Customer loyalty is paramount to the success of any business. Your main goal should be to acquire new customers since this will lead to growth for your business. Therefore, one of your main drivers towards success is your ability to capture the attention of potential customers and direct them towards a transaction.
Nowadays, digital marketing apps, social media platforms, and automation software have made it easier than ever to convert leads into paying customers. Traditional offline customer acquisition strategies are no longer sufficient. Through today’s lead generation services, you can take advantage of every opportunity that digital marketing channels provide.
What Is B2B Lead Generation?
This refers to a method of detecting and enticing prospective customers who will probably be interested in your products or services. The secret to a successful business is to bring and engage decision-makers who fit the buyer persona(s) of your brand.
Lead generation can be an important element in your business strategy; it can also help with the development process of your website, email automation, content creation, SEO sales growth, and so on.
The Process of B2B Decision Making
Most B2B purchasing decisions are impulsive, usually involving various stages over a period. Some purchases could take up to a year or more.
It has been proven that the time required to make B2B decisions has increased. As of 2019, 68 percent of buyers revealed that their B2B purchases were taking more time than they did in the past.
The decision-making process of each company varies. To make it easier to estimate and compare, specialists have come up with various decision-making models – these models standardize the B2B buying process into these stages:
1. Accepting that there’s a problem
The buying process starts when a company identifies an issue. What could trigger this could be a particular pain point. On the other hand, the company might notice that another brand is doing something differently or better.
Most times, it is recommended to re-frame the issue in terms of a job that the business is intending to accomplish. This alternative strategy can help companies think about product development differently, enabling better innovation.
2. Assessing and analyzing available solutions
As soon as a company discovers its problem, it has to consider ways to solve it. One option is to do nothing, particularly if the solutions at hand are too expensive or take a lot of time.
If the business decides to find solutions to the problem, it has to decide whether to buy the solution from a third party or to create it in-house.
Furthermore, they have to define their preferred solution. For instance, if the brand is buying from a third party, they should consider various categories of products.
Buyers have to weigh the pros and cons of all potential solutions, including the possible cost. This task is an important aspect of the journey because it defines the products or services that may be applicable.
3. Determining the conditions for the product or service
The decision-making unit should specify what the company is looking for, including:
- The things the product or service will do
- The cost
- Any requirements, such as adherence to particular criteria
4. Choosing the supplier
Every company takes a slightly different strategy to determine a supplier. Some have long formal processes including committees, longlists, and shortlists. Other organizations make use of a more informal approach in which potential suppliers are assessed and compared in a less structured fashion.
Regardless of the approach, this goal is to gather information about potential solutions so that they can be compared against set criteria.
5. Justifying the choice
After the decision process, you need to justify the process to yourself and to and senior executives. That can consist of asking the seller for references, and giving a presentation to senior management to solicit their support.
Challenges with Intent Data
- Understanding buyers: There is high competition, and customers know they have other options. B2B companies have to be intuitive and distinguish what their customers need without being told.
- Guaranteeing quality data: Using intent data has various benefits; apart from being able to accurately target buyers, it makes it possible for you to have quality information to build successful marketing campaigns around.
- Managing data: Intent data is not only useful for sales and marketing teams, it can bring more order and better back-end data management.
(Also Read: How AI and Intent Data Work Together)
Final Thoughts
It can be challenging to get new customers for every brand. Luckily, the world is now digital and innovations in marketing have made customer interactions easier. Digital channels can offer various chances for a conversion, but in the end, you have to capitalize on them.
For your business to reach new heights, you have to know how to grab and nurture customer interest. With a comprehensive lead generation strategy, you’ll easily attain this feat. To learn more about decisional intent and how it can shape your lead generation programs, connect with the team at Byonic.AI.
