B2B marketing would be a lot easier if we could just reach out and grab leads by the collar with a few well-placed ads. Unfortunately, this kind of outbound marketing, so effective for retailers, rarely yields the same results for B2B organizations.
Advertising wouldn’t be a multibillion dollar industry if it didn’t work. Why is it less effective for B2B sales? Simply put, buyers take more time to research. They aren’t making impulse buys. And even if some decision-makers do click on ads and like what they find, they’re often not their company’s lone decision-maker. The B2B sales cycle is long and deliberative, and ads don’t do much to spur a decision.
If Ads Aren’t the Answer, What Is?
B2B businesses live and die by the quality of their leads. The traditional channels, like trade shows and networking events, are still effective, but the businesses that gain an edge do more. If outbound marketing is not an effective lead generation channel, what else is there?
Instead of going out and trying to bring the leads to you, build something that leads are drawn to. Not only will you spend less money, you’ll close more sales. That’s the power of inbound marketing. Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy that brings customers to you by creating content that addresses their needs and solves their problems. They’re on the internet anyway; according to Think With Google, Google’s marketing insights platform, 89% of B2B buyers conduct their research online. They’re out there looking for answers to their questions and solutions to their problems. Inbound marketing ensures that you are there to solve them.
How Inbound Content Creates Leads
Inbound content creates leads not just by telling potential customers that you’re the best option for them, but by showing them. When you create content that is genuinely helpful, you’re demonstrating not just your products but how they work, how you think, and what it’s like to work with you. That last point is important: although B2B purchases are more data-driven and considered than consumer purchases, emotion still matters. Between two otherwise equal suppliers, a retailer is going to choose the one whose culture best matches their own.
One of the most effective ways to generate leads through inbound marketing is with gated content. Gated content is helpful information that visitors to your website can access in exchange for an email address or phone number. It’s most useful in the consideration stage of the buyer journey: a buyer has found your site through your inbound marketing campaign, they’ve read a few blog posts, and they’re ready to consider your organization a little more deeply, so they enter their email address to take the next step and learn some more about you.
Your inbound content strategy should have a mix of gated and ungated content: ungated content for discovery purposes, gated content to turn visitors into leads. Ebooks, white papers, and webinars work well as gated content as they tend to contain the most original insights and research, the kinds of information leads can’t get anywhere else.
Types of Inbound Content
Ebooks: If the prospect of writing an entire book sounds daunting, don’t worry. Lead generation ebooks or “lead magnets” are typically less than 50 pages in length and often contain a lot of design elements and infographics rather than full-page blocks of text. If you have an original take on some aspect of business
Case studies: By presenting a real-life example of your product’s effectiveness in a form that combines narrative and data, a case study allows a lead to visualize themselves as your customer and get an idea of what working with you will be like or how your products work.
White papers: Present original research and analysis on a topic that your organization is an authority on.
Webinars: demonstrate thought leadership by directly engaging with leads in an environment that welcomes dialogue. As with ebooks, they are most effective when you have an original or unique point of view on a topic. Clips from webinars are also great to share on social media.
Blogs: Create blogs with your ideal customer in mind. What kinds of problems do they encounter in their field? What kinds of search terms do they use when looking for answers? By combining search-engine optimization (SEO) strategies with informative and entertaining writing, a simple Google search can create leads.
Bring the Leads to You
Rather than use outbound content to cast a wide net and hope you catch something, let the right leads come to you through inbound content marketing. It’s just a matter of knowing what you offer, who wants it, how they’re looking for it, and the best way to show that you’re the best choice for delivering it.
