MarketingCharts.com issued a great survey. They looked at TV, print, social, SEO, PPC, email and more. Business-to-Business marketers’ reported quantity and quantity of their B2B sales leads.
Top of B2B lead gen list:
-Email marketing to your house list, followed by SEO, telephone and live events.
Bottom of B2B lead gen list:
-Banners, print, radio, TV, rented email lists & Social Media.
Here’s 2 of their actual charts:
B2B Lead Generation Quality & Quantity By Source
If there’s any take away from this, it’s the crucial importance of having a great email relationship with your prospects and customers. A list of people who LIKE getting your emails is Asset Numero Uno.
B2B Lead Generation Cost By Source
I was amused at how abysmally Social Media ranks here. (Remember, this is B2B not B2C. Rock concert promoters would rank these a little differently.)
A few other take-aways:
-Direct mail is a consistent, reliable workhorse
-If you employ the Unlimited Traffic Technique and you have the best conversion rate in your niche, then you’re probably the only person who can profitably advertise in print, TV and radio, which is a GREAT position to be in.
-That good ol’ fashioned telephone is REALLY important. It works best when you already have a relationship with your customer.
And there’s no substitute for face to face. That’s why *I* do live events.
The article says everyone’s putting more money into online and less into offline. That means: You gotta hone your online chops and I strongly suggest supplementing your online efforts with skilled phone staff and direct mail.
Thanks to Ken Prince for sending this in.
Perry Marshall
Share This Post
About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
4 Comments on “Business to Business Lead Generation Quality”
Perry – great study. I just subscribed to Marketing Charts, awesome site. As for your AdWords program, do you update it? I know you’re considered an extremely authoritative figure when it comes to AdWords but with how much CPCs have gone up over time I was slightly hesitant regarding how up to date your info was, and if its still possible to drive low cost traffic using your techniques.
Best,
Chris
Yes. The Amazon book is just fine and 95% current, and if you’re looking for a state of the art personal training, adwords bootcamp http://www.perrymarshall.com/awbc is a strong choice. We are doing a special class for Display Network in early 2013 as well.
Great stuff! And I absolutely agree with Perry in his suggestion for using skilled phone staff to exploit the leads generated by email or other online marketing efforts. Cold Calling to establish the first contact is both frustrating and annoying. But Follow-Up Calls are totally different. They can be funny and generate great results in terms of new contracts and and a trustful relationship.
No doubt about it. Email marketing still the best for B2B.