Lead Generation Strategies That Start With "T"

Today we look at several lead generation strategies you can use that begin with the letter "T":

Text Messaging

More and more B2B marketers are turning to this medium. The younger generation is entering the workforce, and Text ranks #1 as the preferred communication choice ahead of Instant Messaging and Email. Texting provides a real-time and interactive experience. The more conservative marketers have subscribers texting in a code to get a promotional offer or be redirected to a landing page. Other marketers are gaining opt-in permission and adding texting to a rich, multi-channel approach to campaigning. Texting should be tested as part of your marketing plans this year.

Telemarketing

Many B2B marketers are using Telemarketing and/or Inside Sales as a viable lead generation function. Other uses include organizational mapping - calling into a company and determining all key contacts for your product and service; data validation, opt-in for mailing lists, and surveys. Savvy marketers who track their website visitors, pass on unknown visitors in real-time to a telemarketer who then uses a reverse DNS lookup of the visitor to call into the target company and gain contact and lead information.

Trade Shows

Many tradeshows don't give the same return as they once did, which is why so many marketers opt to not do them or go to very few. Instead of paying money for a booth, consider being a panelist or speaker at the event, hosting your own cocktail party, or doing a guerilla 'on-floor' promotion, passing out coupons and using SMS with contest codes to draw attendees. Any of these approaches will yield a much better return on investment .

Testing

Taking just a few extra minutes on every campaign to test will yield a much better response rate. Simple A/B split testing, comparing subject lines, calls to action, or content headers can help you optimize every campaign. Start with 10% of your list and perform the test. After a few hours (with email or phone) you will have enough of a gauge to determine which version you should send the other 90% to. Doing this within the campaign, as opposed to waiting until the next one will produce a much better outcome.