One of the hardest things for most small business owners to do is generate leads. Doing so effectively and efficiently is key, but of course that’s easier said than done. However, if you don’t do something, your sales will growth might plummet, just like it did for the Legos at left. Because it is best to learn from others than to make mistakes that can be avoided, here are three case studies, courtesy of an eBook co-written by HubSpot and Marketing Sherpa, that illustrate B2B lead generation problems and their solutions. The results are outstanding!
What they do: Subscription‐based software that helps organizations perform sales compensation planning.
Problem: The software is a new concept (this task is normally done manually) and their target market is composed of companies with 50 or fewer sales reps. Because prospects don’t know this software exists, they are not actively looking for it; therefore, creating demand and awareness are key to generating leads.
Solution: Makana transformed their website into an online destination for sales compensation planning best practices and practical advice. To do so, they added educational content, such as sample plans and webinars, they optimized their website for search using high-value keywords, and they used paid search to generate additional leads. They also added all Web leads to a customer relationship management program for follow-up.
Result: After three months, website traffic increased 200 percent, lead generation rates tripled, and lead conversion rates doubled.
What they do: Provide cyber-security solutions
Problem: They are a startup with limited funds and a target audience of security and quality assurance professionals in R&D laboratories who hate marketing.
Solution: A social media strategy that would create strong relationships with hard‐to‐find prospects and turn them into leads. BreakingPoint took a multi-pronged approach that included:
- Starting a blog
- Scanning social media for relevant conversations to follow
- Using Twitter to share info, post fun stuff and conduct informal polls
- Creating a LinkedIn group that focused on the industry, not the company
- Tweaking their press releases by adding links to their website and distributing them via Qeb-based services more frequently
- Promoting their social media channels on their website and in e-signatures
- Measuring everything
Result: After six months, leads from the Web shot up to 55 percent of all leads.
What they do: Business intelligence software
Problem: Longer sales cycles and buying committees composed of more people were making traditional tactics less effective at driving sales. Email marketing, for instance, saw click-through rates (CTR) plummet.
Solution: IBM Cognos put lead nurturing processes in place that positioned the company as a thought leader, generated demand, and supported the sales team. To read these goals, they overhauled their website to provide useful content, such as white papers and demos, and they organized all the content and information by product line and industry. They also created a lead‐nurturing program based on the prospect’s profile, and they analyzed and tested the program to ensure they were getting results.
Result: Open rates increased from 13.2 percent to 33.3 percent, CTR increased from 0.09 percent to 15.5 percent, response rate increased from 0.05 percent to 17.5 percent, and costs‐per‐lead decreased by 30 percent to 40 percent. Better alignment between sales and marketing goals allowed the marketing team to generate 30 percent of all leads per quarter.
Image by Flickr user Mark Anderson (Creative Commons)
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