17 Creative B2B Lead Generation Ideas To Try

1. 17 Creative B2B Lead Generation  Ideas To Try  Are you happy with your current rate of lead generation? We all know that new leads are crucial, especially for B2B services. It’s imperative for any company to generate growth, but it’s doubly important for a B2B to build a client-base to show it can stand out amongst more established competitors. It can also be frustrating. Generating leads you can nurture and convert are the backbone to a thriving

2. business, but traditional methods can easily fall flat. In a fast-paced environment, some prospects simply can’t make the time to talk. Increasingly, prospects don’t rely on a single source of information.. As individuals, we are more informed than we have ever been. With ease a prospect can cross review multiple sources, pricing and status on their phone, without ever having to speak to a team member. This applies to company buyers in the same way. It’s easy to make a cursory search for services without really engaging with any one company.​ B2B buyers are looking for companies that add value, instead of just pushing sales So what do you do? You have a product, comprehensive service and brand you believe in, providing superior customer service with appropriate pricing, but your lead generation simply isn’t getting the desired results. It’s not just failing to generate leads,​ it’s costing you money. Don’t give up hope just yet!

3. What if you could draw the right leads, with less effort, in an organically engaging way? Of course you can. At Pearl Lemon we use various techniques to generate quality B2B leads, tailoring our options to each unique client. Sometimes they’re more traditional, but we also utilise some more creative avenues that may give you some inspiration. We’ll be going over ​17 creative B2B lead generation ideas ​that will elevate your reputation, add real value to prospects and offer engaging information that supports them without pressuring them into a sale. 1. CREATE BRANDED VIDEOS THAT  OFFER SOLUTIONS   Every company has problems that need solutions. Finding a way to help prospects solve simple problems in a video provides a quick and personable way to show you know your stuff and can provide reliable support. B2B leads generated this way are important as they are

4. generated from platforming your expertise, which is much more likely to convert a prospect. This is also an easy way to reach a newer client base and demographic. Take Spitfire Audio as an example. Their sound sampling business has a relatively specific client base, but their Youtube channel offers tutorials and insights in sound and music design for beginners and veterans alike. These tutorials showcase their libraries, whilst also showing how to achieve results without them. This appeal to musicians interested in their own sound production has expanded their audience across amateur

5. and emerging sound designers and made them an authority voice in the industry. If an audience trusts your knowledge and has progressed because of your input, they are much more likely to organically return to your tutorials, and much more likely to invest in your services when they have the need. 2. INTRODUCE A UNIQUE SIDE  PROJECT  Sometimes the best B2B lead generation ideas don’t appear to link to your business at all. Challenging yourself (or a team member) to step out of the comfort zone can reveal a new audience for your outreach that you didn’t even know was there. For example, Ryan Robinson is a content creator and writer who offers content services to clients. In 2016 he took on a challenge to validate a business idea in under 30 days. He built a mailing list of 565 new subscribers and presold 12 copies of a product that didn’t yet exist. He managed this ​without even creating a website​, and by relying on

6. his own skills. Ryan originally planned this as a fun way to challenge himself and showcase his validation plan to his current audience. What he didn’t count on was the huge generation of new leads. The episodic structure of his blogging meant that as the challenge and story of his month long challenge unfolded, he generated over 3,000 new subscribers to his blog, all because he had embarked on this project. Engaging content like this asks questions and illustrates that you’re constantly adapting. It can generate new leads who may not have engaged with you if you hadn’t shown something so individual. It can also give you automatic feedback on the sort of services and information your new leads are looking for. Speaking of… 3. CURATE A GATED EMAIL COURSE  If there’s a particular skill that your data is highlighting as a need for your prospects, why not create a detailed email course?

7. Hootsuite offers a beginners guide to social media marketing led by their marketing directors. As one of the leading voices in social media, this is an excellent way to pull in an audience who have heard about their platform and ​would​ be using it, if they only knew how. These courses tend to work for skills best acquired in a more structured setting. By focusing on what topics your prospects want to develop in and the most digestible way to appeal to them, you’ll be broadening your reach with ease and engaging new, quality leads through email. 4. INTERVIEW A THOUGHT LEADER  ON A PODCAST  A fresh perspective can bring in a fresh audience. It’s a pretty simple idea that can generate big results. Blogging or podcasting are a part of many B2B websites strategies and with good reason. Consistent and relevant content can generate leads all by themselves as new audiences find new reasons to engage with you.

8. By bringing in a third-party expert in your field you not only draw on their expertise, you can also generate ​their​ leads (and vice versa). This cross promotion has been used to great effect for many companies. There’s also great scope to have control over the conversation. In the same way that you can structure a blog post’s content to prequalify your leads, you can mutually structure a recorded interview to ensure a generation that benefits you both. For example, If you are looking to diversify your outreach to companies who need multi-location SEO, bring in a leading authority voice in this field to compare strategies with. Take this interview from Build Assets with Kyle Roof. With two leading voices in e-commerce coming together, this interview includes useful insight and several CTAs for both companies. It’s an excellent example of how working together can provide benefits to both parties and generate quality B2B leads. 5. HOST A GIVEAWAY  Everybody loves a giveaway. It’s also a sure-fire lead generation idea! This includes B2B buyers.

9. Hubspot​ put together a post that listed the innumerable benefits of running a competition for your traffic and engagement. However, The problem that people often encounter with giveaways and competitions is that the quantity of the leads can be let down by the quality. You may just end up with leads to nowhere. So how can you avoid this? It’s really quite simple. Create a giveaway that tailors the prize directly to your B2B audience’s needs and aligns with your business strategy. Giving away a package directly from your services, whether it’s a package of your gated content or a coaching session, appeals to direct prospects of your business and generates quality, convertible leads easily. 6. TRY OFFERING FEWER OPTIONS   This one might seem counterintuitive, but stick with me. As you try to carve out your niche in the industry it can be tempting to offer as much as you possibly can to capture every gap in the market you can find.

10. In actual working practice, this can actually be a hindrance to your prospects. Hick’s Law states that every additional choice increases the time it takes to make a decision. We’ve all experienced what it can be like to be overwhelmed by too much choice and in a world of endless options, we sometimes need them filtered. B2B sales can be long and complicated, and the B2B buyers differ from B2C buyers in that B2B customers have a very methodical approach to making buying decisions. This can be exacerbated by a list of endless options. Look into offering one clear-cut call to action to bring in specific leads. You might be surprised by how isolating exactly how you want your audience to engage, inspires them to actually take part. 7. CREATE AN EASY, GATED  PERSONALISED TEMPLATE  Providing something practical for your prospects to use is an excellent way to generate leads. A clear example of a working template that eases up a complicated task can be invaluable. In addition, by gating this content, you can use it as a value-exchange to draw in any anonymous visitors.

11. Neil Patel has built an extensive list of gated templates and cheat-sheets, in exchange for contact details. These showcase his depth of understanding in his field whilst also offering assistance outside of his paid for services. He’s not only arming his audience with the tools they need for success, ​he’s promoting his own authority and working process. Offering a template for a specific service your company excels in is a fantastic insight to your work and will generate relationships with leads that are actively seeking that service. 8. SHARE REAL CUSTOMER  EXPERIENCES  Customer testimonials are always a powerful form of engagement. Seeing how your service or product directly benefits your customers is something ​potential​ customers love to see. B2B buyers look for a credible service provider, and trust is a perfect way to show your credibility.

12. Using your testimonials to their best advantage includes connecting to your prospective clients on an emotional, real level and telling a story. Code Academy​ is a career builder that helps students accrue important coding skills to push forward. They creatively frame their customer testimonials by providing snippets of the testimonial, which when clicked lead to the longer profile video .They’re entertaining to watch and show the real life impact of the work they do. It’s a creative showcase which doesn’t seem dry or forced to a prospect. When somebody can connect to a customer experience on a ​personal ​level, they’re far more likely to engage.

13. Make sure you have a clear CTA on this page as well and you’ll boost your lead generation with ease. 9. CONSIDER A FREE TRIAL  If you’re seeing clear traffic to your website but not as many lead conversions as expected, you may want to consider a free limited trial of a select service. The Alternative Board (TAB) on B2B sales revealed that 64% of business owners prefer personal trial and error when making a purchase. By encouraging prospects to put a foot in the door with a free trial, your site can do your selling for you, in a low-pressure way. This can be the necessary push to prospects who are intrigued by your work but not committed to paying a fee. You can increase your chances of engagement with a touchless free trial which enables a prospect to sign up and begin using your tools within moments.

14. eSalesTrack​ has an excellent example of an easy approach to their free trial, which requires an email signup and very little else. For a B2B buyer interested in their services, they’ve made it seem like the obvious next step to sign up. 10. COMPILE A LIST OF RESOURCES  Not everything is about you. We all know this in theory but it can be hard to put it into practice. The confidence of knowing that your company is at the top of it’s game can sometimes overshadow the other resources and services that got you there.

15. Consider the toolkit you would have wanted to have when you first got started and work to put it together. It shows that you value the success of your clients and prioritize them without sacrificing your own. Offering this resource list, not only benefits your prospects, it brings your services in front of an audience looking for solutions that you can offer. Providing something of value to potential customers increases their awareness of your services, and earns you consideration when they’re looking for solutions. Minttwist offers a comprehensive and valuable range of digital media services, but in this post they really step up

16. in presenting a timely list of services and tools from other companies that can help teams strategise. This guide brings guidance to its audience, which will drive them back to the website and means they’re very likely to subscribe. 11. BE AN ACTIVE COMMUNITY  MEMBER    Connecting via communities is an integral part of lead generation, and is particularly useful for B2B. Word of mouth is always and will always be important!

17. That being said, this is a key aspect of lead generation for any company and should not be overlooked. You should be promoting your product where your buyer personas consume information. Building genuine connections with both online and offline communities is an easy, organic way to engage, whilst allowing you to demonstrate your expertise. Career led forums such as Growth Hackers and Linkedin provide a base for sincere relationships with those in your industry, with the added bonus of generating leads through your reputation. 12. CREATE AN INTERACTIVE QUIZ  As we’ve clearly established, any addition to your landing page that promotes that extra level of engagement, will help generate new leads. An interesting way to drive this engagement into lead generation is to create a tailored quiz. By tailoring the questions to promote a specific campaign or service you can raise awareness,and by trading a new lead for results, you can easily build effective lists.

18. Warby Parker uses this idea to great effect with their frame matcher quiz. They use the options provided to narrow prospective customers’ options down, before gently suggesting providing your contact details to have your results forwarded on. It’s not forced on you and feels like an extension of their service, not a lead tactic. 13. CREATE AN EFFECTIVE EXIT  INTENT POP-UP  Another powerful lead generation idea is to appeal to prospects who are about to leave your website. A last attempt to engage with those who are bouncing back from

19. your content could make all the difference in recapturing their attention and persuading them to return. When this is done correctly and with care, you’ll improve your bounce rate. This is hugely important as statistically, 70% of those who bounce, don’t come back. For example, let’s say you are an e-commerce website. You can offer a coupon code that expires in 24 hours. Or perhaps you sell business consulting. You may offer a free 1 hour introductory session, but your visitor has to sign up right now. Most exit detection plug-ins are advanced enough to track a user’s visits, so use this to your advantage. Don’t be overly aggressive and show the pop-up every time somebody visits your site as this can become annoying.

20. Basic Outfitters have a lovely example of how this can be integrated into your general scheme and tone. It’s witty and aesthetic, whilst gently encouraging signing up to their mailing list to catch the interest of anybody clicking ‘X’, and grabbing that potential lead. 14. MAKE USE OF QUORA  Quora​ is a community platform that offers you the chance to showcase your authoritative knowledge by answering public questions.

21. In the same way as that engaging in other communities inspires your connections to equate your brand with your expertise, Quora can be used to develop your reputation in real time and with relatability. Many companies have captured the growing interest in the platform to raise their profile and in turn direct potential leads through to their landing pages. In fact, Pearl Lemon’s founder Deepak Shukla was an early proponent of Quora and wrote an in-depth ​post ​about the lead generation benefits. 15. SHOWCASE THE INNER  WORKINGS OF YOUR COMPANY  Transparency is an appealing asset for any company to have, and it’s proven that people respond to it. By producing an in-depth post about a particular lesson you’ve learned during your trajectory can appeal to similar sized companies or individuals looking for inspiration.

22. Recently Moz Blog shared a great piece about the behind the scenes of taking their annual conference online. Each contributor has an opportunity to share a little sneak peak of their responsibilities and a picture of their set-up. It’s a nice insight into their hard work and team spirit, concluding with a perfectly placed CTA at the end of the post to nudge you to get your ticket. It’s simple and effective and a great way to raise a campaign’s profile and still bring in new B2B leads. 16. OFFER SOMETHING MORE  ‘IN-DEPTH’ 

23. Any question you might have can be answered with a quick search on the internet. Providing an article that extensively and authoritatively answers a difficult question can drive new leads to your website ​whilst​ establishing your position as a lead industry influence. Something we know that B2B companies respond to. A good example of a post that goes above and beyond is this one from Sprout Social. They aim to comprehensively explain the processes used to create first class marketing content. It’s a great article that rounds up a huge amount of information and presents it in an approachable way to

24. appeal to anybody who may stumble upon it when starting out their writing journey. Social Sprout’s audience will expect this peak level of content and return again and again for this type of insight. 17. KEEP THE SOCIAL IN SOCIAL  MEDIA  Last, but absolutely not least, it’s imperative to stay on top of your social media engagement. Social media engagement may not always lead to quality leads, but it’s an ​excellent​ place to generate more. Statistically, 65% of Twitter users expect an answer within two hours of posting a question. If you’re not actively engaging with your followers, then you’re not proactively taking part in the conversation. This can cost you countless leads, simply by not valuing your prospects. Social media listening tools such as ​Buffer​ can combine your social streams into one dashboard that lets you

25. monitor your mentions and directly engage across your channels, either through public or direct messages. Utilising a tool like this will keep your engagement strategy ticking over whilst ensuring you don’t lose out on any promising leads because you aren’t responsive. No matter which route you take to generate and nurture your leads, make sure that your content is consistently engaging and relevant. Focus on providing value to your prospects and you’ll see a return on your numbers in no time. At ​Pearl Lemon​ our company grew to a mid-six figure company in less than 12 months. We did this organically and used various, wide-ranging lead generation techniques to achieve this, so we practice what we preach. As you can see, we have an advantage over traditional B2B lead generation companies as we truly appreciate the need for creativity and do not believe in a one-size fits all package. If you still find generating B2B leads an overwhelming task or simply want to bring in an experienced team to support,

26. book a call with us today to grow your audience and supercharge your ​lead generation​! Original Source: https://pearllemonleads.com/17-creative-b2b-lead-generation-ideas-to-try/