The covid-19 pandemic has hit businesses hard, and though B2C (business to customer) businesses are managing to break ground in this hard situation, B2B(business to business) businesses are forced to do some serious thinking on how to apply new marketing methods to ensure and maintain a steady growth rate.

According to ResearchAndMarkets.com “the global business-to-business e-commerce market size is estimated to reach USD 20.9 trillion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 17.5% during the forecast period.”

According to the report, in early 2020, when the world was hit by COVID-19, the behavioral pattern amongst the B2B customers took a rapid upward turn even in B2B sale. In countries like the US, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, Russia and China online shopping became a preferred option. Social distancing was considered the safest and best way of taking the business forward. B2B sales experienced a tremendous increase in demand.

Business Wire reports that the United States has experienced a surge in electronics sales. They observed that B2B E-Commerce volumes exceeded the consumer B2C E-Commerce volumes. The growth in e-commerce and safe in-person growth is expected to grow for B2B industries. Digital buying and selling is here to stay.

Another report from McKinsey and Company suggests that Omni channels are now to be the standard as the customers have made it clear that it is a preference for cross channel mix over in person. They also observed that 8 of 10 B2B decision-makers feel that the Omnichannel is effective over the traditional methods keeping the covid-19 situation in mind despite vaccination. E-commerce therefore will be the most popular route that B2B marketers and sellers should invest in.

Going by all these reviews, selling digitally is the only trusted platform. With this knowledge becoming the norm, every company switching to the digital should know lead generation marketing for B2B and not get lost in the world wide web.

Now the question of how to frame a digital marketing strategy for lead generation, arises. Attracting visitors to your website is the best way to convert sales. And what better way to do it than organic marketing. Organic search has been an approved weapon of the digital marketing industry and while getting more traffic is desirable, getting the right traffic is the ideal way to generate leads in B2B marketing.

The best and the most effective way of attracting organic traffic is by drawing the attention of web users with interesting and knowledgeable content. Once they have entered the keywords in the search query and it matches with your web content, the content displays in the search engine results page and with the help of SEO tactics your website gets a prominent listing in the population of competitive reserves. Content is the only way to drive sales home. So what is lead generation content? High-quality research content will drive search traffic and potential leads through SEO and content marketing strategies.

A buyer persona

A buyer persona is a significant part of a B2B marketing strategy. A buyer persona reflects on the current customers showing the way to your potential customers and communicates with the ideal customers. You are creating marketing material by focusing on the buyer persona that helps to relate with the right kind of customers. A stock photo that reflects the persona of your business relates to customers who align with the persona. This segment will be attracted to your product.

Being on Quora 

Targeting audience through Quora or other social media platforms, where experts in several fields respond to many questions. Customers usually view the answers through keyword search. It helps you in understanding the mindset of the viewers and their preferences. Your responses on these platforms will impact the negative or positive persona of your company and knowing the interest of the customer will help you focus on that segment of the audience, with content relevant to their search.

Use Chatbots

On your communication channels have a responsive chatbot. Responding to a lead within 5 minutes is crucial. But it has been seen that only 10% of B2B companies are quick at responding. Chatbots are powered by artificial intelligence that responds to the communication keeping the interaction with the target audience going. Automated information in the chatbots with an email address, phone number, feedbacks, selecting preferences, pain points, help in capturing and making your customers feel that the query has found a response.

Keyword Research

For B2B lead generation comprehensive keyword research is relevant as your audience can reach you quite easily through it. You will get an idea of the preferred search of your audience and once that knowledge has been gathered, you will know how to target your audience through keywords. Keywords directly related to your product, the industry, the service is relevant but long-tail keywords are said to be more valuable. Due to the length of the keywords, they are more specifically called long-tail keywords. With the lowest search volume, long-tail keywords translate better and get customers directly to your website.

High-Researched Content

Writing quality research-driven content after understanding the inclination of your audience will take you closer to them. Your content should be educational and informative, for that would engage your client and want them to interact with your product. The keyword-rich content would again help you to rise in the search engine SERP ranking and position you to be discovered by your target audience. Content like a blog post, infographic, landing page, a white paper will drive traffic to your website and help in lead generation. According to content marketing lead generation statistics by CSO Insights, 2019, those businesses that had a content marketing strategy achieved 27.1% higher success and 18.1% higher quota attainment than those without a plan.

Quantity and quality both matter

Though Curata in 2017 observed that 74% of companies found content marketing generating leads from both quality and quantity of content, recently experts argue that high-quality content gets more attention. Market research and exhaustive information is better-accepted content by your customer and performs better in SEO. The content should contain internal links with relevant topics. Here are the simple watch markers for content creation.

• Keyword-rich
• Follow headlines structure like H1 H2 and H3.
• The headline Should be eye-catching.
• Add CTA to content.
• Content length should approximate more than 1000 words.

Emails outweigh all marketing tactics

Emails are the most effective way of marketing B2B products. 59% of the market is dependent on emails as it generates a sizeable lead. The best thing about emails is you can engage in cold leads. Statistics reveal that 75% of emails are more likely to be clicked by recipients. Personalizing emails will bring better response even in B2B marketing. B2B marketers can signature their emails that will add to lead generation. Including white papers or email signatures, you can also add a banner to promote your product. Even webinars, including social media buttons and adding convincing call-to-action signature, can generate leads.

Content marketing on Social Media

One of the most effective organic lead generation strategy is your involvement in social media. B2B marketers targeting business audience can use B2B marketing networks like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Social posts have a huge impact on how your subscribers and followers view your brand. While sharing your relevant lead-generating content on social media you can interact with your target audience without directly showcasing your product. Regular updating on the social networks and staying abreast with current industrial and socially trending topics will generate organic leads and also help your audience reach you through organic search.

Webinars to elevate attention 

B2B companies can host webinars. Statistics show that 73% of B2B marketers rely on webinars as they have proved to be very effective in lead generation. They are an unique opportunity to interact with that segment of the audience that directly connects with you. Throughout 2020, companies were found engaging with each other through webinars. This form of marketing is a great strategy to bring companies together and showcase the product indirectly.

Reviews matter in B2B marketing too

Customer reviews also drive the purchase decision. In B2B sales

67% consider online reviews important and 92% are likely to buy a product depending on favorable reviews of the product. Therefore, after selling a product, it is important to ask customers for a review.

Website is your strongest content marketing platform

For B2B company, a website is the strongest lead generating medium. Driving organic traffic to your website is the point from where your business takes off. So, focusing on your website is essential. Remember that a slow loading website will ruin your chances and will not help you in converting your leads. Do not clutter your website with animations, motion graphics or high-resolution images that would slow the loading time. The opening speed of the website adds to the user experience. Bounce rates throw a negative impact. Your organic performance depends on the quality and performance of your website and Google also holds this as a benchmark criterion. When a search engine crawls through your pages the website navigation plays an important role in ranking. Headlines like about, service, products, etc. should be used to organize information under these categories. Visitors should find information readily under the specification. For example, your company sells mining production tools. So while navigating, customers can reach a specific requirement like the product page. Through minimum navigation, they can look at the products. Minimum navigation helps the website rise in Google search signals.

Influencer Marketing 

B2B lead generation is time taking. Content is the strongest mechanism that drives organic traffic to your website in B2B marketing. Therefore, the thrust should only be on building a very sound organic strategy. The next most important way to attract your customers is through influencer marketing. Used effectively in B2C, it can be endorsed in B2B marketing as well. Buy digital marketing leads by getting influential speakers from the industry to attend webinars or sponsorship programs. Endorsing Influencers having a wide following. The B2B industry relevant to you will help you increase your market share and in turn, find the recognition of your target audience.

Conclusion

Remember there are no fool-proof methods when it comes to marketing for B2B. A continuous strategizing and re-strategizing process work at every step. However, keeping a close watch on the market and repurposing and reframing your marketing strategies will take you ahead and never keep you behind your competitors. The best way to stay ahead in the industry is by using the services of a digital marketing company that knows the pulse of the industry by experience and analysis. Data is the key for creating customized content and 51% of marketers agree with it. 75% of B2B marketers rely on marketing technology to offer better knowledge on the performance of the content, according to Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs, 2019. Therefore, do not waste your time and build a digital marketing strategy by investing in a company that is dedicated to digital marketing for businesses. Visit https://www.carneytechnologies.com/ and promote your B2B business better in the digital space.