Marketing automation has become an integral part of B2B sales and marketing for most companies.
The ability for marketers to simplify their work by using data analytics to streamline tasks and processes has yielded better and more accurate results for:
- Lead generation – attracting prospective customers to check out your products.
- Lead qualification – identifying which prospects have higher potential to become buyers.
The primary goal of marketing automation is to increase revenue through higher lead conversions.
Additionally, studies show that over 80% of marketers suggest that marketing automation generates more leads for businesses.
But how do they do it?
Here are 9 ways to use marketing automation to boost your B2B lead generation process.
9 ways to use marketing automation to boost your B2B lead generation process?
1. Track visitors and create a list of target accounts
Marketing automation tools and software track and give you information on prospects on different platforms. The most popular of these platforms include:
- Websites
- Social Media
- Emails (sent through email marketing)
- Search engines
Using all the information from your analytics, you can then sieve through your leads to identify the most qualified. Alternatively, they can form a basis for lead scoring.
You can see what products or services they browsed, how much time they spent on pages, the different actions they took, etc. This allows you to build a valuable list of target accounts based on specific factors.
Otherwise, it can be tedious to take such actions manually, primarily if your business draws a lot of traffic.
2. Create informed marketing campaigns
With a list of target accounts and other information that the analytics data has provided, you can create appropriate marketing campaigns.
You now know your ideal customer and their behaviors and can therefore do better targeting. Providing these leads with the right material and at the right time speeds up their search process and purchase decision-making.
3. Improve Customer Experience
Targeting B2B customers with the right information improves their overall experience with your product.
With automation, you can anticipate their needs and offer them the right content, which shortens the time they spend exploring your solution. They thus move through your sales funnel faster and become more likely to convert.
User experience is now a critical factor in the customer journey. Customers are reportedly more likely to engage and share their details when they have a pleasant first experience with a business.
So, by enhancing their satisfaction through automation, you can boost your B2B lead generation process.
4. Create personalized experiences
You can boost your B2B lead generation by using marketing automation to create personalized experiences for your customers. Contrary to common belief, B2B customers value customized experiences as well.
Through the customer data you collect, you can craft buyer personas. These then help you to deliver personalized and relevant content consistently. Marketing automation makes this process more efficient since you can program the systems and set triggers accordingly.
A marketing automation agency like offers you a full marketing automation system. It helps you use it effectively to boost your leads generation process.
For example, when tweaking your website to cater to different visitors, i.e., new, returning, etc. It may also apply to email drip campaigns.
Personalized experiences make new visitors more likely to engage and move further up the funnel, thus generating more leads.
5. Using inbound marketing funnels
Inbound marketing funnels are processes that allow the business to be found. When users provide their contact information, they become a lead.
Yet, these funnels rely on marketing automation systems to be effective. Automation systems collect the necessary data that you can use to create appropriate content to draw traffic.
The system also helps you to customize and personalize those communications to appeal to users. You can then work with the sales team to nurture these leads accordingly.
6. Use chatbots
Since customers value rapid communication, marketing automation can help you generate more leads in this manner.
On platforms like social media and websites, you can set up chatbots or other instant response systems to engage with potential leads.
These would help you draw in leads round the clock. More advanced ones can even handle multiple languages. Therefore, chatbots become an essential tool for generating leads cost-effectively.
7. Use Email automation for campaigns
Over 81% of B2B marketers still use email as part of their lead generation and nurturing strategy. Also, over 28% of customers are open to receiving promotional emails regularly.
However, it is not always feasible to manually send regular emails to all contacts and leads. So, email automation is critical to conduct this task cost-effectively and faster.
You can set triggers for specific actions users would take. Email automation software also helps you personalize these email campaigns to enhance customer experience. This, in turn, increases the likelihood of conversions.
8. Analyze what platforms generate most traffic
By measuring the results of your existing campaigns, you can refine your lead generation approach. You can assess the reach, engagements, revisits, retentions, etc. This information is readily accessible through marketing automation.
For example, you can identify which channels bring in the most leads through the conversion rate information.
You then focus those efforts on elements that yield the most benefits, increasing your chances of success.
9. Create an efficient sales pipeline
Marketing automation helps you create more efficient sales funnels.
The automated processes filter through your potential customers and product platform visitors to develop valuable B2B prospects. This systematic pipeline helps you target B2B customers who stand higher chances of converting to sales.
In the process, this also reduces time and resources spent on chasing leads that do not yield much.
Final thoughts
Marketing automation unifies all your sales processes from marketing, lead generation to final purchases. You can leverage marketing automation systems to generate more leads for your business in the different ways listed above.
The different automation platforms like CRM provide a rich source of information and offer much-needed accountability. You always have enough information to attract and retain the right leads.
Funnelbud