Alan DraperDoes everyone sound alike to you too? Name any product or service and then try to explain what makes one different from the other. Good luck.
With the vast majority of companies unable to create quality sales leads for salespeople, it is a real problem. In fact, more than 3 out of 4 companies say that the lack of quality sales leads is their biggest problem. So companies are trying to figure out lead generation programs.
If you want do business to business lead generation, you need to attract sales leads. Lead generation programs depend on clear differentiation. In fact, when I was the featured guest on HubSpotTV recently, the show closed with my marketing takeaway:
In a recently study by MarketingProfs and Junta42, it was found that the biggest challenge faced by marketers with their content in their lead generation programs was making it ENGAGING for prospective buyers. Over 1 out of 3 – 36%, said their single biggest problem was:
a Lack of Engaging Content
In plain English, that means when they receive your content, their reaction is “Ho hum.” A big yawn.
In my mind, there’s no excuse. Engaging lead generation content comes down to basic human nature.
People enjoy three things:
- Things that make them laugh or cry
- A great story
- A chance to learn the unexpected
Understand your buyers and make it fun. Make them laugh or make them cry, tell them a story or surprise them with insights. They will respond, engage with you and turn into the quality sales leads your salespeople so badly need.
Let me share a good Business to Business example of good lead generation programs:
Kinaxis is a software company whose offerings compete with giant software companies SAP and Oracle. So how do they compete? Quite well, thank you.
Suitemates might have been their most ambitious project, but they’ve got a lot more humor – such as
All light, funny and entertaining. And the 21st Century Supply Chain is their thought leadership blog, so they share surprising insights too. And one of the thinks I really love about Kinaxis is this – check out all the photos of smiling, happy people!
As you see, B2B marketing, even technology, does not have to be boring. If you want to do a great job in B2B lead generation, loosen up! It’s time to, as I like to say “Let Your Freak Flag Fly!“
What do you think? We love comments and sharing. We even give you simple buttons for sharing, so please use them.
By the way, Sandhill.com invited us to write a feature article on this for them. It will run early in October.
What do you think? We love comments and people who share.
Author: Jeff Ogden (@fearlesscomp) is President of the B2B lead generation consultancy, Find New Customers. Find New Customers helps companies dramatically improve revenue results by transforming the ways they attract, engage and win new customers. Contact Find New Customers by calling (516) 495-9350 or by sending an email to sales at findnewcustomers.com. Or set a meeting with Jeff by clicking Set a Meeting.
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Alan Draper.
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This is so true! I look at our existing content and that of our competitors and I can see why customer engagement is so difficult when we think we speak in corporate and serious tones. I look forward to sharing this with my colleagues and get our creative hats on! Thanks for this!
Thanks for your comment, Lys and I’m glad you enjoyed it.