Strategy for B2B Digital Marketing: From Creating Leads to Increasing Revenue

 

The start of the B2B business journey…

 

One day, I sat staring at our latest B2B campaign report with frustration and hope. Hundreds of
leads were coming in, but conversions were few. I’d assumed our gut-driven strategy wasn’t
working. So, I did the opposite: I doubled our spend on data. That change redesigned our
results, and it’s not the only one – B2B marketers across the globe are finding out that data-
driven strategies turn leads into dollars. And indeed, those who are confident in their data
strategy are 3X more likely to experience high revenue growth than others.

There are articles that follow a first-hand experience end-to-end in the funnel from lead
generation through revenue, showing how best-of-breed players use data along the way.

 

From Volume to Value – Lead Generation for today and tomorrow!

In the past, the common approach would be lead quantity = more leads, more form fills, more
data collection from events. This approach says that by increasing the volume of leads, revenue
will follow. Industry trends have backed this up, 60% of B2B marketers are putting most of their
budget into new customer acquisition (versus 40% into retention) and 70% of companies have
increased their lead gen budgets in the last few years because they believe more leads will
solve their revenue problems.

 

But the reality is different. Despite the deluge of leads, many don’t convert to revenue and both
marketing and sales teams are frustrated. When we look into this, it’s clear the problem isn’t the
quantity of leads, it’s the quality. A number of leads may not be ready to buy or maybe not even
align with the business’s ideal customer profile. That’s why B2B marketing needs to shift its
approach from lead quantity to lead quality.

 

Key Insight is that the quality leads are far more valuable that the quantity of leads fr a better
focused approach! 37% of B2B marketing professionals now focus on building high-quality.
sales pipeline to attract right leads.

 

The next step: To address the challenge of lead quality!

 

Instead of casting a wide net, companies can segment their audience based on factors like
industry, company size, job roles, and specific needs. This is what is called to develop a clear
definition of the ideal customer profile (ICP).

 

Businesses can prioritize potential clients that exhibit high engagement or show clear intent to
purchase by using a lead scoring approach! By using these kinds of approaches, the companies
can cut down their lead generation into half with more meaningful conversations with sales,
increasing likelihood of successful conversions.

 

If an example suits here, the best is refining targeting strategies through platforms lie LinkedIn
that can improve the lead quality by a very focused approach of targeting in niche segments.

 

Lead magnet = Value added, engaging content

 

What about creating and behind the scene video while your team is engaging with real client
problems? The thought states that “yes”, they are concerned about the client…its trust building
with video content if done right.

The content is just fine…who will read it? If the content doesn’t state the problem, then its
solution, or the story behind a very nice product or a solution, how will it grab attention of the
anyone? It won’t! Instead of yet another datasheet or a PowerPoint presentation, just One short
video or just a 90-second clip of our product in action solving a common pain point would work
well, right? Less time, straight to point content, crisp and time managed well. All in all a value
added, engaging content that crafts stories and describes the nature of a product or solution
helps make decisions quicker, engages the audience to know more, builds trust and authority
and much more!

 

The B2B content strategy:

● Top of the sales funnel content —> insightful, engaging, entertaining videos, blog posts etc.
● Mid of the sales funnel content —> Nurturing with case studies, comparison guides, etc

 

By the time leads have started talking to the sales team, they are already nurtured with thought
leadership content and engaging product videos, which helps in turning cold leads into warm
opportunities of converting into the best potential long-term client!

 

AI and personalization: Cannot be missed!

 

B2B lead generation journey is becoming more complicated than ever, the saviors are the AI
powered tools making it easier to personalize and automate engagement at scale.

 

AI, lets marketers analyze vast amounts of data to deliver super personal content and
experiences to each lead. A real wave that B2B marketers are already taking in account, and it’s
not just an experiment but a fact – 35% say implementing AI is their single biggest priority in the
year ahead for their B2B marketing AI strategy.

 

As an example: AI-driven email personalization allows businesses to customize messages
based on individual behavior, preferences and engagement history. AI can also be used for
predictive lead scoring which helps prioritize leads most likely to convert based on their actions
and interactions with the brand.

 

Let’s understand this with statistics – 61% of marketers think AI-driven personalization is key to
interact with customers today. By using AI personalized tools, businesses can automate
personalized outreach and make their marketing more effective than ever.

 

Now the point is are their challenges to this …. Yes absolutely! Initially there were no AI experts
for adding value to these B2B strategies…In fact, 43% of B2B marketers reported that
insufficient AI skills on their staff was a major barrier to getting the most from AI and this gap
was felt by many. Later when skills were developed by the use of AI itself this gap was filled and
the conclusion came where the takeaway was that AI-driven personalization isn’t about
replacing the human touch, but using it in best possible ways. This helped the total journey
mentioned above.

 

Conversion with sales and Marketing!

 

By adding collaboration and transparency between two teams B2B businesses can grow their
revenue cycle and entire performance. Hence stats shows that organizations that align their
sales and marketing teams see a 32% higher revenue growth compared to those that operate
individually. By ensuring both teams work toward the same goal and share common definitions
of what constitutes a qualified lead, businesses can improve conversion rates. Marketing teams
must provide sales with the necessary tools, content and insights that allows them to effectively
engage and close leads.

 

This pretty much explains why Sales and marketing teams must work hand in hand for B2B lead
generation strategically!

 

Arriving at the ultimate goal: The Revenue growth

 

This is the finish line every B2B marketer is aiming for, but it’s also a moving target that comes
with higher expectations.

 

Always said, thought and applied: Marketing is not a cost center, it’s a Revenue engine!

 

From shifting the focus to quality leads and building trust through strategic content and
personalization, the results start to show in revenue growth. By implementing a marketing
attribution model, it’s possible to track which campaigns influenced sales. With targeted
campaigns and personalized nurturing, marketing’s direct impact on sales becomes much
clearer.

 

The broader trend in the shift of B2B marketing has started when 1 out of the 3 CMO’s have a
direct role in driving the revenue growth. Marketing leaders are increasingly demonstrating their
impact to the C-suite, aligning metrics with business outcomes and therein metrics are no longer
just measured by leads ad impressions, marketing now has a contribution to pipelines and ROI.

 

This change allows B2B marketing to have a strategic seat at the table, influencing product
strategy, budget decisions, and long-term growth. It’s a reminder that marketing isn’t just about
generating awareness; it’s about building the business.

 

B2B marketing is no more just about pushing out mass campaigns and hoping for the best. It’s
about being strategic, data-driven, and customer-centric. So, let’s take a note of all the key
strategies mentioned one on one that will give a perfect strategy for B2b business, from leads to
revenue growth:

 

Volume to value lead generation —> Addressing the challenge of lead quality —> Engaging
content acting as lead magnet —-> Ai and personalization with right tools —> conversion with
sales and marketing —> Revenue growth!

 

 

Written By
Shraddha Agrawal | Founder & CEO – DigiDNA | Linkedin| Know More

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