11 Effective Measures to Acquire B2B Leads

In order for BtoB companies to collect information on prospective customers (acquire leads), it is essential to select appropriate measures. However, there are many people who are worried about what kind of measures are actually effective.

Therefore, in this article, we will explain the measures that are useful for creating contact points with prospective customers and acquiring customer information in B2B, and the steps to proceed with lead acquisition.

[Confirmation in the first place] What is lead acquisition?

In the first place, “ lead ” is mainly user information of “prospect” in the marketing field of BtoB companies.

In other words, lead acquisition refers to “acquisition of new prospective customers in order to increase the number of orders for products and services”.

B2B lead acquisition measures can be divided into two patterns

Measures for acquiring leads in B2B companies can be divided into two patterns: “creating contact points with prospective customers” and “acquiring customer information”.

The specific measures for each are as follows.

First of all, it is easier to acquire leads effectively by having a point of contact with prospective customers and taking measures such as requesting materials and applying.

[For BtoB] 8 measures useful for creating contact points with prospective customers

The following eight types of measures are useful for creating contact points with prospective customers in BtoB.

Let’s go through them one by one.

Measure 1 SEO

SEO is a method of displaying your web media at the top of search engines.

Especially in B2B lead acquisition, there are many cases where articles are posted on owned media and requests for materials and inquiries are encouraged within the article to lead to acquisition.

If you enrich the high-quality article content that is useful for users and are displayed at the top of Google search, you can expect an increase in the number of customers and leads. In addition, SEO can be used to approach users who are interested in services and products as follows.

• Users who searched with service-related keywords (e.g. accounting software, SEO consulting, etc.)
• Name search user

Named searches are searches by proper nouns such as company names, store names, product names, and service names. Since you can gather “users with high purchase intent” who are already aware of the product and brand, it is more likely to lead to an increase in profitability.

Measure 2 Display advertising

Display advertising is a method of approaching users who are interested in products and services with text, images, etc.

Since advertisements linked to the contents of the website are posted, it can be said that it is a measure that makes it easy to approach users who have needs for their products.

Read Also: What Is A Search Query? What Is The Difference Between Keywords?

For example, if you are a company that provides software for personnel and labor, you can post an image of the software package and text such as “Click here for a free trial.” With display ads, you can also set images and videos, so it can be said that it is also an advantage that it is easy to catch the eye of the viewer.

Measure 3 Video Ads

Video ads displayed between search screens and videos on YouTube and SNS are also one of the lead acquisition measures.

The amount of information that can be packed in is greater than text, and it appeals to the eye, so it has an impact on the viewer.

Measure 4 Press release

The fourth measure is to post on the press release distribution site.

By posting materials that summarize your company’s products and services, you can reduce advertising costs and appeal to a wide range of companies. Depending on the content of the post, there are cases where requests for interviews are received from people involved in the media.

Another option is to use the press release as a “publication notice” when creating new materials. You can promote access by posting an overview of the material, how to obtain it, company profile, contact information, etc.

Measure 5 SNS

There is also a measure to create a corporate account on SNS such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. and transmit company information.

By regularly posting information that seems to be of high interest to the target as shown below, it is possible to have your company’s services recognized.

• Useful Knowledge for Web Marketing
• Guide to white papers and article content
• Announcement of webinars and seminars

Also, by transmitting information according to the characteristics of SNS as follows, it will be easier to increase the effect.

• YouTube for more visual information than text and images
• If you want to post press releases and formal information, Facebook with many business people

Measure 6 Exhibition

An exhibition is a method of setting up a booth at a venue and approaching visitors.

Trade show attendees have a strong interest in the event theme, which makes it easier to get quality leads. For example, you can acquire leads by exchanging business cards with visitors or other companies, or by having them answer questionnaires.

Exhibiting at an exhibition costs hundreds of thousands of yen or more, so the hurdles to implement measures are high. However, depending on the event, tens of thousands of people may attend, so the possibility of obtaining a large amount of lead information increases.

Measure 7 Transit advertising

Transit advertisements are advertisements placed inside taxis, trains, buses, etc., or at stations.

By posting advertisements in designated areas of public transportation frequently used by business people, there is a possibility that inquiries will come from users who are interested in the content.

For example, there are traffic advertisements such as the following.

• Digital signage (a system that transmits images and information on liquid crystal displays)
• In-vehicle advertising (posters, stickers, etc.)
• Station advertisements (signboards, flags, etc.)

In particular, taxis are often used by corporate decision-makers, so they are effective in approaching decision-makers.

Measure 8 Listing Advertisement

Listing advertising is a method of displaying advertisements based on keywords searched by users on search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

By specifying keywords that are likely to be searched by users looking for your company’s products and services, you will be able to acquire more leads with high accuracy.

For example, in the case of a company that provides BtoB marketing consulting services, you can set keywords such as “BtoB marketing support”.

[For B2B] 3 measures useful for acquiring customer information

After having a contact with a prospective customer, you can acquire customer information by implementing the following measures.

Let’s look at them in order.

Measure 1 Request for materials such as white papers

The first measure is to request materials such as white papers and service introductions.

A white paper is a document that summarizes detailed information, introduction examples, research reports, etc. of your company’s products and services. You can acquire lead information by entering the company name, email address, etc. at the time of download.

For example, in the case of a BtoB marketing company, we will post know-how such as “lead development steps” and “webinar design methods” in a white paper.

Measure 2 Register for e-mail newsletter

E-mail magazines are also effective in acquiring customer information, as they can collect e-mail addresses and phone numbers from registration forms.

By regularly distributing useful information and product information of your company to prospective customers, you can build relationships and increase their willingness to purchase.

For example, if you distribute an article about the introduction of your company’s service in an e-mail magazine, there is a high possibility that you will get a response from users with similar company size and issues. Also, by introducing step mail, you can approach the prospective customer at the timing.

Measure 3 Apply for the webinar

There is also a method of recruiting participants through webinars (seminars held online) through e-mail magazines and advertisements, and obtaining lead information instead of having them apply.

Unlike offline seminars, you can participate even if you have a company in a remote location, so it is easy to acquire a wide range of lead information. Although it takes a lot of man-hours to plan and create materials, sending content that can solve the problems that participants have will lead to strengthening relationships.

Tele appointments are also effective for lead nurturing (cultivating acquired leads) and acquiring inquiries . If it goes well, there is a possibility that you can close the business by selling on the phone and getting them interested in your company’s products and services.

4 steps to effectively acquire leads in B2B

In order to effectively acquire leads in BtoB, follow the order below.

I will introduce them one by one.

STEP1 Clarify the purpose of lead acquisition

First of all, let’s clarify “why are you getting leads?”

This is because even if you collect only the number of leads blindly, if the leads are not suitable for your company, you will not be able to achieve results that match the man-hours and costs.

For example, if the goal is to “acquire new customers stably over the long term,” the direction of “selecting measures that can approach users with low interest” is determined. In order to increase the cost-effectiveness of lead acquisition measures, let’s proceed after clarifying the purpose and direction.

STEP2 Set a target and dig deep

Next, consider “what kind of target will lead to profit for your company” and delve into the image of the target.

If you don’t dig deep into the target, even if you can acquire leads, they won’t turn into customers. There is also a risk that you will not be able to approach a target with a high willingness to buy at the right time, and that your product will be taken over by your competitors.

For example, consider the following elements of a target:

• target trouble
• Media used by target
• action taken by the target

If it is difficult to deepen your understanding, it is also effective to collect target information in the following ways.

• Conduct user surveys and interviews
• Check reaction on SNS
• Interview the sales department
• Analyze existing customer data

STEP3 Select measures that match the target

After deepening your understanding of your target, select appropriate measures.

Depending on your lead acquisition goals and targets, it’s important to choose the best return-on-investment:

By implementing measures that match the target group as described above, it will be easier to avoid mistakes such as “promoting the purchase of low-interest groups who do not know about your company’s products.”

STEP4 Verify the effect of measures and turn the PDCA cycle

After actually implementing the measures, let’s analyze the order rate of the leads acquired for each measure.

By stopping those with low return on investment and focusing on measures with a high order rate, the possibility of achieving results quickly increases.

Also, for online lead acquisition measures, it is effective to measure and analyze data on a weekly basis. Let’s take measures in real time and improve the contents of the measures.

When acquiring B2B leads, it is important to choose measures that suit your company

Since there are multiple ways to acquire leads in BtoB, it is important to first clarify the purpose (Goal) of acquiring leads.

On top of that, dig deep into the target image and select measures according to the degree of interest.

In addition, at Nile, we publish materials that summarize know-how for BtoB of “SEO”, which is one of the lead acquisition measures, for free. Please feel free to download it from the link below.

• About B2B marketing and SEO
• Possible keywords for B2B SEO
• Priority of B2B SEO measures