Monthly Archives: October 2021

B2B lead conversion and sales can increase exponentially with a focused marketing approach. ABM is a unique activity in which sales and marketing teams collaborate and come together to target and convert the best–fit accounts into customers. If you are looking to focus on the highest possible ROI you need to pay attention to high-value accounts that can bring spectacular results.

This blog throws light on understanding ABM and how to optimize ABM efforts for more sales.

ABM can solve a lot of b2b problems and ease lead conversion-

• ABM solves the challenge of not being able to show clear and measurable results in terms of the ROI. ABM being a focused activity, one of its main goals is to prioritize ROI. ABM can deliver the highest return on investment with dedicated efforts and resources focusing on building relationships with clients and nurturing leads
• ABM also addresses the problem of accountability of resources in terms of time, efforts and results
• ABM addresses one of the major challenges of b2b organizations- bringing the sales and marketing teams together and on the same page. It’s impossible to achieve spectacular results in ABM if sales and marketing teams work in silos. So ABM requires them to collaborate and this solves the major hurdles of b2b companies.

So what makes ABM the way it is and what are its different elements that make it so special?

Targeting high-value accounts– ABM allows you to target right accounts that are worth your time and efforts. Accounts that are of strategic value, ones that are service-fit, ones that give high gains, quick conversions, etc. are the focus of ABM.

Personalization– ABM being a much-focused activity, you can run personalized campaigns that facilitate building strong relationships and rapport with the targeted accounts.

ABM and ROI –

• As per the survey conducted by Marketo, almost 97% of marketers achieved the expected ROI compared to any other marketing channel or activity
• Almost 84% of b2b marketers say account based marketing activities and results are far superior as compared to results of other marketing activities
• Almost 208% more revenue achieved by companies that have their sales and marketing teams aligned

So how do you optimize your ABM programs to finally achieve the above benefits?

Define high-value accounts– Use all of the data that you have and use intent data as well to clearly define whom you want to target and the accounts that are of high value. Discover these accounts and prioritize focused approach to reach out and engage.

Identify key decision makers– One of the most significant elements that play a crucial role in shortening the b2b sales cycle is the decision makers and key internal players. Identifying these key decision makers and players will get your ABM campaigns into real action.

Create personalized messaging– Content plays a crucial role in sales and in your ABM campaigns. It’s one of the most effective communication tools to reach out and engage the high value accounts. Keep them informed and provide essential and crucial insights from time to time.

Identify crucial channels- Getting in front of your audience and staying in their eye-line is very important for getting those high-value accounts. Consider the top notch channels where your high value prospects spend maximum time.

Execute precisely as planned- Planning is very important for ABM programs. As a focused activity, the execution needs to be well planned out and carried out with the help of dedicated resources.

Measure and analyze- Measuring and analyzing results is crucial in ABM. This gives you a clear idea of what is working and what is not. It will also give you an opportunity to improvise each time.

Conclusion-

ABM can be a rewarding marketing activity. All you need to do is have a strategic plan for carrying out the campaigns successfully from start to end and also have the right insights and knowledge about ABM.

Demand Generation is a dynamic marketing activity that is critical at every stage of the buyer’s journey. It isn’t the kind of technique that can be used just once in the entire sales cycle or only for a particular stage of the buyer’s journey. For attracting the best leads that convert, demand generation should combine various techniques that are intended to address every part of the customer journey and be used at various stages of the sales funnel.

Let us see some smart demand gen techniques that can be used at different stages of the customer journey to help augment lead conversion.

Creating awareness for lead generation-

Every customer journey starts with the awareness stage. Your brand is something that resonates or does not resonate with the needs of the customer. Before the customer gets to know your brand he needs to be aware of your brand. Generating brand awareness is therefore a very critical part of generating demand.

Demand generation plays a vital role in establishing your brand and keeping its value alive in the customer’s mind. It also helps to keep the brand in the eye-line of the customer and therefore you need a solid plan to help raise brand awareness and make the customers remember your brand.

This is how you can generate demand in the awareness stage

Staying in the eye-line of the customer-

• You can create a solid brand image that resonates with the buyer persona
• Create relevant and strong messaging that also resonates with the buyer persona and the buyers needs and requirements
• Create solution-oriented messaging through email marketing campaigns that throw light on addressing the pain points and solutions that can eliminate those pain points
• Have a strong social media presence

Build a smart website to attract leads in the consideration stage-

A website is the most critical asset in the demand gen journey. It is something that attracts leads on its own and generates demand for your products or services. Website visitors are the ones that have come looking for your services and can be the most potential leads that can get converted easily. As a b2b marketer, you need to have a website that is primed for lead generation.

Get your website designed in such a way that your customers get the exact information they are looking for. Have CTAs that will direct the prospect to take action when it comes to making buying decisions.  Have a short form to fill that does not ask for too much information but asks for just the right data. Have a landing page that can help customers get exactly what they are looking for and urge them to take quick buying decisions.

Go for a customer-centric approach for the decision stage-

Buyer-centric sales processes almost always win. A buyer-centric sales process is a huge part of successful demand generation.

When it is more about the customer and less about you, the customer feels you are walking the extra mile to get them what they need. Customers come to you for solutions.

Attract more leads with a customer-first approach. Thinking of how your services can benefit the customer instead of thinking only about sales can go a long way in attracting the right leads to you.

Conclusion-

Most marketers do demand generation everyday even without realizing that they are doing it. But if you do it more consciously and with a strategy in place it can streamline your lead gen journey with more good leads that convert easily.

Demand generation can be one of the best tools for converting leads. It’s a complex and dynamic tool that can change the face of your lead gen business. But to achieve spectacular results, marketers should know how to use it strategically. One needs to have complete knowledge of demand gen and lead generation and the thread that binds these two important elements of b2b.

In this blog, we will find out the various elements that help build strong demand gen formula and how one can strategically pull off successful demand generation for better lead conversion.

It starts with a strategic mindset!

The power of demand generation is in its dynamism! The whole purpose of demand generation is to raise brand awareness and create a cohesive and attractive brand ambience for the audience to notice you and engage with you.

In order to achieve this, b2b marketers need to understand the target audience well and to also know which parts of marketing activities can be directed towards building a powerful demand gen strategy.

So before we deep-dive into knowing how demand gen can be pulled of strategically, let us see the parts of marketing that can be useful in generating interest in the minds of the prospect.

1. Brand awareness and brand storytelling can be activities that can be used as a part of the demand gen program
2. Social media platforms can help build brand awareness and open communication channels
3. Email marketing can very well be used to generate demand amid prospects
4. Content plays a vital role for all the above activities, generate curiosity, and even retarget some of the customers

Demand generation process in a nutshell-

The process that helps in attracting prospects to your brand is a demand gen process. As a demand gen specialist the more you get to know the customer the more you understand their pain points and challenges. This is how you start crafting solutions that are aligned with their challenges. Then establishing brand awareness in the same context helps attract these prospects to your brand and they start engaging with you through content assets, email marketing and social media communication.

As soon as the prospect is aware of your brand positioning as a solution provider, it is then that they think of approaching you. This is how you attract good leads that can be easily converted into business.

So how does one use demand gen strategically to get more leads?

A. Create content assets that are helpful and aligned with what your target audience is looking for. This is a good way to get in front of your audience and stay in the eye-line of your leads. Create a variety of content assets such as blogs, infographics, white papers, etc.

B. Create email marketing campaigns to initiate first contact with the prospects and to leverage the power of content assets that you have created. Start communicating with follow-up emails and let them know that you have the solutions they are looking for.

C. Lead segmenting, lead scoring are important things of lead gen process but they are also a significant part of the demand gen strategy.

D. Keep creating excellent content that is customized at this stage so that you pay focused attention to the customer needs just like ABM. Narrowing down the focus is the key to successful demand gen.

E. Focus on lead nurturing to build powerful relationships and rapport with the leads so that they convert easily

Conclusion-

Each organization is unique and hence the needs of demand gen for each organization will be unique too. But what is important is that sales and marketing teams need to be aligned to be able to pull off all the above strategic techniques that can help generate demand that is in-line with the larger lead gen goals.

B2B marketers have realized the importance of intent data and that it plays a major role in generating leads and getting those leads converted into business. However, many understand only the basics of intent data and it still isn’t clear to them why quality needs to be emphasized upon and prioritized when it comes to generating leads. This blog talks about the many benefits of quality intent data for generating good leads.

There are different types of intent data and each has a role to play when it comes to b2b sales. Though quality may not be directly relevant when it comes to types of intent data, each type certainly has the power to impact getting the best leads and converting them into sales. But most importantly it is how you optimize quality intent data that matters the most when it comes to b2b lead generation.

Contact level intent data-

Lead generation is challenging and b2b is complex. In such a scenario b2b marketers need to focus on simplifying sales processes so that the sales cycles get shortened. Intent data helps them do just that. There are several best practices for sales enablement and lead qualification; however data is paramount to success at every stage of sales cycle. Quality intent data therefore has a major role to play for simplifying b2b sales and making lead generation less challenging.

One of the many things that marketers overlook is that of contact level intent data. In such cases, third party data can be of great use as follows-

• To help identify buyers’ challenges and intent so as to get the messaging right
• To help track the buying journey to understand the different stages of the prospect
• Monitor important competitor engagements and market analysis

Cost-effective and reliable-

Gathering first-party data is cost-effective as resources within the organization can do it. One of the sales team members or data team can gather the first-party data and it can be authentic too. Also, it can be more reliable than any other form of data.

Another advantage of first-party data is that you can have a lot of control over the data.  With third-party data, organizations have little control over the data. However, when gathering data yourself, you have much control over it and can decide what it is that you need. You also be able to save a lot of time which can otherwise be used or invested in capturing good leads.

Quality intent data should always be a priority if you really want to optimize data for lead generation. One of the many things you can achieve is that you can get best MQLs and SQLs with high quality data.

Strategized and focused communication-

You can greatly benefit from third-party intent data if you are focusing on ABM. Also, knowing what the customers are looking for can help you to strategize your messaging and communication for nurturing leads. If you get to know the level of interest of prospects you can then strategize and have email campaigns set up to nurture those leads and get them converted quickly.

Grow your sales pipeline-

Third party intent data can help save a lot of your time. If your sales team is involved in gathering data, then they obviously lose some of their time that could otherwise have been utilized in building the pipeline and in generating demand. Gathering third party intent data can also help you to grow your database that is verified and valuable for lead generation and conversion.

Conclusion-

Data alone cannot augment sales or enhance lead generation and conversion. It’s important to have quality data with you to do the same. Quality intent data can therefore help you to get qualified leads, shorten sales cycle and build a stronger sales pipeline for better lead gen and demand gen results.