Have you noticed any changes in your sales volume? This past year changed the way most organizations do business – the banking crisis in the US, the AI boom, mass layoffs, and other happenings pushed companies to shift to a more versatile culture. This became especially relevant for sales departments considering the market turned pretty cold. Consequently, it has an impact on 2024 lead generation trends for B2B industries.
Now growing through word of mouth solely, or by only relying on ads won’t do it for you, like a basketball – you need to have at least two baskets in place for them eggs (and a bunch of backup baskets in your cellar). When it comes to the exact channels to utilize in your further GTM effort – it can get tough to make the right decision, but we’ll be happy to share some insights into what should work best. Here we go!
#1 Mind Your Setup
This one has been relevant for the past couple of years actually as email providers constantly improve their means of reducing spam activity. You might’ve noticed that fewer and fewer shady emails land in your inbox, going straight to spam. However, even if some of those infiltrate – you’ll be notified that the provider treats the received email as suspicious. This is a double-edged sword though, and your messages can also go to spam if you don’t follow two key rules:
Multiple Domains in Reserve
It was not planned in advance that multiple domains would be necessary. You should have multiple domains to minimize the risks. All of those need to be properly set up (DKIM and SPF are essentials) and validated, while you’re now obliged to include the unsubscribe option to the emails you send.
Key Factors for Lead Generation
The quality of your database directly affects the performance of your mailbox. There is a direct correlation between the number of bounced emails and the chances of landing in a spam folder. Even if you have relevant content with no spam triggers in place – a bounce rate above 5% will eventually lead to you missing the inbox and, in some cases, your mailbox being blocked for 24+ hours. This means that purchasing random lead lists will cause your lead generation more damage than you could think of.
(!) Sometimes you may lack time to follow those rules though and SalesNash can help you both – build the domain infrastructure and craft the lead lists with 99% accuracy, feel free to request a free consultation.
#2 Value-Driven Marketing
Being out there is not enough nowadays, just like being visible won’t do the trick. If you really want to capture leads you need to start creating content that contains crucial info for your target audience. Whether it’s some industry insights or advice from renowned professionals – the best way to attract new customers is to show them that you know what they need and you know how to fulfill those needs.
Your content is also a great way to create lead magnets. Rolling out a free brochure with some essential guidelines or conducting research on industry performance can do wonders for your audience engagement. And don’t forget to gather the feedback and calibrate your content strategy based on what your customers (both existing and potential) say.
Your lead generation content should be:
- Simple and easy to understand: Avoid difficult language and technical terms to make your content accessible to a wide audience;
- Unique: Try to offer unique information that sets you apart from your competitors;
- Target-oriented: Content should be created with the needs and interests of your target audience;
- Visually attractive: Visual elements such as images, graphics and videos can greatly improve the content experience.
#3 Build a Network
Though it may seem like a very specific approach that works in pretty few scenarios, creating a network of channel partners is actually great for establishing a decent flow of opportunities while investing minimum effort. The bigger your affiliate program is, the less you need to worry about cutting expenses on inbound or outbound.
However, keep your partners close, and your customers closer – encourage them to recommend your products/services to their business circle and offer reasonable rewards for their input. Our year-end clientele analysis indicates that customers referred by other customers tend to retain for 1.5 times longer than both inbound and outbound generated ones, which is crucial for a lead generation company.
#4 Old Bonds are the Strongest
Hardships faced by a lot of businesses this year led to people approaching any procurements more cautiously and becoming less tended toward serious investments. This results in longer sales cycles, lower conversion rates, and increasing pressure on the existing pipeline.
However, pushing your active leads to a fast decision would be the worst practice that can lead to ruined relations, while constantly increasing your lead generation efforts to cover the delays will quickly drain your budget. Those are the main reasons to run reengagements with your former leads and customers. Some of them had to say no to you right before signing up, and some had to pause the cooperation, which is okay because business is a dynamic process, but that’s also the reason why you have to stay in touch with all of them.
Keep track of all the substantial conversations to later target the leads that were the closest to converting into your customers. You can run generalized campaigns with recent updates and offerings, and add more personal touch when it makes sense (that’s why it’s important to create different lead categories in your CRM). With ex-customers it’s even more straightforward – follow their company, gather talking points, and create relevant messaging that will resonate with people you already know. The best thing about ex-customers – they know your company and know you can deliver, which makes it easy to re-sign them.
#5 Segmented Outreach
The chance that you have received the “Hello, I hope this email finds you well” cold email at least once is around 99%, which has created a pretty poor image for outbound as a lead generation channel. However, if it’s done right – you’ll get more pipeline movement than through any other efforts, while the ROI is commonly the highest.
However, it’s important to understand that the shotgun approach doesn’t work anymore, and you need to work smarter with your ICP. Analyze your target audience, create a bunch of segments that you find to be the best fit here and now, create fresh lead lists for each of the segments, and then prepare templates that will scream *RELEVANCY*.
People want to see the solution to their problems, not the characteristics of what you offer. Make sure that you touch upon the recent events that affect the targeted segment directly, and make sure that what you offer can help soothe the potential pain. Make your message brief and clear, otherwise it’ll be ignored. Try to start the conversation, not sell right off the bat. And if you had any similar experiences – feel free to brag about it, looking like an expert never hurts.
#6 AI implementing
First of all, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of the business sphere. It transforms traditional methods of work and creates new opportunities. Companies are creating technology that helps automate tasks, analyze data to generate leads and improve customer experience. AI solves a wide range of business problems, helping companies improve efficiency, reduce costs and make informed decisions.
Secondly, it becomes an irresistible tool especially in the field of lead generation. It provides unique opportunities to effectively analyze data and highlight prospective customers. Using AI in lead generation opens up new horizons for businesses, allowing them to find and engage customers more accurately and efficiently.
We will describe in more detail why artificial intelligence is part of 2024 lead generation trends:
- Task automation: Artificial intelligence can automate routine and repetitive tasks. It allows employees to use their time more efficiently.
- Data analysis: AI can process large amounts of data, identify trends and make predictions. This helps in making more informed decisions.
- Content personalization: AI can adapt content and offers according to individual customer preferences, increasing the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
- Cost reduction: Automating and optimizing processes using AI can lead to cost reductions and increased business efficiency.
- Data security: Protecting the personal and confidential information of potential customers is paramount. Breach of confidentiality can lead to loss of trust and reputation of the company. When potential customers know their data is safe, they are more inclined to share information. In turn, this improves lead quality and stimulates business growth.
#7 Omnichannel Communication
It is a customer engagement strategy that uses multiple communication channels to create a unified and consistent experience with potential customers. It involves integrating various channels such as online platforms, social media, telephony and others to provide the customer with a unified and consistent experience of interacting with the company.
Omnichannel provides a number of benefits to businesses in lead generation:
- More touch points: using different communication channels increases opportunities to communicate with your target audience, which can increase leads.
- Adaptability to customer preferences: Allows businesses to adapt to the preferences of potential customers. It gives them a choice in using their associated communication channels.
- Improvement of conversion: Provides an ongoing engagement process that can help increase conversion of leads into customers.
- Effective use of data: Integrating data from different channels allows for more accurate analysis and understanding of customer behavior. This contributes to a more effective lead generation strategy.
- Multi-channel analytics capabilities: Allows businesses to more fully evaluate the results of different channels and optimize their lead generation strategy.
What is the lead generation solution market forecast for the nearest future?
Despite difficult market conditions, don’t reduce your sales efforts. Pay attention to opportunities that may arise. Adapt your products to the impact of the economic slowdown.
- Minimize plans for the near future: In an uncertain business situation, buyers want results quickly. Promises of long-term growth are no longer as important without proof of immediate improvement.
- Actively engage with the market: When fewer people are reaching out to sellers, you need to go to them. Listen to your customers and look for ways to help them through difficult times.
- Focus on individual relationships: When sellers and buyers have strong relationships, trust becomes key to new business. In this setting, new trends in B2B lead generation are driven by maximizing current customers and customizing offers for potential ones.
What is the best time for lead generation?
The question of when is the best time to conduct lead generation depends on the characteristics of target audience and the specifics of business. Nevertheless, there are a few recommendations, such as:
- Business days and hours: Typically, business days Monday through Friday are the best time for lead generation. Businesses are more active during this time and there is a higher chance that your call or offer will be noticed.
- Morning hours: At the beginning of the workday, employees are still “fresh” and more open to new information. Therefore, morning hours can be effective for contacting potential customers.
- Tuesday and Wednesday: Experience shows that Tuesday and Wednesday are often considered the best days of the week for lead generation. Monday can be busy recovering from the weekend. By the end of the week, attention can be spread out on various tasks.
- Avoid Holidays and Weekends: To avoid poor performance, it is best to avoid lead generation on holidays and weekends. Many businesses may be closed or employees may be less available.
A Final Word
The way the upcoming year will unfold cannot be predicted, unfortunately, but to be sure you can face any downfalls as well as any success – you need to be prepared for both. AI can optimize prospecting processes to find potential customers.
It can also predict which personalized strategies will be most effective for attracting leads. Implement the best practices you find, diversify your strategy, and build up discipline to shine through the routine, and your business will certainly strive. Reach out to us today to keep pace with last trends together with SalesNash.