Skip to content

Trends in Lead Generation for Tech Companies

This is a guest blog article by Sheila Kloefkorn of KEO Marketing. 

Trends in Lead Generation for Tech Companies

Lead generation is the lifeblood of any sales organization.  It is also one of the biggest challenges for tech companies or any business.  A recent CSO Insights/Miller Heiman Group Survey revealed the top three sales objectives for B2B marketers:

Top Three Sales Objectives

  • Capture New Accounts
  • Increase Sales Effectiveness
  • Optimize Lead Generation

How you approach these tasks has changed significantly over the past years.  Sales has evolved from the world of cold calls to targeted, personalized marketing.  Here are some of the emerging trends that successful sales organizations are using to grow lead generation and demand generation.

Content Marketing

Let’s face it.  Traditional sales methods such as phone calls and unsolicited sales emails are are not as effective as they used to be.  Decision makers just ignore anything that smacks of a sales call.  That’s why so many marketers have turned successfully to content marketing.  In fact, 83% of B2B marketers say they are using content marketing for lead gen and demand gen.

Content marketing can take a variety of forms.  At the heart of it all, though, is providing quality, informative information. They should provide genuine value to the reader, viewer, or attendee and not just be a veiled sales pitch.

  • E-Books
  • Webinars
  • Events
  • White Papers
  • Case Studies
  • Guest Posts
  • Native Advertising

68% of B2B buyers say they prefer to research buying decisions online on their own. That means they have to find you, learn about what you can offer, and put you in the “possible” category before you even get the opportunity to sell.  If you are not generating unique, compelling content for them to find, you may never get the chance.

Content marketing also pays other dividends.  It helps with search engine optimization (SEO) by showing search engines fresh content on your website or blog, provides quality outbound and inbound links, and establishes you and your company as industry experts.

Video That Tells A Story

When it comes to video, 70% of B2B marketers report video is more effective than any other type of content when it comes to generating qualified leads. Interestingly, that number matches up exactly with what a Google/Millward Brown Digital survey of B2B buyers revealed: 70% of B2B buyers are watching videos throughout the path to purchase.  Nearly half are watching more than 30 minutes of videos prior to making decisions.

Videos can explain products and services, give tours of the technology, showcase case studies and positive results, and let customers provide compelling testimonials.

B2B sales cycles can be long, especially in the tech industry.  Videos designed to engage and educate potential customers at various stages of the purchase funnel can increase the touch points and likeliness you will be found and trusted.

Video and Live Streaming on Social Platforms

Whether it is video distributed through your website or as part of your outbound marketing efforts, social channels provide opportunities to target content to decision makers.  Once videos are developed, they can be shared on various social platforms to increase reach.  Using ad platforms and boosts, videos can be targeted to various industries and decision makers.

LinkedIn now provides an easy way to post your videos.  In addition to your LinkedIn company pages and personal accounts, consider joining industry groups in your target category.  

Many companies have been holding webinars online, but an emerging trend is to do live video presentations.  Ideas include discussion about industry topics, Q&A sessions, interviews with industry leaders, or behind-the-scenes tours.  An effective strategy some successful companies use is to invite the key decision maker to be a guest on your live stream discussing industry challenges.

Personalized Content

How many times have you been approached by someone selling you a product with a “generic” sales pitch that is broad-based and not tailored to your industry or situation?  Probably more often, than not! Cut-and-paste emails and presentations will not get the job done any more.

Simple things like using their company’s logo and value proposition in the presentation or defining industry-specific or company-specific needs can go a long way to separating you from every other seller. The more targeted and relevant the information is, the more engaged they will likely be.

Email and direct mail can still work, but only if it is personalized, customized, and targeted.

Quality Beats Quantity

Sales is a numbers game.  You need a certain number of prospects at the top of the sales funnel to get the numbers you need to convert to buyers.  It is easy to get caught up in the number of leads you pour in when it is really all about the number of buyers that convert.

The first step in prospecting – and typically the hardest – is to find qualified leads.  To be a qualified lead, the prospect needs to meet two criteria:

  • Do they have a real need for the product or service we are selling?
  • Do they have the ability to pay for the product or service we are offering?

Once you have established these criteria, the next question is whether you can get to the decision maker. If the answer is yes to all three questions, you have a quality lead.

Lead Generation for Tech Companies

If you need help with your lead generation, inbound marketing, outbound marketing, or other digital marketing efforts, contact the experts at KEO Marketing, a B2B Marketing agency in phoenix and let us help grow your business.


About the Author

Sheila Kloefkorn is the President & CEO of KEO Marketing Inc. She was recently recognized as one of the Top 10 Business Leaders of the Year by the Phoenix Business Journal. Sheila can be reached a [email protected]

Sign up for our
Newsletter!