There’s no beating around the bush: B2B demand generation is how your business stays in business.
Given that it’s such an important process, even businesses that are doing it well are always wondering how they can do it better — how to get more eyes on their website, more leads in their pipeline, and more sales on their books without draining other buckets of their budget.
If you’re doing well with B2B demand generation… this post is still for you. But it’s also a great resource for teams that are wondering if they can generate more demand using the web.
Here are four tips for even more targeted B2B demand generation:
1. Nail your website
Step one is to make sure your website is information-rich and fully optimized.
- Are you getting over half of your website visits from search engines?
- Do half of your web leads come from search engines?
- Do you have a plan to convert leads that are “just looking” or kicking tires?
If you aren’t excited about your answer to these questions, your website needs some work.
First off, your website needs to be strategic and very easy to navigate. Second, you need to provide customer-focused information that lets them do their own in-depth research.
Forrester research says that B2B buyers are already as much as 90% of the way through their process before they talk to you. Guess where they are doing their research?
Spend some time making your website more helpful and a consistent flow of leads will follow.
2. Target buyer intent with advanced SEO
Once you’re confident that your website can convert the customers you send to it, you need to focus on getting as many qualified eyes on it as possible.
We’ve already covered basic SEO strategies and approaching SEO as an ongoing project, so build on that.
For a more advanced approach to SEO strategy, target long-tail keywords, or phrases that are several words long. This allows you to be even more specific with your content when writing page titles, meta descriptions, and blog posts.
Genuine, long-tail content will give you an increased SEO punch as well as a higher authority ranking. Authority for your website will grow as the number of helpful, informative web pages grows.
3. Nurture with email marketing
The farthest-reaching weapon in your B2B demand generation arsenal is your email marketing list.
Each email you send to this list allows you to follow up on your prospective customer’s activity with relevant content and calls to action.
Tip: Your email list needs to be carefully segmented and customized just for your readers so that you can qualify according to each segment’s need.
If you’re sending one-size-fits-all messages, you’re going to be surprised by the increased response you’ll get when you segment it further.
Part of moving buyers along in the process is consistent follow-up. Did you know that you can automate emails to your best prospects?
Email nurturing strengthens your relationships over the long haul — much more than your e-blasts to your entire list. The more you understand your audience, the more you seek to provide educational, entertaining, or influential updates — whatever kind you know they need.
4. Consider thought leadership opportunities
Who doesn’t want to work with a specialist? But are you considered a specialist in your industry? A leader?
There are, of course, lots of ways to become a recognized leader using networking, trade shows, conferences, etc. But you can expand your reach by doing this online, too. Here are some ideas:
- Start a blog and discuss recent trends in your industry.
- Contribute to a LinkedIn Group where your potential customers are.
- Use Twitter and LinkedIn to distribute your blog posts.
- Doing a “brown bag” seminar for a group of prospects? Film it and use the video on your website and on YouTube.
- Hold a webinar, record it and archive it on your website.
- Find a blog in your target industry and submit a guest post.
Your web presence can reach hundreds or thousands of people every day. Develop your own brand of digital influence and widen your net to generate more demand for your B2B business online.
