This article has been contributed by Shraddha Agrawal, Founder & CEO, DigiDNA.
The Start of the B2B Business Journey
One day, I sat staring at our latest B2B campaign report with frustration and hope. Hundreds of leads were coming in, but conversions were few. I’d assumed our gut-driven strategy wasn’t working. So, I did the opposite: I doubled our spending on data. That change redesigned our results, and it’s not the only one – B2B marketers across the globe are finding out that data-driven strategies turn leads into dollars. And indeed, those who are confident in their data strategy are 3X more likely to experience high revenue growth than others.
There are articles that follow a first-hand experience end-to-end in the funnel from lead generation through revenue, showing how best-of-breed players use data along the way.
From Volume to Value – Lead Generation for Today and Tomorrow!
In the past, the common approach would be lead quantity = more leads, more form fills, more data collection from events. This approach says that by increasing the volume of leads, revenue will follow. Industry trends have backed this up, 60% of B2B marketers are putting most of their budget into new customer acquisition (versus 40% into retention), and 70% of companies have increased their lead gen budgets in the last few years because they believe more leads will solve their revenue problems.
But the reality is different. Despite the deluge of leads, many don’t convert to revenue, and both marketing and sales teams are frustrated. When we look into this, it’s clear the problem isn’t the quantity of leads, it’s the quality. A number of leads may not be ready to buy or may not even
align with the business’s ideal customer profile. That’s why B2B marketing needs to shift its approach from lead quantity to lead quality.
A key Insight is that the quality leads are far more valuable than the quantity of leads fr a better focused approach! 37% of B2B marketing professionals now focus on building high-quality. Sales pipeline to attract right leads.
The Next Step: To Address The Challenge of Lead Quality!
Instead of casting a wide net, companies can segment their audience based on factors like industry, company size, job roles, and specific needs. This is what is called developing a clear definition of the ideal customer profile (ICP).
Businesses can prioritize potential clients that exhibit high engagement or show clear intent to purchase by using a lead scoring approach! By using these kinds of approaches, the companies can cut down their lead generation in half with more meaningful conversations with sales, increasing the likelihood of successful conversions.
If an example suits here, the best is refining targeting strategies through platforms lie LinkedIn that can improve the lead quality by a very focused approach of targeting in niche segments.
Lead Magnet = Value Added, Engaging Content
What about creating and behind the scene video while your team is engaging with real client problems? The thought states that “yes”, they are concerned about the client…its trust-building with video content if done right.
The content is just fine. Who will read it? If the content doesn’t state the problem, then its solution, or the story behind a very nice product or a solution, how will it grab the attention of anyone? It won’t! Instead of yet another datasheet or a PowerPoint presentation, just one short video or just a 90-second clip of our product in action solving a common pain point would work well, right? Less time, straight to the point content, crisp and time managed well. All in all, value-added, engaging content that crafts stories and describes the nature of a product or solution helps make decisions quicker, engages the audience to know more, builds trust and authority, and much more!
The B2B Content Strategy:
- Top of the sales funnel content —> insightful, engaging, entertaining videos, blog posts, etc.
- Mid of the sales funnel content —> Nurturing with case studies, comparison guides, etc
By the time leads have started talking to the sales team, they are already nurtured with thought leadership content and engaging product videos, which helps in turning cold leads into warm opportunities of converting into the best potential long-term client!
Alan Joseph
AI and Personalization: Cannot be Missed!
B2B lead generation journey is becoming more complicated than ever, the saviors are the AI-powered tools making it easier to personalize and automate engagement at scale.
AI lets marketers analyze vast amounts of data to deliver super personal content and experiences to each lead. A real wave that B2B marketers are already taking in account, and it’s not just an experiment but a fact – 35% say implementing AI is their single biggest priority in the year ahead for their B2B marketing AI strategy.
As an example, AI-driven email personalization allows businesses to customize messages based on individual behavior, preferences, and engagement history. AI can also be used for predictive lead scoring, which helps prioritize leads most likely to convert based on their actions and interactions with the brand.
Let’s understand this with statistics: 61% of marketers think AI-driven personalization is key to interacting with customers today. By using AI personalized tools, businesses can automate personalized outreach and make their marketing more effective than ever.
Now the point is are their challenges to this …. Yes absolutely! Initially, there were no AI experts for adding value to these B2B strategies…In fact, 43% of B2B marketers reported that insufficient AI skills on their staff was a major barrier to getting the most from AI, and this gap was felt by many. Later, when skills were developed by the use of AI, this gap was filled, and the conclusion came where the takeaway was that AI-driven personalization isn’t about replacing the human touch but using it in the best possible ways. This helped the total journey mentioned above.
Conversion With Sales and Marketing!
By adding collaboration and transparency between two teams, B2B businesses can grow their revenue cycle and entire performance. Hence, stats show that organizations that align their sales and marketing teams see a 32% higher revenue growth compared to those that operate individually. By ensuring both teams work toward the same goal and share common definitions of what constitutes a qualified lead, businesses can improve conversion rates. Marketing teams must provide sales with the necessary tools, content, and insights that allow them to effectively engage and close leads.
This pretty much explains why sales and marketing teams must work hand in hand for strategic B2B lead generation.
Arriving at The Ultimate Goal: The Revenue Growth
This is the finish line every B2B marketer is aiming for, but it’s also a moving target that comes with higher expectations.
Always said, thought, and applied: Marketing is not a cost center; it’s a Revenue engine!
From shifting the focus to quality leads and building trust through strategic content and personalization, the results start to show in revenue growth. By implementing a marketing attribution model, it’s possible to track which campaigns influenced sales. With targeted campaigns and personalized nurturing, marketing’s direct impact on sales becomes much clearer.
The broader trend in the shift of B2B marketing started when 1 out of the 3 CMOs had a direct role in driving the revenue growth. Marketing leaders are increasingly demonstrating their impact to the C-suite, aligning metrics with business outcomes and therein, metrics are no longer just measured by leads ad impressions; marketing now has a contribution to pipelines and ROI.
This change allows B2B marketing to have a strategic seat at the table, influencing product strategy, budget decisions, and long-term growth. It’s a reminder that marketing isn’t just about generating awareness; it’s about building the business.
B2B marketing is no more just about pushing out mass campaigns and hoping for the best. It’s about being strategic, data-driven, and customer-centric. So, let’s take note of all the key strategies mentioned one on one that will give a perfect strategy for B2b business, from leads to revenue growth:
Volume to value lead generation —> Addressing the challenge of lead quality —> Engaging content acting as lead magnet —-> AI and personalization with the right tools —> conversion with sales and marketing —> Revenue growth!
Rishi Mundra
