Your B2B enterprise doesn’t fly without sales, and those sales don’t happen without leads that are as reliable as they are abundant. According to a 2021 Hubspot survey, 61% of marketers consider lead generation their number one challenge. That status likely scales with the importance of the task, and it certainly makes the process of generating Ecommerce leads sound daunting. The good news is, you’ve got more options than we could ever keep track of — but let’s start with these foundational, and often outside-of-the-box, lead-generation tips from the pros.
1. Always Invest in Support
Heed these numbers from the help desk providers, Kayako: 95% of customers value high-quality support over speedy support. Out of the 95%, 52% of those say that they’re more likely to remain loyal to a company that offers live chat support. Solid support interaction at the point of the purchase goes a long way in easing purchasing uncertainty. That not only helps close the sale, but it can also inspire customer loyalty that generates new leads through the magic of customer referrals.
2. Start a Referral Program
When customers who feel secure in their purchasing choices reward you with referrals, you have plenty of reason to reward them in turn with a robust customer referral incentive program. These types of loyalty initiatives often pay back in spades, as referrals are what’s known as “warm leads.” This means they have a higher chance of closing compared to your standard cold leads – according to data from Extole, B2B referrals have a 70% higher conversion rate than cold leads, and they average a 69% faster close time on sales.
3. Expand Your Portal into a Website…
Zoey offers two key forms of B2B commerce: it can be an effective order portal for your existing buyers or a public-facing website. When you choose the latter, your catalog becomes more than a catalog; it becomes discoverable with SEO-rich content, funneling leads your way as B2B buyers browse resources like Google Shopping. A public-facing site with lead-generation tactics like well-optimized Google AdWords is a lead machine.
4. …Then Use A/B Tests on Your Site
On a more micro level, running A/B tests on your public-facing site — the process of making changes and tracking their results, as in, “here’s how adjustment ‘A’ performs compared to adjustment ‘B’” — can result in tons of mileage. Leadfeeder reports real-world instances where a simple background image change boosted conversions by 550% or a color change on a website’s testimonial bar made for 34% more newsletter signups.
5. Host a Webinar
As a B2B Ecommerce company, you’ve got lots to share, from case studies to company roadmaps to deep dives into industry trends. Tools like Webinato, ClickWebinar and BrightTalk offer accessible ways to share that knowledge via informative webinars, which encourage exactly the type of community building that leads to, well, more leads.
6. Provide Discounts and Promotions
Marketing fellow Pamela Vaughn offers an important reminder: website visitors are much more likely to share their information with you if they get something useful in exchange. For new or first-time buyers, offering discounts can incentivize mailing list signups. Meanwhile, promotions such as membership or loyalty programs help keep existing customers engaged, and with increased engagement comes better word-of-mouth.
7. Attend Conferences and Trade Shows
Visiting trade shows boosts brand awareness, keeps you on top of industry trends and helps you scope out the competition. Handing out swag, walking the floor and participating in events can all help generate leads, but the one-on-one facetime at industry events offers a wholly unique advantage: the leads you get in person will often be of a much higher quality than leads you get from behind a screen.
8. Publish Original Content
According to MarTech, B2B buyers consume an average of 13 content pieces before they decide on a vendor. So, yes, content is king, but the type of content is what matters when it comes to lead generation. By offering content such as eBooks, guides and whitepapers, you not only position your business as an authority and offer value to potential leads, you can massively increase your SEO backlinks and visibility via the PR coverage that research often drums up.
9. Join the Conversation
One advantage that many B2B enterprises have is the ability to get a little more hands-on, so take every opportunity you can to join the conversation, whether that be offering to jump on a call, have a video chat or personally walk through your service’s functionality with a new customer. As the account-based marketing experts at RollWorks remind us, “Sales is about building relationships; you want to have as many real conversations with your prospects as you can.”
10. Signal Boost Social Proof
Increased trust is one avenue for increasing sales, and that’s especially true in the often insular world of B2B, where recommendations and word of mouth can make or break a business. Leverage those good recs and positive buzz by putting social proof front and center on your online presence, in the form of widely shared case studies, user testimonials on your site and regular sharing of glowing reviews across social media.
11. Don’t Fear Cold Contacts
At this point, we know you’re already maintaining a thorough list of targeted business contacts, and that’s good. But don’t let that stop you from using cold calls and emails to generate Ecommerce leads; in the B2B sphere, one advantage you have is that you’re always dealing with your peers in the business world, which often turns a cold email into a warm conversation. Remember to use methods such as merge tags to customize and personalize the messages so they don’t appear impersonal, or try using LinkedIn to target specific job titles – that way, you’re dealing directly with the people who have purchasing power.
12. Leverage Omnichannel Marketing
Virtual events platform vFairs calls omnichannel marketing one of the top five methods for generating B2B leads. This type of marketing sends messages to buyers from the start of your sales funnel such as targeted search engine ads, all the way to the end, with tactics like abandoned cart email reminders and customer testimonial invites. In terms of lead generation, it’s a powerful tool for creating long-lasting brand recall.
Let Zoey Help
So many times the question of how to get leads finds its answer in data accessibility — and that’s where Zoey comes in. We make it easy to both import and export your lead generation reports from various sources, and our B2B Ecommerce feature set helps you curate the public-facing websites that are essential to capturing those leads. Likewise, customer groups create the sort of personalized buying experience that generates positive social proof. If you’re in need of drumming up more Ecommerce leads, why not request a demo today?
Dan is a freelance lifestyle writer and co-owner of two small businesses who splits his time between Dallas and LA. Throughout the last decade-plus, he’s been fortunate to collaborate with business brands such as Office Depot, The Motley Fool, Chron, Fortune and more.
