Definitive Guide to B2B Lead Generation Across Channels

In Part 1, we discussed lead generation strategies and tactics on social media, phone, and email marketing.

Again, we will tackle the challenge of how to generate more leads for your business. In this article, we will focus on lead generation using webinars and events as well as websites and chats.

Website and Chats

Your website is a powerful lead generation machine. But if you couple that with chat, it becomes 2X more effective. According to a Forbes report, putting a chat feature on your website increases your customer satisfaction rate by 90 percent. More than that, a website chat is 50 percent cheaper than a phone call.

But before you can use this lethal combination, you need to drive more traffic to your website. So let’s look at how you can attract more visitors to your website. Then, we will talk about how you can nurture your prospects and convert them.

How to Drive More Traffic to Your Website

Social media and email marketing play a vital role in attracting visitors to your website.

Everything starts with an invitation. And you can do that by sending a compelling email marketing newsletter and building your brand on social media. You’ll find some helpful strategies using these channels in Part 1 of this article.

Once they accepted your invitation, you need to keep them interested and asking for more. Here’s how your website can help you with that:

Develop a holistic content strategy

A holistic content strategy will be able to guide your leads as they go through the buyer’s journey. Clearly define what the role of your website is in engaging and converting your leads.

Consider the following questions when creating a content strategy:

Do the different pages of the website support the the prospect at every stage of their buyer’s journey?
How do I direct traffic to move prospects further down the funnel?
Is there a call-to-acion in every page to help them move forward?
Which pages provide the better information?
Which pages are ready for lead conversion?
Where are your pillar pages and topic cluster pages?

Be consistent with your message in every page of your website.

Always start with the user in mind

Every time you create a content strategy, always have your audience in mind. They’re the ones who will interact with your website, not you. Thus, you should organize your pages to guide your prospect.

It also includes the language your prospects are using. The language and tone you’ll use if you’re reaching out to young professionals is different from the one you’ll be using if you’re talking to doctors.

Use the appropriate language that your target audience will be comfortable using. Also, don’t hard sell. Instead, provide relevant and valuable information that will help solve their challenges.

Make your calls-to-action visible

Your website should be full of forms, links, and call-to-actions that compel your visitor to do something. You cannot expect them to act if you didn’t ask them in the first place.

These calls-to-action must catch your prospect’s attention. You also need to be clear about what you want them to do. But you have to make sure that your call-to-action must be relevant to the content of that page.

Offer value

If your visitors respond to your call to action, what can you give them in return? You have to provide something valuable in exchange of their efforts. It could be:

Case studies
Ebooks
How-tos / tutorials
White paper
Webinars

Optimizing the Power of Chats

Providing a hybrid solution of chatbots and live chats is the way to go. Chatbots can provide round-the-clock response times. It lessens the the pressure of your live chat support because chatbots already filtered what the visitor wants.

Chatbots can provide basic information. Live agents can provide emotional support and in-depth guidance to complex issues. By using this hybrid solution, you maintain the continuity of the conversation.

Here are more ways to improve your chat service to generate more leads:

Use registration forms

Registration forms allow you to get the name and email address of your visitors before the conversation even starts. It allows you to pursue these leads in case you get disconnected during the conversation. You can also forward them to your sales team so they can nurture them until they are ready to convert. Here’s an example of a chatbot with a registration form from yellow.ai.

An active registration form takes only seconds to fill out. And the conversation flow looks natural, so it doesn’t pose a threat to your visitors.

Sift Leads with Chatbot Funnels

This chat feature is a predefined conversation that flows based on the topic the visitor chooses and the answers he/she gives. Before your prospect talks with a real sales rep, the chatbot already sifts the prospects according to their needs and intents. Here’s an example from Callbox:

Set Up Informative Lead Profiles

Lead profiles allow you to understand your leads more. It carries the basic information of your leads. It also helps you keep track of your conversation with them. Your sales rep can review the conversation later and gain insight that will help them nurture the leads.

Webinars and Events

According to BrightTalk, 79 percent of B2B buyers view a webinar or video content one or more times a week. So if you have invested your time, effort, and resources in hosting webinars and creating video-based content to target their prospects should most likely receive a great ROI.

If you want are just starting to use this channel or want to improve it for lead generation, here are a few stats and strategies for you.

Game-Changing Webinar Stats

Brings 23 percent high-quality leads
Has a 16 percent lead conversion rate
62 percent of webinar attendees request a demo from sales
Communication webinars has the highest conversion rates at 67.05 percent. Next are training and marketing webinars at 44.79 percent and 39.10 percent respectively.
78 percent of B2B buyers won’t register if the content is marketing or product-focused and provides a poor platform experience.
56 percent of buyers complain about verly long webinars
Webinars with on-demand viewing has a higher conversion rates among C-Suite executives at 53 percent.

Capturing High-Quality Leads through Webinars

An hour is enough

According to WorkCast, 60 minutes is the ideal webinar length. It is enough to present the content you need to showcase. However, data have shown that the length may vary depending on what you want to achieve.

If you want to engage your audience more often, a 15-minute webinar done 2 – 3X a week is enough. A 20-minute webinar is also suitable for start-ups while 90 minutes is recommended for trainings and presentations.

Provide on-demand viewing

B2B buyers appreciate on-demand viewing. As mentioned in the stats above, it increases conversion rates among C-Suite executives. That’s because it’s very convenient, allowing viewers to watch it at their most comfortable time.

Provide value to your target audience

Although your main goal is to win prospects over, the webinar is also an avenue to establish yourself as a thought leader. It’s not the time to be salesy. Instead, understand their needs and provide solutions. Once you gain their trust, everything follows.

Use videos and slides

Educate and impress! That becomes easier with eye-catching visual aids. Use visually appealing slides, videos, and animation to keep your audience’s attention.

Adding fun activities like quizzes and mini-games in the middle is much better than speaking all throughout. Encourage interactions so it doesn’t end up like a one-way conversation.

Invite a thought leader or expert

Inviting an expert or thought leader can make your event more appealing. It also makes the webinar legitimate. Furthermore, the name of an expert on your invite — especially if he/she is well-known — becomes a powerful marketing tool.

Conclusion

There are more tactics and strategies to improve your lead generation on these channels. Be aware of the marketing trends and understand your target market so you can create a more effective campaign.