Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a magic one-size-fits-all formula to get more leads? We’re, unfortunately, not B2B miracle workers, but here’s the next best thing: the building blocks you need to create a customised lead generation strategy that will actually convert.
The typical B2B marketing funnel is Awareness > Consideration > Decision, or Top-of-Funnel (TOFU) > Middle-of-Funnel (MOFO) > Bottom-of-Funnel (BOFO). So, using this familiar three-stage structure, we’re breaking down exactly what you need to focus on before attracting new leads, during the campaign lifecycle, and after you’ve received the new lead, because conversion doesn’t stop at a form fill.
The truth is that every B2B business is unique, and generating leads requires many moving parts, all operating within a cohesive system. Before implementing any marketing campaigns, get your CRM (customer relationship management) and CMS (content management software) frameworks nailed down. You’ll be leaving sales on the table if you don’t have a structure in place to track, manage, and nurture these leads, not to mention the inefficiency between marketing and sales teams. HubSpot offers a best-in-class unified CRM and CMS, and the abundant third-party integrations offered within the HubSpot App Marketplace allow for seamless integrations and data management, all under one roof. Plus, the flexible analytics, powerhouse automations, AI tools and user-friendly website builder tools make it a one-stop-shop for managing all marketing and sales efforts.
These are the components you’ll put in place first to get the (leads) ball rolling and will align with your top-of-funnel marketing efforts. Even as you start to see users move through your leads pipeline, it’s wise to maintain a consistent campaign to reach these new users, even if minimal, to continue feeding your funnel.
Identify and reach users and/or organisations with a high likelihood of converting into customers.
Account-Based Marketing: ABM is a highly effective approach to B2B marketing that targets specific companies (or “accounts”) within a market with tailored messaging rather than trying to reach and convert a mass audience. Benefits include the potential for high ROI and the ability to customise messaging to align with these companies' distinct needs. HubSpot offers some great tips and guidance on developing a successful ABM strategy and setting up account-based marketing campaigns in HubSpot.
Paid Advertising: Well-executed paid search (PPC), display ads, and social media advertising campaigns can help you reach and engage with prospective customers. Before going straight into a campaign launch, take a step back and ensure campaign goals are set, landing pages are built, and reporting tools are in place. Understanding your target audience is also crucial for messaging and ad targeting, and always plan for ongoing optimisation throughout a campaign lifecycle to ensure the best results.
Retargeting: We’re not just talking about traditional remarketing campaigns, though these should also be part of your strategy. Some additional opportunities include:
A solid content strategy and a well-considered website user experience are crucial for keeping people’s attention, especially after you’ve worked hard to reach them. For example, you could knock your ABM campaign setup out of the park, reach the perfect prospective customers, and then lose them immediately when they get to your hard-to-navigate website or barren LinkedIn company page.
Engage prospective customers and build brand trust with a user-friendly website experience and informative social media content.
HubSpot Website: Be honest and assess your website for functionality, design, and content (our free Website Grader tool can help you get started). A slow web page load time is the lowest-hanging fruit to reduce bounce rates, and clunky navigation is a close second. Equally important are the resources you’re providing to your prospective customers. Not only will users have a reason to stick around, but you’ll also increase your opportunities for retargeting.
Some content examples include:
Organic Social Media: Social media is simultaneously a search engine and a living, breathing representation of your organisation—arguably, it’s equally as important as your website. For B2B businesses, LinkedIn is the obvious choice, and their editor-in-chief offers some insightful content marketing strategies; start by knowing your audience and mapping out your customer journey to inform the types of content you’re creating.
Research from Gartner suggests that “on average, typically, 20 touches are needed with a client before a prospect becomes a potentially successful lead for the sales team.” So, generating those initial non-qualified leads is just the beginning.
Not all leads are considered equal, so what’s the difference between an NQL, MQL and SQL?
NQL: Non-qualified leads have yet to be vetted to determine whether they could be potential customers or have been deemed not the right fit based on budget, requirements, location, etc.
MQL: Marketing-qualified leads are users the marketing team has identified as most likely to become customers based on various criteria, such as website activity, downloads, job title and industry, social media engagement, etc.
SQL: Sales-qualified leads are prospective customers who have shown enough interest, have been vetted by the marketing team, and are now assumed to be ready to speak with the sales team.
Establish HubSpot systems to empower marketing and sales teams to translate leads into customers.
Lead scoring: Determine priority leads and increase efficiency for sales teams by assigning scores to each contact and company in your HubSpot CRM. “When you create a lead score, it evaluates records based on criteria and sets values for a corresponding score property”, so you’re in control of how this rating system functions for your specific organisation.
Lists: Use HubSpot lists to segment your leads from multiple sources before setting up workflows to move them through your lead funnel. For example, a user who fills out a form on your landing page is automatically added as a new contact to your “Non-Qualified Leads” list. Workflows can then help transition this user to a marketing-qualified lead and recognise behavioural triggers that indicate higher intent.
Workflows: This is where the magic—and mayhem—happens. Workflows offer incredible automation opportunities when properly engineered and the possibility of a very leaky funnel when not implemented correctly. For example, marketing and sales teams can set up automated email workflows based on a set timeline or customer actions and data, taking manual tasks out of the equation while still offering highly customisable touchpoints. Workflows can also be set up to seamlessly pass off leads from marketing to sales based on set criteria and behavioural triggers.
When generating high-quality B2B leads, the most crucial element to consider is your overall campaign framework and how each component fits into your leads funnel. Know your audience, set clear campaign objectives, track performance, and establish automations to empower your teams.
Before the first day, you might also consider leaving a note on your new hire.
