B2b Marketers 2013 In A Nutshell… And Now?

By Author: Rohan Leo
Total Articles: 13
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Last year the B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn conducted the 2013 lead generation survey, with the goal of identifying new trends, best practices and how B2B marketers where adjusting to the challenges.

For a full look at the report click here…
(http://www.slideshare.net/hschulze/b2-b-lead-generation-report-2013)

…Time after time, no matter what article or report I see regarding the challenges for last year, all roads led to lead generation. Not just any lead generation I will have you know. They are quite specific actually, “generating high quality leads.” In one study 58% percent of the B2B marketers involved said targeting the right people and companies is more important than funnelling as many names as possible. It also turns out social media was one and still is one of the trickiest strategies to execute. Which is surprising…

When there so many people offering so many “programs” and “courses” teaching to score it big with social media… I know some stand fast behind there claims, while others, well, not so much. Actually come to think of it… It makes perfect ...
... sense that there are so many offers claiming “Social Media Success”. Some people did their homework saw it was a big challenge, while others cottoned on to the game plan by watching the trends.
Makes me think, if it was a such a challenge, who was doing it right then? And why was no one learning from these people or companies? What is going to make it different this year?

…Google+?

Will that be able to light the way for the social platforms? If I think about it… Google+ as a platform is geared towards businesses and social engagement, while Facebook and Twitter is more casual if you like… You friend someone in Facebook. Google+ you circle them in a relevant crowd and you “make the circle beega” (If you South African or you heard the song before, you will understand the reference) Which just gave me a new idea for a strategy… I am going to call it… “Operation: Circle Lead Flavour”

Getting back on track… In the same study by the B2B Technology Marketing Community they found that the companies website, email marketing and SEO where the most effective lead generation tactics… Seems “old skool” marketing is still topping it all the way. Maybe it is the experience? So all is not lost for social media… Maybe it is this year, or maybe google+ is actually not in a bad position, like some might think?

I am just saying…

Lack of resources such as staff, budget and time were the greatest barriers that stood in the way of lead generation success… Which I am not really surprised about. I have been down that road, got started and just didn’t get the leads I needed to go for another month. It all comes with making mistakes, learning, and nurturing what it takes to be a successful anything really… And I kinda see it as the Universe testing me to see how much I really want my success… That is a topic for another time though.

A now a secret… If you wanted B2B email success… You had to provide compelling content for every stage buyers or leads would travel, from first contact to a successful sale. Is that really a secret though? If majority of them where doing it then surely it couldn’t be that much of a secret. A challenge to provide valuable and compelling content sure, that I can believe… Secret? I am not so sure… After all, it seems the trend is going to be content once more this year, and for the year to follow, and most probably a lot more after that. People have always wanted compelling content.

Looking at these results and from what I have read in other articles regarding this topic… I am quite sure the trends are going to be much of the same. Finding quality leads has been the biggest challenge for many years, email marketing still gives the greatest results, and don’t throw what you have learnt about websites and SEO away just yet.

Something new to consider as part of your arsenal in the year 2014… Google+