Once mature, lead generation and digital selling tools (websites, social networks, sales automation, etc.) have proven their effectiveness, but have also begun to show their limits, as evidenced by the " Content Shock " debate that is stirring up the Web marketing sphere.
Now that these sales methods have become the norm, only those who have mastered the art of using them have a chance to succeed.
And if that thought gives you - and many others - a cold sweat, here are some tips on how to get out of the internet lead generation arena alive.
1. Review the weapons available to you
As we have already mentioned, Marketing is now involved in most of the stages of thesales funnel (see our article on thesales organisation software publishers).
This means that you'd better make sure you have a killer marketing strategy, if you want your prospects to choose YOUR software solution in SaaS rather than your neighbour's (and on the web, ALL your competitors are your neighbours!).
The first step in your preparation as a " lead generation gladiator" is to review the weapons you already have, to get an idea of your chances of survival and to upgrade them:
- What tools and channels do you already use: website, social networks, emailing campaigns...?
- How are they used: how often? with what content?
- How many visitors or subscribers do they generate?
- With what impact, in terms of sales?
Carry out this diagnosis without complacency or moods: the better you know your weaknesses, the more likely you are to correct them.
2. Refine your positioning and know your target
Once this initial diagnosis of your Web marketing tools has been carried out, it is essential, in order to use them as effectively as possible, to start with your competitors and your targets: to use your weapons wisely, nothing is better than knowing who you are dealing with...
- What are the characteristics of your market on the web, its opportunities and risks?
- Who are your main competitors, and what is their web marketing and sales strategy?
- Which customers do you want to attract and convince in priority, via your lead generation tools?
This last point is to be put in relation with your "Gold, Silver and Bronze" targets, defined during the construction of yourbusiness model. And because you are using a marketing logic and approach here, you will convert these targets with generic outlines (type of company, volume of turnover, etc.) into "Buyer Personae", with human and personalised traits. 1
3. Develop a "warrior" strategy
Once you know which Buyer Personae you are addressing, everything becomes clearer: how you are going to talk to them, via which channels and above all: to tell them what!
Address their concerns, show them what problems you will solve for them and what they will gain from it, in short, let them know what they will gain from YOUR solution. In this way, you will first create trust and then the desire to work with you.
Does that sound a bit too simple? You're right.
There is no point in "talking into your prospects' ears" if they never leave their number for you to call them back!
An effective Web marketing strategy is based on a very precise scenario, which first of all allows you toATTRACT visitors related to your target, but also to CONVERT them into identified and qualified prospects - i.e. those whose contact details you have and whose interest in your services you nourish - and finally, to SELL them your solution!
For your scenarios to produce results, you must first have a clear vision on these points:
- Where will you direct the flow of your visitors ("contact" page of your site, "demo request" landing page, etc.)?
- How do your visitors move from one channel (web or not) to another?
- How do you identify their level of interest in your solution?
Thisis what will enable you to define the content strategy thatmeets your objectives: in other words, to plan the production and distribution of your " lead magnets " (attractive content that encourages a visitor to leave his or her contact details) and the accompanying " call-to-actions ": download a technical data sheet or a white paper, carry out an online diagnosis, request a demo, etc.
4. Don't leave it to chance to decide the outcome of the fight
The deployment of an Inbound Marketing strategy strategy requires working in agile mode (we'll come back to this later), but it can't be managed "by instinct", quite the contrary!
To be effective, lead generation via web marketing tools must be guided by precise objectives and be based on the careful monitoring of previously defined indicators.
In connection with your sales funnel, define quantified objectives and the corresponding KPIs.
For example (in simplified mode):
TARGET FIGURE OF:
Traffic generated
Volume of visitors identified
Number of leads referred to sales
Turnover generated
KPI:
Number of unique visitors to the site
Number of contacts generated via contact field
Number of qualified leads obtained
Cumulative turnover sales on leads transmitted
It is essential to monitor these figures using dedicated management tools (SEO tools, dashboards, etc.).
And to do this, to "score your leads": each time a step is taken in the qualification of a contact (identification, obtaining a telephone number, etc.), a new "score" is attributed to it, which brings it closer to the transmission of the lead to the sales team.
Scoring is also based on "rich information" relating to the profile and behaviour of your visitors (function, centres of interest, degree of autonomy in the purchase decision, etc.) that you will have obtained via online interactions and recorded, in a CRM tool for example.
5. Learn from your defeats and enjoy your victories
Let's face it: deploying a lead generation web strategy from start to finish, from its definition to its implementation, is a long process and sometimes full of pitfalls. This is particularly the case when it comes to automating processes and interfacing the various tools used (CRM, marketing automation solution, SEO tools, etc.).
This is why you need to start small, allow yourself to implement actions gradually and deploy your scenarios iteratively.
You can start by testing "short" loops with a limited amount of content: 1 lead magnet, 2 articles and 1 infographic (or video) to feed your first mail series, for example. This allows you to "get your hands on" the production of content and its distribution tools, to test the processes in agile mode and to generate your first identified leads.
The first victories provide motivation and always bring their share of instructive mistakes.
Depending on your resources - and provided that you have not overlooked the evaluation of your tools, the definition of your personas and the formalisation of your objectives - it may be more effective to start simply and gradually build up power, than to set up a gas factory or to start immediately with expensive tools that will have to be amortised.
The Gladiator who wins the fight is not always the one who had the best weapons at the start: more often than not, it is the one who knows his opponent well and who uses his own weapons to best effect once in the arena!
1. A persona, in marketing, is an imaginary character representing a target group or segment. It usually has a first name and social and psychological characteristics. For example: Sabrina, 40 years old, 2 children, urban, executive, follows fashion very closely, travels by metro, goes trail running... etc. Personae are used, among other things, for the development of website content and for the optimisation of websites. pathway customer journeyThe personae are used, among other things, for the development of website content and for the optimisation of the website's content, but also, originally, for the design of the product and service offer itself.
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