Why B2B Struggles with Lead Generation

Let’s face it – Lead Generation is not a new challenge, especially in the B2B sector Marketers and Heads of Sales have been almost incessantly locked in the struggle to generate new opportunities – but why, with all the skills, tools and experience within B2B is this still cited as one of the top priorities?

Ultimately the lead generation cycle comes down to three aspects Data, Messaging and Follow up, get these right and you are onto a winner.

It’s time to take a deep breath and a realistic look at where you’re starting from.

If you’re fortunate enough to hold a database of all your prospects think about how clean it really is, whether it really represents your whole of market or whether in fact it needs some extra TLC (that’s Testing, List Appending or Cleaning). Don’t settle for less than perfect with the database, after all it’s the unsung hero of any lead generation story, if it’s wrong DO NOT RUN THAT CAMPAIGN – it’s your reputation on the line and success whilst hard won will pay dividends in the future.

If we thought Data was tricky then getting the messaging right is a veritable obstacle course, it’s one of the key reasons that B2B still struggles with Lead Generation. Forget what you know about how shiny or new your product is and throw away your pre-conceptions around why your 24/7, 365 service should matter to prospects. B2B Lead Generation works when your business can help your prospects business so if you’re launching a new product or trying to grow revenues for a software solution go back to the human factor that so many Marketers lose in the mire of Features (take that for Bells and Whistles!) and Benefits (take that for “look how great we are”).

Take a look at your own Marketing and score yourself on how well you relate to individuals and their concerns, needs, fears and objectives – if all of your marketing is product sheet, solution or spec driven chances are you won’t be generating many new leads or struggling to attract new customers with any consistency.

An effective lead generation campaign for B2B will allow you to guide your prospects from Awareness through to Sales Engagement.

Finally we’re into the Sales follow Up stage – pat yourselves on the back, you’ve got the data right and connected well with the prospect and now it’s time to hand over those precious leads and the Sales team just can’t wait to pick up the phone and engage with each and every one – really?

Firstly in B2B we often underestimate the number of touches it really takes to generate a qualified opportunity and just what those touches need to be. If you’re using an ISR or Telemarketing team be prepared to work that pipeline consistently and complement a multi-touch phone engagement with email, social and nurture campaigns in addition to the human touch. Getting the balance right between phone engagement and supportive activity with respect and sensitivity to the buying journey above will impact the quantity and quality of the results generated significantly.

Qualifying results, leads and prospects in a real, objective way allows your B2B Campaign the opportunity to evolve, grow and ultimately deliver better results. So with all the complexities, communication channels, data hazards and inconsistent quality factors it’s no surprise that B2B still struggles with Lead Generation.

It may not be a quick fix but consideration and implementation of small changes in Data, Messaging and Follow Up will turn a failing campaign into a brand enhancing, revenue generating machine and after all that’s what we’re all after.

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