A new version of this article, featuring the latest data and statistics, is available. Check out our report on Lead Generation Software Trends for 2022/2023.
The COVID-19 pandemic unceremoniously shut the doors to lunch meeting rooms, conferences, and all those offline sales and marketing events that were essential to lead generation. What to do?
This article will show you why turning to digital automation and using the best lead management software are becoming a must for lead generation amid lockdowns.
Lastly, we have included some tips on how to use these trends to your advantage. This way, you can effectively optimize your lead generation campaigns as well as make sure you’re one step ahead of the competition.
Lead Generation Trends for 2020
Approximately 58% of industry experts point to weak technology infrastructure as the main reason businesses struggled hard to cope with the pandemic (Illuminate, 2020). For proof, look no further than the many companies having had to rush digital transformation as lockdowns were mandated.
Admittedly, lead generation is not purely online or digital. Note that 68% of sales and marketing teams say events are the best lead generation activity. This, mixed with other techniques like video marketing, provides value for prospects and pulls them towards your products and services. But the pandemic drastically altered the equation. Lead agents cannot afford to wait until things turned back to normal. The only way to proceed is by going digital all out. They need data that can be gathered, analyzed, and used for better decisions.
Experts predict that analytics and data insights will drive effective marketing communications. These include critical processes from lead generation to customer relationship management (CRM). In the following sections, we’ll discuss strong and emerging trends that marketers need to give attention to and use for leverage.
1. Lead Generation Is Going Digital
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a huge shift in how businesses operate. Specifically, B2B companies that relied on in-person sales strategies have been forced to ditch their traditional practices to adapt to the unprecedented changes. With remote work setting strictly in place, networking and selling activities made the move to the digital stage, as did lead generation.
As it turns out, B2B sellers and buyers are more than ready to move away from sales-centric models and work with marketing’s digital lead resources—website, social media, content marketing, email marketing, and others. According to a study by McKinsey & Company, 70% to 80% of B2B decision-makers would choose digital communication over in-person interactions not only for safety reasons but also for ease of scheduling and reduced cost in travel expenses.
From the buyers’ end, the willingness to make transactions on digital platforms is just as promising. Based on the same study, buyers are willing to spend between $50,000 to more than $1 million on a new product or service either through a digital self-service purchase or with a remote sales representative.
One of the downsides of switching from traditional to digital platforms is that it requires learning the different processes of gathering, prospecting, scoring, and nurturing leads. And with the sudden transition, B2B companies have to learn things fast. This inconvenience, however, overrides the long-term benefits of turning to the digital platform as there will be no looking back to the traditional practices even after the pandemic has passed.
Highlights and some numbers to ponder:
- The majority of B2B sellers and buyers are more than willing to move to digital platforms.
- Using digital platforms is not only safer but also cost- and time-efficient.
- B2B buyers are willing to spend between $50,000 to over $1 million on a new product or service offered and sold through digital channels. (McKinsey & Company, 2020)
- At least 70% of B2B decision-makers now prefer digital over traditional approaches of interacting with potential buyers. (McKinsey & Company, 2020)
- Only 20% of B2B buyers hope that they can return to in-person sales. (McKinsey & Company, 2020)
2. Video Conferencing and Live Chat
With in-person meetings and networking deemed unsafe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, digital platforms come to the forefront of communication channels. Among them, video and live chat have emerged as the most effective channels in terms of interacting with B2B buyers and closing deals.
A survey conducted by McKinsey & Company reveals that B2B decision-makers find video interactions more helpful than communicating over the phone. This does not only pertain to communicating with existing and potential buyers but also with colleagues and vendors or supplies.
Furthermore, video interactions between sales representatives and B2B buyers have accounted for 69% of revenue as of April 2020. Meanwhile, videoconferencing alone has generated 43% of B2B revenue—the highest among the channels used by B2B companies. Traditional or in-person interactions still happen but have only accounted for 13% of revenue since COVID-19.
Overall, video and live chat communication channels have delivered more benefits than disadvantages to B2B companies. And according to 90% of decision-makers, it is highly likely that these digital communication channels will stay not only in 2021 but in the coming years as well.
Source: McKinsey & Company 2020
Highlights and some numbers to ponder:
- Videoconferencing and online chat interactions have generated more revenue for B2B companies since COVID-19 compared to in-person interactions. (McKinsey & Company, 2020)
- 46% of decision-makers state that their companies will highly likely sustain the new commercial go-to-market model during the pandemic. (McKinsey & Company, 2020)
- Nine in ten B2B decision-makers agree that video and live chat will be utilized throughout 2021 and beyond. (McKinsey & Company, 2020)
3. Influencer Marketing
Brands today turn to influencers to help generate leads for them. This has been part of a set of marketing trends for a while but has been further reinforced during the COVID-19 outbreak. Influencers are persons, brands, or digital entities that have authority in their particular social media niches. Over the years, however, their audience has developed specific content preferences. According to GlobalWebIndex, consumers within the US and UK territories are more interested in how-to and tutorial content.
More than the extent of an influencer’s reach and the type of content delivered, an influencer’s trustworthiness plays a vital role among US and UK consumers when it comes to giving the endorsed brands, products, or services a chance. In fact, a significant number of consumers in the US and UK place their trust more in influencers who have 1,000 to 10,000 followers compared to those with a million or more followers.
Aside from drawing in more audience and potential customers, businesses can benefit from influencer marketing in other ways. Firstly, they don’t have to invest so much in “infiltrating” the niche. They acquire the help of someone that’s already influential in it. Secondly, many influencers use analytics and data themselves. By partnering with them, businesses may have a chance to understand their niches better. Thirdly, marketers can employ a performance-based marketing scheme using influencers. This saves them money and resources as they only pay for results. Lastly, businesses get access through different digital platforms as well. Thus, they increase their reach across many channels. An increase in both reach and engagement can also increase lead volume and quality. Influencers can be great lead-generating partners if you choose them well.
How Internet Users Find Out About New Brands/Products/Services
Source: GlobalWebIndex Report: Influencer Marketing 2021
Designed byHighlights and some numbers to ponder:
- Influencer marketing allows businesses to increase their reach and engagement in different platforms and various niches.
- Many businesses employ a performance-based approach in their influencer marketing efforts. Cost-per-action schemes are being used. Thus, they have the option to just pay for results and save money.
- Brands choose from different types of influencers from internet celebrities, podcasters, to micro-influencers.
- Consumers are most interested in how-to and tutorial content made by influencers. (GlobalWebIndex, 2021)
- The industry of influencer marketing can grow to $13.8 billion in 2021. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2021)
- 48% of consumers want influencers to be trustworthy and 29% want influencers to be transparent. (GlobalWebIndex, 2021)
- 34% of consumers trust small influencers more while only 12% trust the influencers with over one million followers. (GlobalWebIndex, 2021)
4. Social Media Generation
Amid the global health crisis brought by the COVID-19 outbreak, social media platforms have become an even bigger pool of lead sources. But with nearly half of the world’s population spending more time on social media, how can businesses turn them into qualified leads?
One way to do this is by taking content personalization to a more specific level. What brands usually do is tailor their content based on the audience they want to attract. Although this helps gain more followers or subscribers, it does not necessarily generate quality leads. To further advance your relationship with your audience, personalize your content based on the leads you aim to get. This includes getting to know the leads you want to attract on a more personal level, the social media platform they are more active in, their areas of interest, etc.
Another way to generate more leads on social media platforms is by adopting advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. AI and machine learning have been used in automating traditional lead generation strategies to make generating leads much more efficient with the help of AI algorithms. AI technology is utilized to “listen” to social media users and this is how social media platforms can deliver their personalized content toward their targeted leads based on the latter’s engagement and areas of interest.
Whatever strategy you choose to follow to generate leads from your social media platforms, do not forget to create, keep, and grow your mailing list by channeling your social media subscribers or followers to your email marketing funnel. While email remains one of the most challenging types of digital marketing, it is also one of the most effective channels for lead generation.
Social media lead generation key takeaways and numbers to ponder:
- Brands use different types of advocacies to increase and qualify leads. One type is social responsibility where companies appeal to leads using cause-oriented activities. Another type is the use of organic brand advocates. These are people that are vocal about your products and services that want you to succeed. Creating a good relationship with them could increase your leads in the niches they operate in.
- Top marketing platforms can gather data from different social media networks for analysis. Also, they allow users to conduct ad campaigns and automate processes as well.
- AI and machine learning are some of the technologies businesses should invest in in order to boost their social media marketing efforts. (Lead Feeder, 2020)
- The number of following and engagement in social media does not guarantee good leads. (Lead Feeder, 2020)
5. Voice and Local Search
The number of voice assistants deployed all over the world has reached the 4.2 billion mark in 2020. This number is expected to be bigger than the human population in 2024. In terms of the number of users, almost 40% of Internet users in the US use voice search and this number is expected to rise to 122.7 million users in 2021. With these numbers, voice search is not something that should be left out in your marketing strategy.
Furthermore, 48% of consumers have been using voice search in 2020 and the year before for general web searches, including online shopping. From this, we can infer that there is a strong relationship between local search and voice search in marketing. They seem to go hand-in-hand when it comes to generating local leads.
Now that we have seen huge improvements in voice search technology in recent years, we expect that marketers will take note of this and optimize their local and voice search performances. These include optimizing their listings, reviews, content, and voice search snippets, among others. By doing so, businesses can gain more inquiries and gather more leads. It is, however, important to note that despite the high accuracy rate of voice-activated devices, accuracy remains one of the main barriers to voice technology adoption worldwide.
Additionally, local search results will likely be the arena for intense competition between similar firms. Thus, laggards will likely suffer until they take this seriously.
Voice and local search highlights and some numbers to ponder:
- Voice and local search are quite related. Practical uses for them include people looking for directions while driving. Hands-free voice search comes in handy when looking for physical locations that sell products you need or want.
- The global market size of voice recognition is predicted to be at $11 billion in 2026, a 17% increase from its market value in 2019. (Statista, 2020)
- There are 4.3 billion units of voice assistants being used all over the world in 2020. By 2024, this number is predicted to grow to 8.4 billion units. (Business Wire, 2020)
- China accounted for nearly 50% of the total shipment of smart speakers in 2020. (Canalys, 2020)
- Accuracy is the biggest barrier that holds businesses from fully adopting voice technology. (Statista, 2020)
6. Chatbots
Companies, in general, have a broad expectation of what AI can do for them. However, some take advantage of a very specific deployment: chatbots. According to experts, chatbots will be the driving force behind business communications and more organizations are interested in investing in chatbots to reinforce their customer support services.
Also, if we look at recent chatbot statistics and data, more consumers are open to the use of chatbots. This cuts across various industries from B2B businesses and B2C brands. Simply put, many believe that chatbots provide many benefits.
About 66% of Millennials and 58% of Baby Boomers consider having 24-hour support as the top benefit of having chatbots. Other benefits include accuracy and quicker responses. Furthermore, 40% of Millennials say they interact with chatbots daily. This shows that a significant part of the market is already used to interacting with chatbot AIs. What’s more, is this figure will likely rise in the future.
However, there are still challenges concerning chatbot adoption. For starters, chatbots are not cheap, especially professionally built ones. While this may not sound like an issue for large organizations, budget constraints can hold SMBs back from investing in chatbot technology.
However, as chatbot technology matures and as demand for 24-hour support rises, we expect adoption to continue to increase. We also expect that more and more companies will use chatbots to generate leads on digital touchpoints.
Source: B2B Buying Disconnect 2021
Chatbots highlights and some numbers to ponder:
- Businesses can benefit from chatbots by providing users with 24-hour digital support. This technology also allows users to gain quick answers and responses.
- Moreover, businesses can save resources like productive hours and wages when chatbot technology can help replace human hours. This is especially helpful in providing support through non-office hours.
- There are still challenges when it comes to chatbot adoption for businesses including the cost.
- Chatbots are predicted to drive $142 million growth in consumer retail in 2024. (Business Insider, 2021)
- The market size of chatbots is expected to grow by $1.11 billion within the timeframe. (Businesswire, 2020)
Most Popular Lead Management Software
- HubSpot Sales. An innovative ecommerce system built to help businesses streamline sales activities. HubSpot Sales provides contact records and all communications in a single dashboard to help users manage leads with ease.
- Freshsales. A powerful CRM solution designed to help businesses manage contacts while solving customer inquiries without a hassle. Freshsales provides a seamless user interface, allowing users to manage thousands of leads with ease.
- Pipedrive. A robust CRM and sales pipeline management software built for sole vendors and fast-growing businesses. Pipedrive helps businesses organize leads in a way that’s easy to nurture and monitor resultant sales.
- Copper. A cloud-based CRM system built to streamline sales and marketing processes. Boasting an intuitive interface and a set of innovative relationship management features, Copper helps businesses manage leads and boost customer relationships.
- Pipeliner. A reliable sales automation platform that provides a comprehensive set of tools to track, monitor, and streamline the sales processes. Pipeliner helps businesses improve collaboration, manage lead, and generate sales reports.
7. Video Content Marketing
Video is so popular that by 2022, experts predict that video content will account for 82% of total internet traffic. This year, they anticipate it to reach 75%. Moreover, research shows that six out of ten people prefer to watch online videos than television.
As a result, marketers are taking advantage of this by using video content marketing to increase reach, sales, dwell-time, and engagement on various platforms. Most marketers upload their video content on YouTube. However, it is also becoming more common for them to use sites such as Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Simply put, video content is really hot in marketing today. What’s more, is recent video marketing statistics show that this trend will not slow down anytime soon. The use and consumption of the media are likely to increase in the next few years. Interesting videos may gain new viewers. Furthermore, new viewers become new leads.
Thus, if you haven’t started creating or maintaining a digital presence for video content, it will be harder to compete with others in the near future. Your content might get lost in a sea of other media. Therefore, if you haven’t leveraged this technique yet, you’d be better off by starting to think about how to go about it today.
Top Social Media Platforms for Video Marketing
Source: Animoto
Designed byVideo content highlights and some numbers to ponder:
- Video marketing will be the top element in marketing professionals’ content marketing strategies. (Animoto, 2021)
- In 2021, we can expect a surge in live video content as well as in online purchases. (Animoto, 2021)
- Consumers count on video content to learn more about products and just about any other topic out there. Thus, brands need to position themselves as thought leaders in their specific topic niches to excel.
- Many marketers use different platforms to upload their video content. Some just upload the same content for all platforms. On the other hand, others create different types of content for each platform’s community. You have to decide which approach will get you a better ROI.
- Moreover, like any marketing effort today that includes digital media, analytics is a very important aspect. One cannot make data-driven decisions without gathering and analyzing data. Thus, good marketers don’t just go by feel in video content marketing. They use technological tools to analyze and optimize content marketing campaigns.
8. Email Lead Generation
Marketers use different ways to generate leads on email. Some use landing pages to get newsletter subscriptions. On the other hand, others prefer events to generate email marketing leads. However, there are new techniques powered by better technology that transcends good old email marketing. One of these is interactive emails. Another is what they call Storytelling Emails (STE).
Interactive emails
Emails, as you know, could be boring. Many emails start with “Hi [your name],” and a bunch of sentences that don’t matter much when you open your emails at the start of your day. You can be at work or just starting your weekend. They just don’t matter. However, other emails may work better when it comes to click-to-open rate and engagement because they are simply more interesting.
Imagine opening an email with a colorful flying where you can click on its call-to-actions (CTAs). Compare this with text email with a shortened link. Which one engages you better? Intuitively, many of us would say the former. Surveys say the same. Researchers found that interactive emails increase their click-to-open rate by 73%. Also, videos boost it by up to 300%.
Marketers who get a whiff of this understand that this can help them increase lead volume and quality. Thus, many have set out to add CSS-animated buttons and even simple interactive surveys. Moreover, we expect the number of interactive emails to rise across industries. But this doesn’t mean that when you’re in the financial sector that your emails should be boring. Why not embed interactive charts in your emails from time to time?
Storytelling emails
Now, highly-visual interactive emails can be your medium. You already have your unique selling proposition and a winning content strategy. How do you deliver them in email form? Well, in recent years, some marketers prefer delivering them as stories. Many consumers do too.
Famous cognitive scientist Michael Gazzaniga found a general function in our brain’s physiology that makes us not only susceptible to stories but also storytellers ourselves. He called this function the left-brain interpreter. What it does is create a narrative for us of why we did a specific series of actions to try to make sense of it all. Put simply, it establishes reasons that allow us to make sense of what we did and our very selves. In a nutshell, it provides context.
We, inherently, love context. This is not just true in the rational sense. It is true in the emotional sense as well. Good storytellers do this.
Remember, branding is all about storytelling. All touchpoints should induce your audience to create plausible and positive stories in their minds about your brand. This applies to email marketing and lead generation as well.
We can’t really discuss STE through and through in this article, but here are some email storytelling tips that you could use:
- Plan a sequence of emails with a theme.
- One theme could be a “Vision” story about how you want to change or disrupt your industry.
- Another is the “Origin” story of your brand
- “Rapport Building” stories allow you to speak about certain issues and advocacies rather than your own products
- You can use “Product Success” stories to show readers how your product/service helps other people
- Use interactive media in emails. Also, don’t forget to use videos and infographics as well.
Email lead generation is here to stay
Last year, marketers used email for customer base retention (29%), customer engagement (22%), product selling (17%), and content delivery (11%), among others. It has been a go-to channel for marketers for decades.
Lead generation is not just the only use. It has been found that 43% of marketers have used email marketing to improve lead quality. Interactive emails and STEs will likely get more widespread adoption and aid in the widely employed practices like email drip campaigns and email marketing analytics. Thus, marketers need to up their email lead generation game with great content and the best medium available. Be sure not to lag in this aspect.
Lastly, many opt for top-ranking email marketing solutions for their comprehensive features. However, there are free email marketing solutions that you can use as well.
Email lead generation highlights and some numbers to ponder:
- Email marketing doesn’t only allow you to increase your leads. It also helps you nurture and qualify your leads. Doing this right will enable you to not just increase the volume but the quality of your leads.
- Two trending techniques are likely going to get widespread adoption. Meaning, they will be the norm. These are interactive emails and STEs. If you stick to boring static emails, brace yourself for a decrease in click-to-open rates and subscribers.
- Email marketing analytics is one of the popular technologies businesses use to drive higher sales and marketing alignment. (Super Office, 2021)
- Email drip campaigns are still one of the most effective ways to nurture leads. (Leadfeeder, 2021)
- Marketing emails can influence more than 50% of consumers’ purchase decisions. (OptinMonster, 2021)
9. Adoption of AI and Other Digital Tools
Lead generation remains a problem for many companies. Customers are all over the place. Most US consumers use different social media platforms in a day. On top of that, many shoppers still frequent physical commercial establishments. With that said, it’s not surprising that it is now harder to get a hold of leads and consolidate them.
To keep up with today’s multichannel market, a growing number of businesses turn to platforms that help them gather, analyze, and act on information from various touchpoints in one digital space. Despite the pandemic that began last year, AI budgets are expected to increase by 4.6% in 2021.
In the next few years, we expect more marketers to adopt different business technologies, including more AI to support lead generation activities, among other processes.
Artificial Intelligence Use Cases
The use of AI may not be a new trend. However, it is a strong trend that spans decades. The field is so rich in development and applications that businesses continue speculating on how to use them. Harvard Business Review reported that AI is poised to make the greatest impact on manufacturing, supply chain services, and marketing. This is particularly true amid the global pandemic.
Surely, as new methods and hardware get developed, new applications will too. Currently, there are a couple of promising uses for AI. These also pose new challenges and risks.
The COVID-19 problem
The coronavirus outbreak has filled everyone with uncertainties. But as businesses begin to sort out the damage inflicted by the pandemic to their organization, they are also able to figure out the best courses of action to take to combat its aftereffects. According to a report by Appen, 50% of companies plan to deal with post-COVID-19 operations by further accelerating their AI strategies. Companies are keener to invest in AI and machine learning after they found out that their existing AI projects were not affected by the pandemic.
Probabilistic artificial intelligence
Probabilistic decision-making is way different than deterministic ones. Unlike the latter, which can just say “yes” or “no”, it operates within a range from zero to one. If the “rating” or value is closer to one, this means that a variable is rated higher or is “more probable”. Also, if the value gets closer to zero, the variable is lower or gets “less probable”. When this system is incorporated into lead generation and other services, it will change the dynamics of lead qualification.
For example, in the finance industry, a probabilistic-based AI decision-maker will rate a person on how “likely” he is to pay back his loan based on history. Then, it will proceed to give a recommendation to the lender. A deterministic AI system would simply make a categorical decision of whether to “either accept or reject.” This ignores any level of uncertainty.
In general lead generation and qualification, probabilistic AI can provide businesses with multiple possible scenarios using historical data. It can run through different weighing of success or risk factors and dish all possible scenarios out starting with the most probable ones. In this way, businesses could understand how factors may affect outcomes. Thus, they can influence these factors to make outcomes more favorable.
Machine learning for the masses
Machine learning (ML) seemed to be reserved for large enterprises in the recent past. However, tech companies like Amazon have started offering solutions for in-house machine learning for businesses. Products include Amazon Lex and Amazon SageMaker. The former allows companies to build voice and chat text chatbots. On the other hand, Amazon SageMaker enables users to build, train, and deploy ML models.
They offer these in what they call the AWS Free Tier where products are offered in free short-term trials, 12-months free, or always free deals. In the future, the adoption of such tools to create business-specific ML functions will likely become widespread. Offerings like this, in high probability, will democratize ML and AI.
This means that machine learning teams and departments will soon sprout out in various businesses. Also, this means that job positions like analysts, marketers, HR professionals, and C-suite executives will soon add machine learning literacy as a requirement. This is a likely future scenario that professionals and firms need to prepare for.
Thus, this offers a couple of challenges. First, business professionals will be required to understand the basics of data science. These include fundamental concepts and the philosophy behind basic techniques such as Bayesian statistics. Second, businesses that don’t have competencies when it comes to such things will have a hard time catching up with rivals.
How we deal with these challenges is likely to define our organizations in the coming five to fifteen years.
Source: DemandBase
Artificial intelligence highlights and some numbers to ponder:
- AI will likely be used by more marketers to plan their strategies and make data-driven decisions.
- Moreover, AI is already embedded in other marketing tech tools. Thus, in the future, marketers will be using AI whether they want to or not. AI comes with the package.
- We expect more marketers to invest in and use marketing technology for automating different processes like reporting, email marketing, social media marketing, and many more.
- AI market’s value currently sits at $40; it is predicted to reach $191 billion by 2025. (VentureBeat, 2021)
- Investment in AI and machine learning are bound to increase post-pandemic. (VentureBeat, 2021)
10. Analytics and Data Insights
Thanks to the availability of digital tools, data is easier to gather, process, and analyze. So, we expect marketers to incorporate more data analysis into their operations as well as invest in data analytics tools, particularly cloud-based ones, by 2021.
After all, today, the largest online retailers already use more than one analytics platform. A study showed that 30% of the Top 250 organizations have both Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics. As such, more SMBs and entrepreneurs will most likely follow suit soon.
Last year, 57% of enterprise organizations started using data and analytics to drive strategy and change. Experts expect this figure to rise in the foreseeable future as well. Thus, lead generation will be more data-driven and analytics will play a big part in it. Also, currently, 33% of companies utilize decision intelligence, which is growing in popularity due to its capability to make critical decisions based on the company data.
Last but not least, there’s currently around 39% of companies that deploy their analytics solutions on the cloud. Furthermore, 41% more are considering the same. This is because cloud solutions offer more flexibility than strict on-premise ones. Thus, it’s no wonder why many would migrate their analytics to the cloud in the near future.
Analytics usage key highlights:
- Data and analytics are being used by companies to improve their chances of making better decisions. Top companies do it more and better. So, businesses will need to invest more in learning how to leverage analytics if they want to remain competitive.
- We expect more companies to adopt the use of data and analytics for marketing processes such as lead generation.
- Also, more companies plan to migrate their analytics to the cloud. Moreover, more marketing tech platforms will include more powerful analytics capabilities in their systems in the future.
- Decision intelligence is one of the current sophisticated technologies that give companies the edge in obtaining insights and making the most ideal decisions based on data. (GeeksforGeeks, 2021)
How can businesses create lead generation partnerships effectively?
In the rapidly evolving landscape of lead generation, partnerships can be a powerful way to reach new audiences, share resources, and drive mutual growth. By collaborating with other businesses that have complementary audiences or services, companies can leverage each other’s strengths to generate leads more effectively. Here’s how to develop and maximize lead generation partnerships:
- Identify Complementary Partners: Look for businesses with audiences that align with your target market but do not directly compete. For instance, a CRM software company might partner with a digital marketing agency, creating cross-promotional opportunities.
- Establish Clear Goals and Metrics: Define specific objectives for the partnership, such as the number of leads generated, conversion rates, or engagement levels. Set clear performance metrics to evaluate the success of the collaboration.
- Leverage Cross-Promotional Content: Co-create content, such as webinars, eBooks, or blog posts, that appeals to both audiences. Sharing insights and expertise positions both partners as authorities, while also engaging potential leads.
- Offer Joint Incentives or Discounts: Provide mutual customers with exclusive discounts, trials, or bundled services. Joint offers encourage leads to take action, benefiting both businesses in the process.
- Streamline Data Sharing and Integration: Use compatible tools and platforms to share lead data securely. Integrating CRM or marketing automation systems allows both parties to track and nurture leads efficiently.
- Analyze and Optimize Together: Regularly review performance metrics and adjust strategies as needed. Analyzing results together strengthens the partnership and helps refine approaches for greater lead generation effectiveness.
What will lead generation look like in 2021 and beyond?
Post-pandemic, lead generation is looking to be more digital and omnichannel. This will reflect the rush of organizations to speed up digital transformation after being caught unprepared by quarantines and lockdowns. High-performance firms are poised to use multiple channels to gain, qualify, and nurture leads. These include in-person events, social media, email, SEO, content marketing, and even chatbots. Thus, marketers need to have a well-rounded arsenal to maintain their competitiveness.
Furthermore, technology and omnichannel support are the future. They are set to be the top drivers for lead growth. So, understanding how to use them is pertinent to success. To learn more about this, be sure to check out our lead generation statistics report.
Also, let’s not forget that lead generation new trends may emerge. So, we need to be on our toes at all times. But, for now, here are a few tips on how to get more quality leads in 2021:
- Invest in a comprehensive marketing platform that has omnichannel capabilities.
- Learn more about general and specialized marketing KPIs from social media metrics to website analytics.
- Create a culture around data-driven decision-making.
- Develop technological competencies to support your modern omnichannel lead generation efforts.
- Keep track of and monitor how competitors and high-performing teams conduct lead generation activities.
- Adopt a user-centric approach and understand how your customers interact with all your touchpoints.
Future-proofing your organization is a hard job. This is especially true when something seemingly so simple like lead generation is getting disrupted by various trends. Just like the stock market, there are short-, medium-, and long-term trends with different strengths (volume) and velocities. There are uncountable market forces at play as well. All we can do is keep up, adapt, and disrupt to the best of our abilities.
Key Insights
- Lead Generation Is Going Digital
- The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital platforms for B2B lead generation.
- Majority of B2B sellers and buyers prefer digital communication due to cost and time efficiency.
- Buyers are willing to make significant purchases through digital channels.
- Video Conferencing and Live Chat
- Video and live chat have become crucial for interacting with B2B buyers.
- These channels have generated more revenue compared to in-person interactions during the pandemic.
- Video interactions are expected to continue being a key communication channel.
- Influencer Marketing
- Influencer marketing has grown, with a focus on trustworthiness and content quality.
- Smaller influencers (1,000 to 10,000 followers) are often more trusted than those with larger followings.
- Performance-based marketing schemes are commonly used in influencer partnerships.
- Social Media Lead Generation
- Content personalization and advanced technologies like AI are key to generating leads on social media.
- Social media platforms are crucial for funneling leads into email marketing strategies.
- Voice and Local Search
- Voice search is growing rapidly and is expected to be a significant part of local search strategies.
- Optimizing for voice and local search can lead to more inquiries and local leads.
- Chatbots
- Chatbots provide 24-hour support and quicker responses, making them valuable for lead generation.
- Adoption of chatbots is expected to increase despite cost challenges.
- Video Content Marketing
- Video content is predicted to dominate internet traffic and is crucial for engagement and lead generation.
- Different platforms require tailored video content strategies.
- Email Lead Generation
- Interactive and storytelling emails are emerging trends in email marketing.
- Email marketing remains a powerful tool for lead generation, nurturing, and qualification.
- Adoption of AI and Other Digital Tools
- AI and machine learning are becoming essential for gathering and analyzing lead generation data.
- AI tools are increasingly accessible, allowing more businesses to implement them.
- Analytics and Data Insights
- Data analytics are crucial for making informed marketing decisions and improving lead generation strategies.
- More companies are expected to adopt cloud-based analytics solutions.
FAQ
- What is the impact of COVID-19 on lead generation strategies? The pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital lead generation strategies. Traditional in-person methods have been replaced by digital platforms, video conferencing, and live chat, which are proving to be more efficient and cost-effective.
- Why is influencer marketing important for lead generation? Influencer marketing helps businesses reach a wider audience and build trust with potential leads. Influencers, especially those with smaller but engaged followings, can effectively promote products and services through authentic and relatable content.
- How can businesses optimize their social media lead generation efforts? Businesses can optimize social media lead generation by personalizing content to target specific leads, using AI and machine learning to analyze user engagement, and funneling social media followers into email marketing campaigns.
- What role does voice search play in lead generation? Voice search is becoming increasingly important as more consumers use voice assistants for web searches and shopping. Optimizing for voice search can help businesses attract local leads and improve visibility in search results.
- How can chatbots enhance lead generation? Chatbots provide 24/7 customer support, quick responses, and can handle multiple inquiries simultaneously. They are valuable for engaging potential leads and guiding them through the sales funnel efficiently.
- What are the benefits of video content marketing for lead generation? Video content marketing increases engagement, reach, and dwell-time on various platforms. Videos are a preferred medium for consumers to learn about products, making them essential for capturing and nurturing leads.
- What are the emerging trends in email lead generation? Interactive emails and storytelling emails are emerging trends that increase engagement and click-to-open rates. These techniques make emails more engaging and effective in generating and nurturing leads.
- How is AI being used in lead generation? AI is used to gather, analyze, and act on data from various touchpoints, making lead generation more efficient. AI tools help in predicting lead behavior, personalizing marketing efforts, and automating repetitive tasks.
- Why are data analytics crucial for lead generation? Data analytics provide insights that help businesses make informed decisions, optimize marketing strategies, and improve lead generation efforts. Cloud-based analytics solutions offer flexibility and scalability for businesses of all sizes.
- What strategies should businesses adopt to future-proof their lead generation efforts? Businesses should invest in comprehensive marketing platforms with omnichannel capabilities, adopt data-driven decision-making, develop technological competencies, and continuously monitor and adapt to new lead generation trends.
References:
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