As B2B marketers ponder what 2016 has in store, lead generation remains as critical as ever. According to the latest Lead Generation Report from LinkedIn’s B2B Technology Marketing Community, improving the quality of leads was the biggest priority among all marketers surveyed (68%).
That might not come as a surprise – improving lead quality is almost always a major concern. However, what might surprise you are three additional lead generation trends, all of which portend some significant shifts in the focus among B2B marketers in the coming year:
- Larger marketing budgets and increased hiring of talented professionals
- Greater emphasis on content production and syndication
- Additional investments in proven lead generation tactics
Let’s dig deeper into some of these trends to understand what they mean for your lead generation efforts in 2016.
1. Bigger budgets and increased hiring
Among respondents to the B2B Technology Marketing Community survey, 61% report the lack of resources that include staff, funding, and time as their single largest lead generation obstacle. Incidentally, 58% also report that that they expect their lead generation budgets to increase.
Considered in tandem, these statistics suggest that B2B marketing teams are poised to expand. As budgets increase in the coming year, these teams will be hiring more staff to close the gaps. Needless to say, lead generation will be a major focus for these new hires.
But what marketing skills will companies be looking for as they expand their teams? To answer that question, we’ll need to consider another growing trend in the world of B2B lead generation.
2. Content production and syndication
Creatives, marketing strategists, email marketing specialists – these are the types of professionals that B2B organizations will be hiring as marketing budgets grow. The reason lies in the consistent success of email marketing, in particular the creation of compelling content that targets each stage of the buying process. 56% of B2B marketers report success with this type of content.
Intelemark’s new lead engagement platform, Intelesend, acknowledges the growing significance of content production and syndication. Using Intelesend, B2B companies are connecting with leads via customized, targeted content that prospective buyers access through ongoing email communication.
At present, 49% of B2B organizations already offer downloadable content in some form or fashion. Intelesend makes it easy to send your leads unique content – it’s both downloadable and accessible within a browser – that meets their needs at various points during the buying cycle.
As brands focus more on content in 2016, services like Intelesend will enable them to extend their reach, forge stronger business connections and build a stronger sales pipeline.
3. Additional investments in proven tactics
While hiring is likely to increase, adding new team members isn’t the only thing marketers will do with those bigger budgets. They’ll also do what has become a staple in B2B marketing circles: direct more resources to tactics that work.
Telemarketing is one of those tactics. One of the more interesting bits of data in the B2B Technology Marketing Community survey is the continued success of telemarketing among B2B marketers who use it. A strong majority of those surveyed report telemarketing as being anywhere from “somewhat” to “very” effective for their organizations.
Seeing as telemarketing, when done right, is probably the best way to quickly gauge where a lead stands in the buying process and discover whether they have a compelling business reason to consider your solution, it’s easy to see why telemarketing is such a successful tactic. Expect to see additional investments in tried-and-true lead generation activities, like phone-based lead generation and B2B appointment setting, in 2016.
And if you need to find out more about how an effective lead generation or calling campaign can help your organization generate more leads, contact Intelemark today!