Think about how you cook chicken. You probably don’t just throw the chicken in the microwave and call it good. Plain, microwaved chicken would satisfy you at your hungriest, but that’s where the actual seasoning, marinade, and cooking process is so important, right? We like to think of lead generation and appointment setting like cooking—while one business growth solution (inbound or outbound) may do the job, it can be even better when you season it with various marketing efforts.
In this blog, we’ll highlight how you can generate inbound and outbound leads with an all-inclusive lead generation strategy. Now that we’re all hungry for more info, let’s get into it.
What’s the Difference Between Inbound Marketing And Outbound Marketing?
A lead’s a lead, right? And it doesn’t matter how it gets there? Hmmm. What do you think about that, Mark Cuban?
Yeah, that’s what we think too. Leads can enter the sales pipeline through a lot of different avenues. However, they all enter the sales pipeline through either inbound or outbound marketing efforts, and it’s essential to understand their journey to the sales pipeline so you know what valuable content you should deliver them.
Inbound marketing is when a lead enters a sales pipeline because they show interest in your company and the products and services you offer. They do this by reaching out to your company directly through your website’s contact page or filling out a landing page form. If a person reaches out to your company, this means they’re probably closer to the end of their buying cycle and actively looking for solutions. In this case, you’d want to present them with more conversion-focused content.
Outbound marketing is when a sales team finds a prospective business online that they’d like to work with, but the business hasn’t actively shown interest in your company. While many B2B companies are hesitant of this lead generation strategy, it’s an incredibly effective way to build brand awareness and help potential customers uncover pain points in their current product or service solution. With outbound marketing, sales teams find prospects by researching companies online, social media, or sales prospecting tools like ZoomInfo or D&B Hoovers.
Many companies think they need to choose one business growth path over another when it comes to lead generation. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. By integrating inbound and outbound lead generation strategies, you can generate more leads and boost the ability to build and maintain a predictable sales pipeline.
Don’t understand the importance of a hybrid inbound and outbound strategy? Check out our blog to explore its impact on business growth!
Best Practices for Streamlined Inbound and Outbound Lead Generation Strategies
Did you think you’d generate more leads and close more deals by simply having an inbound and outbound marketing strategy? While taking advantage of both business growth solutions is ideal, simply having them isn’t enough for a predictable and sustainable sales pipeline.
To streamline inbound and outbound lead generation strategies, you must:
Align Sales and Marketing Efforts
As mentioned above, one of the most important things to remember about a successful outbound and inbound marketing strategy is that they can’t exist independently—they must align with one another for advanced lead generation and business growth efforts.
For example, let’s say a sales rep cold calls a prospective business they found on LinkedIn. The sales rep gives the key decision-maker their best intro elevator pitch. As expected, the key decision-maker declines to meet for a sales meeting because they want to learn more about your company before scheduling an appointment.
After the phone call, the key decision-maker researches your company online to look at your product and service offerings, case studies, blogs, etc. While the cold call itself was a great start to the conversation, the great content marketing material they’ll find online could be what encourages them to reach out for more information or be sold on your company before SDRs speak with them a second time. When they’re on the website, they can subscribe to your company’s newsletter, download guides, or connect with you again through your website’s contact page, accelerating their journey down the sales funnel.
Use Email Marketing to Your Advantage
Email marketing is a unique lead generation tactic because it can fall under both inbound and outbound lead generation strategies.
When it comes to an inbound marketing strategy, sales and marketing experts can send relevant email marketing campaigns to leads that submit their info through the website. When potential buyers are directed to submit their information, they’re typically asked to enter their:
- Personal name
- Company name
- Job title
- Email address
- Number of employees
By asking these questions, sales and marketing specialists segment each inbound lead and deliver content that aligns with their goals. Creating targeted email lists is essential for a successful inbound marketing strategy. It makes sure that email recipients are only getting relevant content, guiding them further down the sales funnel and converting them from leads into sales opportunities.
On the other hand, when it comes to outbound lead generation, email marketing is essential for connecting with leads that may be hard to reach over the phone. Key decision-makers are busy people who often wear many different hats; they’re not always at their desks waiting for your phone call. By integrating email marketing into your outbound lead generation strategy, you can send potential customers content marketing material for them to look over, giving them the opportunity to reach out to you if they have additional questions.
Whether you decide to use email marketing for inbound or outbound lead generation efforts, don’t underestimate its power to generate qualified business opportunities.
Create a Cohesive Branding Strategy
While you may have an excellent company website, social media presence, and marketing collateral, are they cohesive and easily identifiable as your brand? To maximize your sales and marketing efforts, it’s essential that everything presented to your target market has the same aesthetic, from the words you choose to the designs you create.
Having a cohesive branding strategy builds credibility and establishes top-of-mind awareness. Ideally, if a potential buyer sees the font, colors, and language that you use in your sales enablement efforts, they should recognize that it’s your brand.
For instance, let’s suggest that one of your SDRs is cold calling a potential buyer in the sales pipeline, and they’re not interested in scheduling a sales appointment at this time. In the meantime, the SDR can direct them to your website or send them relevant marketing collateral. This marketing collateral should align with their needs and effectively present your brand. If your website and marketing collateral brands are inconsistent, you risk losing trust from leads.
Measure the Effectiveness of Your Marketing Strategy
Like any business growth strategy, your inbound and outbound marketing efforts should be measured routinely, so you know if they are working to their full potential. There are many tools you can use to measure the effectiveness of your sales and marketing strategies, including customer relationship management (CRM) platforms like HubSpot, Google Analytics, Outreach, and more.
When you measure the effectiveness of your sales and marketing strategy, you have the opportunity to see what’s working and where there may be room for improvement. Without measuring your lead generation program, you risk having an unsustainable sales pipeline and business growth process overall. Measuring your strategy helps you generate as many high-quality leads as possible, ensuring you get the most out of your business growth strategy.
Key Takeaways
Like creating the ultimate, mouth-watering piece of chicken, you must learn to “season and cook” your business growth program with solutions that generate a 5-star solution. When you integrate your inbound and outbound lead generation strategies, you generate more high-quality leads that result in closed business.
At Sapper Consulting, our email marketing experts collaborate with your internal team to help them seamlessly integrate their inbound and outbound marketing efforts. When you’re ready to get the most out of your lead generation program, contact the experts at Sapper Consulting!
