What is a lead in B2B?
In general, a "lead" is a user interested in your product or service, who leaves their personal data (name, surname, email, mobile number, ...) to get something in return - such as additional information, a request to be contacted, or in-depth materials.
In B2B, this interest is usually professional: we are addressing a target of companies and professionals, working in a specific sector, who might be interested in competitive and concrete solutions to improve their way of working, or to meet the specific needs of their target audience.
Lead Collection Strategies for B2B
1. The website with forms
Generally, the starting point for acquiring new leads is to build a website that effectively communicates the brand's services and products, and allows the user to get in touch in an agile and intuitive way.
But what are the characteristics of an effective B2B brand website for lead generation?
- Simplify a complex offer
- Design easy and intuitive navigation
- Respond to the specific needs of the target audience
- Stand out from competitors
Here are some of our web design projects for the B2B sector aimed at lead collection:
IVECO.com (Interactive Key Award 2024 winner!)
ROLLON.com (Interactive Key Award 2023 winner!)
MEGADYNE
CONTSHIP
2. The B2B lead magnet
Within the website, or generally wherever there is a lead collection form, there is a lead magnet. This is valuable content that the user receives after leaving their data, and generally consists of a brochure, a video showcasing a product/service, a discount coupon, or a simple request to be contacted.
In the case of B2B, where the product/service offered is often complex and difficult to explain, an effective lead magnet could be content or a tool capable of simplifying the product or service offered, and its advantages.
This is the approach we followed for some of our projects in the B2B field:
IVECO TCO Calculator
IVECO eDAILY
3. Lead generation campaigns
A website and lead magnet are fundamental elements for acquiring new leads, but for the user to visit the site - and possibly leave their contact information - it is necessary to broaden the scope. Often organic SEO and social editorial activity alone are not enough, especially for a B2B target audience: to increase opportunities, it is important to also work with lead generation campaigns!
These can involve multiple channels (such as Meta, Google, LinkedIn, ...), include numerous content pieces and different advertising formats, which can be used strategically along the different phases of the customer journey - starting from creating a need for a company that has not yet considered or known the brand, to reaching professionals already attentive to market innovations and looking for solutions to improve efficiency and stay up-to-date.
For our B2B client Case IH, we manage multi-phase campaigns across multiple channels (Meta, Google, and organic support) with ad-hoc content for each touchpoint!
CASE IH
4. B2B landing page
In addition to the form that is generally present on the brand's website, in the case of particularly interesting offers - and perhaps limited in time, or with specific conditions - it can be strategic to create ad-hoc pages, landing pages, to collect new leads.
These are usually short pages, with targeted communication and a more explicitly commercial slant, dedicated to promoting the offer.
Did you know that some channels - such as Meta and Google - allow the creation of native lead forms, in other words within the channel itself, avoiding users being directed to the brand's website or external landing pages. But what's the difference?
NATIVE FORMS
✔️ Minimal marketing costs (no need to create a new touchpoint)
✔️ The user can already find their data in the form without needing to enter it every time
✔️ The user does not change platforms (no need to request consent or wait for a new web page to load)
❌ Most of the time the leads generated are "cold", therefore generally not ready to purchase
❌ Marketing requires a connector to transmit the data to the database
❌ Limited customization of the touchpoint (a standard native form generally allows customization of the title, text, and image)
FORMS ON LANDING PAGE
✔️ Most of the time the leads belong to more interested users, potentially close to purchasing
✔️ Freedom in structuring communication
✔️ Marketing can choose to use forms already integrated into the database for greater user profiling and marketing automation
❌ Greater effort for marketing (design and creation of the new touchpoint)
5. Events as lead opportunities
In addition to "full digital" campaigns and marketing initiatives, industry events continue to establish themselves as strategic touchpoints for acquiring new leads.
