The Dos & Don’ts ofLead Generation

6 BEST PRACTICESacquisition marketing

An in-depth read or a snapshot – it’s up to you.Read in full, click on a section below to jump ahead or click on the link below for a one-page summary.

Piecing together the Lead Gen picture.

The currency of attention.

1. DefineLeadGen.

2. Clearlydefineandcommunicateyourobjectives.

3. Get to know your audience.

4. Use multiple list sources.

5. Becontextuallyrelevant.

6. Automate...everything.

Don’t run your program in a silo.

Don’t have a lot of time? Click heretoviewaone-pagequickreadofthesebestpractices.

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ThesepagesprovidecontexttoourPOVand set expectations for the read.

Thispageprovidesresearchstatstohelpyouseehowyoureffortscomparetothemarket.

These pages are the six best practices.

ACQUISITIONMARKETING|LEADGENBESTPRACTICES

Piecing together the Lead Gen picture.TheB2Bacquisitiongamehaschangedataprettyrapidpace.AndevenmoresoforB2Btechnologymarketers – technology changes, buyer perceptions change, the buying process becomes more complex and buying groups more dynamic.

As marketers, we play a very small role in the life of our audience until we get them fully engaged. We see a snapshot of them – and them of us – not the entire picture.

Thinkaboutyourefforts–theday-to-dayinternalcollaboration,planning,strategizingtovieforyourbuyer’sattention.You’recompetingtobecomeasmallpieceoftheiroverallday.Keepthatinmindwhenreadingthroughthesebestpracticesandmanageyourexpectations.Newcustomeracquisitiontakes patience, and there is a lot to be learned along the way.

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Dos Don’ts&

provide best practice directives and learnings toenhanceyourLeadGenefforts.

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EXPLORATION

Value exchange:Buyer contact info for marketer’s content

DISCOVERY

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The currency of attention.Thedearthofavailabilityandtheoverabundanceofinformationmeansthateachofyourtargeted audience members has less and less time for you to break the information bubble.

And because buyers continue to find new ways of self-educating, you need a compelling, customer-centric approach to get through to them.

Thatmeansprovidinginformationtheywanttoconsumeratherthanpushinginformationyouwanttodistribute.Thepriceforaqualifiedleadiscontentthattheaudiencedeemsvaluable.

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Lead Gen focuses on capturing contact information for follow-up. A lead has a known data profile and can be counted, scored and

traced to specific financial outcomes.

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1.DefineLeadGen.AsimpleGooglesearchwillshowyouanumberofdifferentwaysLeadGenhasbeendefined.We’vetakenthecorepremisebehindLeadGenandsimplifiedthedefinition.

It’simportanttomakesureeveryoneonyourteamunderstandsthedefinitionyou’re workingfromsotheyknowwhattheyareworkingtoward.And,equallyasimportant, what they should do, and what not to do.

“”

Do: Don’t: DefineLeadGeninthe contextofyourorganization’sneeds.Developavisionforyourstrategy and make sure your team fully understands both.

Expect it “to do too much.” Your Lead Gen strategy shouldhaveonegoal–drivinginterestand collecting contact information for Sales follow-up.

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2.Clearlydefineandcommunicateyourobjectives.QuantityorQuality?Orboth?Areyoulookingtoincreasearevenuenumberorareyoumeasuringoutboundsalescallactivity…orisitacombination?

No matter what they are – define, communicate and quantify your objectives so Executive Leadership, Marketing and Sales know what you’re working toward. That way, you’ll have the same understanding when it comes to measuring performance.

Oncedefined,youmayfindthatyouhavetoreiteratethesegoalsthroughouttheprocess.Thisisagoodthing–anditgivesyoutheopportunitytorestateyourobjectivesandtotrack results based on agreed guidelines.

Do: Don’t: Defineparametersofyour Lead Gen program and set realistic expectations for performance. And then communicate both to your team.

Let the goal posts move–youmayhavetosetand reset expectations, but communicate yourobjectivesconsistently.

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Don’thaveadataprofileonyour audience (or lack brand awareness)?

Look into a Demand Gen Strategy. To learn more click here.

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3. Get to know your audience.Youraudiencedataprofiletellsyouwhotheyare.Butdoyouknowwhatisimportanttothem?Do you know how they make buying decisions or who’s included in their buying group?

These questions (and more) will help you create an audience-relevant campaign. Tailor your message to their needs and increase the opportunity to drive higher quality leads.

Useyouraudience’sdataprofiletodevelopindividualpersonasrepresentingdifferentsegmentsofyouraudience.Personasdon’thavetobeelaborate,buttheyshouldputa“face”onyourbuyersoyouhaveagreaterchancetohumanizeyourapproach.Developthepersonasbasedonanunbiasedviewoftheirneedsandalignyourofferingaccordingly.

Do: Don’t: Makesureeveryoneknowswho you are targeting and why. Confirmyouaudience’sdataprofile,developpersonasandtailoryourapproach to them.

Expect that because you’veidentifiedyouraudiencethat yourLeadGeneffortswillclose sales for you. Stay on top of your personasandrevisitthemperiodically.

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4. Use multiple lead list sources.Audienceiseverything.Howtheyfindyou,andyouthem,matters.Inboundstrategieswillinformyouraudiencewhoisactivelyseekingsolutions.Forthepassivebuyer,youneedamoredirectapproach–onethatincludespartneringwithlistproviders.

Identify a core set of credible list sources, then put your data profile to work by developing a set of audience-specific selection criteria.

The more detailed your criteria, the greater the opportunity for reaching the right audience. Askhowthelistsarecompiledandhowfrequentlytheyareupdated.Makesureyou understand the list’s usage rights and what additional fees may be associated with them.

Do: Don’t: Use multiple sources and test sources against one another. Also test your audience criteria to adjust to changing market dynamics.

Depend on one source. Yoursourcesshouldbeasdiverseasthe audience your targeting. And they should also be reputable – all opt-in, noSPAM.

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5.Becontextuallyrelevant.Ultimately,youwantyourleadstomakeapurchase,buttheirgoalissomethingquite different.Businessbuyersareself-educatingandconsumingcontentastheynarrowtheirconsiderationset.Sohowdoesyourpoint-of-viewdifferfromyourcompetitors?

Do your research to infuse your POV with contextual relevance.

Providingyouruniquesolutioninawaythataddressesthepracticalandemotional aspects of the problem. Go beyond educating to relating. As readers continue to explore yourcontent,theywanttogleannewinsightsthattheyfindapplicabletotheirlives–andyoucanprovideittothemwithyouruniqueoutlook.

Do: Don’t: Plentyofresearch.Whetherit’s indirect on roles and responsibilities ordirectfromthesourceinterviews.Developcontextualrelevancefor yourPOVwithqualityinsights.

Take a cookie-cutter approachthatprioritizesquantity overqualityandlosessightofthe relevancewithwhichyou communicateyourPOV.

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6.Automate...everything.Successfulintegrationofyourmarketingautomationplatform(MAP)andcustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)platformscanenhancethespeedandaccuracyofyourprogram and eliminate manual processes that steal time from your resources.

ImplementingthesetoolsintoyourLeadGenworkflowcanalsohelp improve the quality of your leads and offer direction on how to treat them,aswellasprovidevaluabletrackingdatafortheoverallhealthoftheprogram.

Do: Don’t: IntegrateaMAPandCRMsolution that can be geared to help youmosteffectivelymeetyour goals. Then use the technology to its fullest potential.

DependonMAPorCRMtools as a replacement for strategy. Theycanonlybeaseffectiveasthestrategies that put them into practice.

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Sources: 1BrightTALK,2ForbesviaMarketo,3BrightTALK,4B2BTechnologyMarketingCommunity,5BrightTALK

Don’t run your program in a silo.Alwaysknowwhatisgoingoninthemarket–contentmarketingtrends,buyingbehavior,LeadGenstrategies and tactics. Don’t limit your exposure to the four walls of your office.Below,we’veprovidedahandfuloftimelyandrelevantstatsthat,seeninthecontextofyourbusiness,canprovideinsights that lead to program-enhancing change.

of marketers report their lead generation

effortsareonlyslightlyorsomewhateffective.1

of B2B companies say content marketing generates more leads than traditional

marketing strategies.2

of B2B marketers say lack of resources, such as staff,fundingandtime,

remains the biggest obstacle to successful lead generation.3

of B2B marketers consider “generating

high-qualityleads”tobe their biggest challenge.4

of B2B marketing professionals state that alackofqualitydatais

their biggest barrier to lead generation.5

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80% 93% 61% 61% 42%

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ACQUISITIONMARKETING|LEADGENBESTPRACTICES © 2019. Gain.

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About Gain: We’readirect,digitalanddata-basedmarketingcommunicationsagencythatbringsthepeople-perspectivebackintoacquisitionandlifecyclemarketing. LearnmoreaboutGainbyvisitinghellogain.com.

Want to talk shop? Contact James at james.sweeney@hellogain.com.