The Future of Lead Research

The trend in lead research has significantly changed over the past few years. Especially during the global COVID-19 pandemic, buyers have shifted to various digital forms of interaction. Thus, this resulted in increased buyer awareness. This also enables decision-makers to independently look for solutions. Nowadays, B2B customers want digital service tools as opposed to traditional ones. They opt to engage in remote selling and expect to have maximum value from the products or services they buy.

Because of these recent changes, new ways of lead generation have emerged. Automation tools have become more common in day-to-day B2B sales activities.

B2B Lead Generation: A Present View

Lead generation is not always the desired task among marketers. Not only is it taxing, but it may also take a lot of time when the right tools and resources are not used. However, it is inevitably one of the most vital aspects of B2B selling.

While it is true that the job of B2B lead generation is hard work, it doesn’t always have to be. With access to new automation tools for generating leads, running this business makes it easier. There are also a lot of experts who can provide useful advice to plan effective marketing strategies.

Current statistics from Ruler Analytics show that 91% of marketers agree that lead generation is the topmost goal. Moreover, current studies show that automation tools are a must-have. They are not only more effective than traditional approaches, but they also cost less.

The current trend in lead research points to social media as the most effective online channel to generate B2B leads. In addition, email marketing also comes up as an effective medium to land on leads. If you thought that B2B email lists have long been ineffective, then you got it wrong. According to data from Strategic, 42% of companies still consider emails as the most effective channel for lead generation.

Looking into the Future

We have seen the process of lead research advance over the years with the rise of new technology. Generating B2B leads have transformed into a digital and automatic process, providing more convenience and efficiency. With all these advancements at hand, we can’t help but wonder what could be in store in the next few years. What does the future of lead research look like?

Artificial Intelligence

It was predicted by Gartner (2018) that by the year 2022, two-thirds of all customer experience projects will involve IT. It was perceived by experts that AI machine learning and automation will boost the sales force by assisting in performing tasks that can be repetitive. Thus, making the work even more efficient.

It is predicted that in the future, marketing departments will expertly combine human instinct with digital predictive learning capabilities. Despite all the growing hype about AI, the actual implementation of this technology at present is still relatively low. According to Demandbase, only one-fifth of B2B companies use AI and machine learning for their marketing and sales. However, many B2B experts think that this will soon change.

Perhaps the biggest factors that hold back the adoption of AI in marketing revolve around access to data. A study has found out that the greatest barrier to the use of AI was issued around customer data and how it can be accessed and analyzed easily.

AI could sound frightening. However, when used with the right kind of platform, marketers can easily get comfortable with it. Artificial intelligence is only as smart as the data it receives.

Omnichannel

Omnichannel marketing involves the integration and cooperation of different channels. Companies use these channels to interact with their customers in order to create a consistent brand experience. This applies to both physical and digital presence with the goal of maximizing
prospects.

This fairly modern approach to commerce focuses on promoting a unified experience for customers. Traditional marketing uses individual channels without considering the whole customer experience. With omnichannel, customers are given a fully-integrated approach across all channels and devices.

With the goal to be present everywhere for the access of the target audience, omnichannel creates seamlessly integrated services. This enables businesses to deliver the best customer service with many different options for customers to interact with the brand.

Personalization

This is the face of the future in B2B lead generation. In the future, we might be able to see an ultimate shift in personalization. Personalizing makes your messages and contents more appealing to the customers. With messages tailored to your prospects’ needs, it will be easier for you to guide them down the customer funnel.

With personalization, businesses can ensure that their products and services are suitable to address what their customers or clients require. Thus, allowing marketers to get hold of high quality leads, nurture them and successfully convert them to sales.

Revenue Based Marketing

The trend in data-driven marketing makes it easier for marketers to create contents that entice their target audience. Traditional marketers went the hard way without data and metrics. It was, therefore, very hard to reach the target audience.

Revenue based marketing is a holistic and goal-oriented approach that is used by businesses to drive revenue growth in a predictable manner. When successfully done, this can enable businesses to align marketing and sales around a common goal. This can be possible through
creating a continuous loop of feedback between marketing and sales.

Using RBM strategies will allow marketers to have a better focus and definition of their prospects’ revenue goals. RBM will support AI-based marketing to create a balance between accurate channels and targets.

In order to effectively apply this strategy, marketers should listen to their customers. This allows them to train the tools and team to make the customer experience better through tailoring messages. Having accuracy in collecting data and metrics is key. These can then be utilized to build a stronger customer relationship.

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