'Intent -Driven' Sales & Marketing Campaigns – The New B2B Buzz Word!

Marketing Automation as an industry has witnessed some phenomenal growth in the recent years. The existing solutions have changed the way B2B companies do business today. Traditional, B2B marketing techniques like  cold calls, direct mails etc. now have more data and insight to support. Also, the B2B websites have transformed into a fertile ground for companies to find interested prospects.

In many ways marketing automation solutions have added the much needed momentum to a sector which has a lot at stake, when it comes to making a sale.

The other area in which marketing automation solutions have added value to B2B companies are by helping them measure some aspects of their marketing ROI – especially the contribution marketing makes towards the sales in an organization.

In the last two decades, the marketing automation industry has evolved and found solutions for many problems faced by the B2B sector. Finding more qualified Leads, deploying customized Lead nurturing programs and overall better Lead management is now a reality.

However, the advent of social media and the availability of content rich information has changed the way people buy and sell these days. Marketing itself has undergone a sea change with marketers engaging prospects on a one-on-one basis. B2C companies quickly adapted to this change and have thrived on their new found closeness with their customers – but B2B companies are still not there. They need a more substantial solution to deepen their engagement with their prospects and customers which in turn will generate more business opportunities.

LeadForce1 Offering an Integrated Marketing Automation2.0 platform

LeadForce1 a marketing automation2.0 solution which was launched today,  is a solution which will help B2B companies cope with the changing dynamics of B2B marketing.

LeadForce1 offers the unique benefit of being able to determine an online visitor’s interests and intent, using advanced behavioral analysis. Marketing and sales teams can now precisely manage lead nurturing programs and effectively target messages and offers that are customized around the interests of each individual lead. The result is marketing campaigns with greater impact, larger sales pipelines, and improved sales productivity.

LeadForce1′s greatest differentiator is its ability to find the intent of a website visitor – this information and deep insight into a prospect’s mind, challenges – the existing process of generating, qualifying and nurturing Leads. With the intent of the visitor known, each of these processes take lesser time, are more accurate and customized and promise better results and higher conversions.

The other problem LeadForce1 tries to address is the marketing & sales divide. It provides both the sales and marketing teams with a single opportunity or ‘Lead View’. Giving ‘intent’ – driven insights on individual Leads and Enterprise Leads (gives single view of the behavior patterns of different visitors from the same enterprise).

The solution also offers elements of Web2.0 by incorporating the benefits of social networking and single platform collaboration – allowing all stake holders in a company – the marketing guys, the sales guys and other decision makers to collaborate, share, discuss, deliberate and decide, in real-time – ensuring shorter sales cycles and perusal of only qualified business opportunities – thereby maximizing the ROI.

As a PR & Marketing professional, what I personally liked about LeadForce1, is the fact it can accurately measure not only the ROI on marketing spends but also provide enough data on which marketing channels, what kind of marketing content is bringing in the Leads. This is a great add on for those B2B companies whose marketing spends are focussed on attracting Leads and prospects to their sales funnel. Also, knowing which channels of communication best serve my Company’s needs is great information to have – not only to optimize my reach but also to ensure I achieve my end goals as a marketer.

There are many players in the Marketing Automation space, each offering something – LeadForce1 – is a platform which integrates all – ‘from identifying a visitor to making the live connect’. How the new solution and the 2.0 platform will change the marketing automation industry is yet to be seen, but one thing is guaranteed, B2B companies can now think of engaging with their elusive prospects on a one-on-one basis. Reading their minds, and providing them with sales pitches and lead nurturing materials which will be relevant and truly assist in the decision making process.

B2B Marketing and The Two-Phase Approach

In B2b companies, sales closures can take anywhere between 3 to 12 months and sometimes even more. Once potential prospects or leads are identified they may require nurturing. A relationship needs to be built between the company and its prospect customer to ensure, their solution is the prospect’s first choice, when they finally decide to buy.

This is why it is essential to adopt a two phased approach when it comes to B2B marketing. Your B2B Marketing plan should ideally focus on generating leads in the first phase and nurturing them in the second phase. While the first phase is wider in its reach and more generic, the second phase of marketing should be customized to suit the needs of the lead you are trying to nurture.

Phase I – To generate leads

Identify your target audience and the channels they frequent, this is key to your reach out – this ensures you only attract serious customers with your messaging. What is the problem your product/solution is trying to solve and how will your target customer benefit? Should essentially be an integral part of your messaging.

Whatever channels you use – PR, Social Media, Advertising – online or offline or both – the focus is to educate and inform your target customers about your offerings. This process of generating demand for your product/solution is critical to your business. This is the only way your company can get interested/potential customers to even inquire or consider your offerings as a solution for their problems.

Some key activities which help in this phase are Press releases, Corporate blogs(establishing thought leadership/expertise in your industry), attending industry events and trade shows, engaging with your target audience on social networks, optimizing your website for search engines, paid campaigns( advertisements, sponsorships) etc.

It is best to engage as many marketing channels as available to reach out to your end customer initially. A review after 2-3 months of engaging these channels will give you an idea on which one works best for your company (which campaigns resulted in more responses, inquiries, interest, lead generation)- you can then put all your effort in maximizing your reach using those channels only.

Create a two phase marketing plan

Phase -II – To nurture the leads, till they are sale ready

All visitors who come to your website or call your office are not people who are ready to buy. Its worth it to spend time with these visitors, who filled an inquiry form on your website or called up your sales rep for more information to understand their exact requirement. Apart from these traditional methods of leads reaching you, there are a number of marketing automation solutions available in the market today, these help your company define a good lead and match those specifications against the visitors on your website – rating people on the basis of their activity on the site (form fill, whitepaper download, request for demo etc.).

No matter what method you use – once you are aware, that the visitor or caller is a good lead but not yet ready to buy, it is time to kick in your second phase of marketing activities.

Once you have an insight into the requirements of the lead, feed him with more information on your solutions that best fit his requirements. This should be done over a period of time. Also, this phase requires going beyond self promotion and researching the interests of the lead, engaging him in a conversation, helping him with his decision making process by being an advisor to him.

Some of the key activities that you can use to engage your lead during the nurturing process are – sending well researched whitepapers in the space, sending articles relevant to your lead  that comment on his domain or on the problem he is seeking a solution for. Send news updates about your company or industry which are relevant, case studies which showcase how your solution solved a similar problem for another client. Or send invitations to Webinars where he can learn more about your solution and how it solves his problem.

Emails are the most preferred mode of communication during this phase of marketing, which requires building a relationship of trust with your prospect. If the lead nurturing program is customized to suite the needs of a customer it also ensures faster sales closures as the marketing content shared during this period helps in the decision making process of the lead being nurtured.

5 Ways – B2B Companies Can Use Social Media for Lead Generation & Lead Nurturing

Social Media Tool Kit for B2B companies

The relevancy of social media for Business to Business (B2B) companies is a much debated subject. While B2B companies are opening up to the idea of participating in social media, by creating social profiles, writing blogs and engaging in micro-blogging etc. a lot is desired when it comes to using social media as an effective tool to forward their business interests or for securing, and nurturing quality leads.

Having worked with both B2C and B2B companies in the social media space, I strongly feel that the approach for both have to be significantly different – at least at the engagement level.

It has to be very similar to how we market such companies and their products in the offline world. More mass and viral for B2C companies/products and more of an individual approach ñ convincing that one individual or group of individuals (read decision makers) who will believe in your product and pay the high value to procure it for B2B companies.

If you actually see how business prospects can be engaged on social media by B2B companies, the argument that social media is more relevant for B2B companiesí wins hands down.

Finding relevant contacts ñ

Finding the right contact to make their business pitch is critical for sales guys at B2B companies. In the offline world ñ they look for such prospects at conferences, trade shows, at a game of Golf, or socializing clubs. The time taken for converting a social contact into a relevant potential business contact varies depending on a lot of other factors like basic nature of the individuals involved, their social engagement skills etc.

In the online world business social networking sites like Linkedin, Businessweek Exchange, Ecademy, Entrepreneur.com etc. have made the process so easy. Everyone on these networks is there for a professional reason hence talking business in your first social introduction falls within the social etiquettes of these networks. Also, these sites make an individualís professional network multiply, because they let him know who is connected to his connections and their connections too. With social media the visiting card holder is experiencing exponential growth.

Showcasing your product

When it comes to showcasing products ñ social media has come as a boon for B2b companies. It provides so many levels and channels to engage and educate their potential customers about their company and its product offerings. Before, having advertising & PR budgets and probably a face to face meeting and corporate presentation was the only way they could engage with their potential customer. But today with social media ñ you can choose the channel your prospect uses (Presentations, Videos, Podcasts, Webinars etc.), through a medium he most frequents (social networking sites, blogs, Video sites, Book marking sites etc.) to engage him without so much as meeting him to begin with.

Yes social media has presented B2b companies with a variety of channels to promote, educate and even create a market for their products. Blogs have become a great way of doing PR and building thought leadership. Webinars and videos help demonstrate your products to anyone who is interested at any time and anywhere in the world.

Nurturing your leads

In a B2B set up since the stakes are higher – a potential lead requires sometimes a lot of nurturing before it converts into a sale. Social media provides sales guys with a more than one option to engage and follow their leads at both a professional and personal level. Following their prospects on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, following their blogs etc. can give them a lot of insight about their lead, the kind of person he is, his interests, his passions, his perspective on things/issues etc. Ask a regular sales guy who does not have access to social media or such information on a prospect and he will tell you the value such information adds when nurturing a lead. Sales guys do everything to find out about what their potential decision maker likes, the basketball/baseball team he roots for etc. to engage him at a more personal level. Social media provides them with all that information effortlessly.

Building communities

Having a list of satisfied clients who can advocate their products to other prospects is a dream come true for any company. In a non- social media set-up Companies would ideally ask their clients to give some recommendations which they would use in their product brochures and website. Also, hope that their existing clientele recommend them to some others, leaving them with very less control or hope that their advocates will bring in quality leads.

Social media today changes all that ñ it helps companies create communities and groups around their product offerings, where their advocates can come and voice their positive experiences. It can invite other prospects to join these groups and engage in discussions to have a better understanding and third party or user perspective of the product before their own purchase.

Companies can also use the chatter in these groups for creating buzz or PR. Consider this ñ social media helps companies advertise in real time ñ spending much less money.

Finding New Markets

For most B2B companies expanding their market is critical to their success. The investments for entering and setting shop in any new market is huge and companies spend a bomb on market research to find out the growth potential in such markets.

Since social media is not divided by boundaries ñ it becomes a simple and cost- effective tool for B2b companies to test the potential of new markets. Contacting and engaging with prospects in another country on social networks, understanding the specific needs of their market etc. has become much simpler.

B2B purchases are always well researched, well thought and very informed decisions. Social media as a business tool can help companies in providing that research, thought and information to their potential customers. It can help companies in educating and engaging their potential leads at different levels ñ talking in a language they would love to hear.

Social Media is still about people. Only the distances and differences have ceased to existÖ.try it ñ it could change the way you do business.

The relevancy of social media for Business to Business (B2B) companies is a much debated subject. While B2B companies are opening up to the idea of participating in social media, by creating social profiles, writing blogs and engaging in micro-blogging etc. a lot is desired when it comes to using social media as an effective tool to forward their business interests or for securing, and nurturing quality leads.

Having worked with both B2C and B2B companies in the social media space, I strongly feel that the approach for both have to be significantly different – at least at the engagement level.

It has to be very similar to how we market such companies and their products in the offline world. More mass and viral for B2C companies/products and more of an individual approach - convincing that one individual or group of individuals (read decision makers) who will believe in your product and pay the high value to procure it, for B2B companies.

If you actually see how business prospects can be engaged on social media by B2B companies, the argument that social media is more relevant for B2B companies’ wins hands down

For the non-believers here’s how…….

Finding relevant contacts

Finding the right contact to make their business pitch is critical for sales guys at B2B companies. In the offline world - they look for such prospects at conferences, trade shows, at a game of Golf, or socializing clubs. The time taken for converting a social contact into a relevant potential business contact varies, depending on a lot of other factors like basic nature of the individuals involved, their social engagement skills etc.

In the online world business social networking sites like Linkedin, Businessweek Exchange, Ecademy, Entrepreneur.com etc. have made the process so easy. Everyone on these networks is there for a professional reason hence talking business in your first social introduction falls within the social etiquettes of these networks. Also, these sites make an individual’s professional network multiply, because they let him know who is connected to his connections and their connections too. With social media the visiting card holder is experiencing exponential growth.

Showcasing your product

When it comes to showcasing products – social media has come as a boon for B2b companies. It provides so many levels and channels to engage and educate their potential customers about their company and its product offerings. Before, having advertising & PR budgets and probably a face to face meeting and corporate presentation was the only way they could engage with their potential customer. But today with social media - they can choose the channel their prospect uses (Presentations, Videos, Podcasts, Webinars etc.), through a medium he most frequents (social networking sites, blogs, Video sites, Book marking sites etc.) to engage him without so much as meeting him to begin with.

Yes social media has presented B2b companies with a variety of channels to promote, educate and even create a market for their products. Blogs have become a great way of doing PR and building thought leadership. Webinars and videos help demonstrate your products to anyone who is interested at any time and anywhere in the world.

Nurturing your leads

In a B2B set up since the stakes are higher – a potential lead requires a lot of nurturing before it converts into a sale. Social media provides sales guys with more than one option to engage and follow their leads at both a professional and personal level. Following their prospects on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, following their blogs etc. can give them a lot of insight about their lead, the kind of person he is, his interests, his passions, his perspective on things/issues etc. Ask a regular sales guy who does not have access to social media or such information on a prospect and he will tell you the value such information adds when nurturing a lead. Sales guys do everything to find out about what their potential decision maker likes, the basketball/baseball team he roots for etc. to engage him at a more personal level. Social media provides them with all that information effortlessly.

Building communities

Having a list of satisfied clients who can advocate their products to other prospects is a dream come true for any company. In a non- social media set-up companies would ideally ask their clients to give some recommendations which they would use in their product brochures and website. Also, hope that their existing clientele recommend them to some others, leaving them with very less control or hope that their advocates will bring in quality leads.

Social media today changes all that - it helps companies create communities and groups around their product offerings, where their advocates can come and voice their positive experiences. It can invite other prospects to join these groups and engage in discussions to have a better understanding and third party or user perspective of the product before their own purchase.

Companies can also use the chatter in these groups for creating buzz or PR. Consider this – social media helps companies advertise in real time – spending much less money.

Finding New Markets

For most B2B companies expanding their market is critical to their success. The investments for entering and setting shop in any new market is huge and companies spend a bomb on market research to find out the growth potential in such markets.

Since social media is not divided by boundaries - it becomes a simple and cost- effective tool for B2b companies to test the potential of new markets. Contacting and engaging with prospects in another country on social networks, understanding the specific needs of their market etc. has become much simpler.

B2B purchases are always well researched, well thought and very informed decisions. Social media as a business tool can help companies in providing that research, thought and information to their potential customers. It can help companies in educating and engaging their potential leads at different levels ñ talking in a language they would love to hear.

Social Media is still about people. Only the distances and differences have ceased to existÖ.try it - it could change the way you do business.