketing.com x 703