Mastering Lead Generation: Understanding the Best Tactics for B2B and B2C

In today’s marketing world, generating high-quality leads doesn’t happen out of the blue. And with leads being crucial for businesses to sustain growth and achieve success, learning how to find those leads is vital.

If you operate a business-to-business (B2B) or a business-to-consumer (B2C) company, attracting potential clients into your space and nurturing them into loyal customers is how a business grows and attracts others.

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty of what the difference between B2B and B2C is, what lead generation techniques are best, and how to maneuver around the marketing minefield.

Understanding B2B and B2C Lead Generation

While the results of both B2B lead generation and B2C lead generation should be a purchase from a consumer, the way you get there looks different. 

As a brief refresher, B2B stands for business-to-business which refers to a transaction taking place between two businesses or companies. B2C stands for business-to-consumer which refers to a transaction taking place between a business and an individual.

On average, B2B desires to build personal relationships with prospects based on mutual respect and trust so their brand is top of mind when they’re ready to purchase or invest in a product or service. However, B2C works to attract the attention of emotion-driven consumers in a saturated market.

B2B Lead Generation Tactics

Tactic #1: Content

The internet is one big world of content. Blogs, articles, YouTube, Reddit, the list could go on. So it makes sense that regularly published content from your business helps amplify your credibility as an expert, but it also boosts your reach, exposure, and generally lets more eyes see your work. An important reminder: don’t create content just to say you did it; it should be meaningful. After all, you want your content to give value to your readers and not just sit there and collect dust. Intentionality is the key.

The “Rule of 7” says that prospects need to hear an advertiser’s message at least seven times before they consider purchasing goods or service. When you publish high-level content that provides value through information, education, or entertainment, you develop trust with your audience which makes for loyal customers.

Tactic #2: Webinars and Events

Events both online and offline are a great way to make connections and allow an open space to communicate with your audience. Webinars and events are an ideal option for lead generation especially in a B2B setting.

The convenience of webinars especially is unmatched as you can engage with potential customers without them having to leave their homes or offices. This opens up space for questions, discussions, and honesty. 

Events and webinars are also seen as high-value content where participants feel as though they’re receiving a lot of value for the money they’ve invested. This is your chance to shine as a thought leader in your industry to provide important points for your attendees.

Speaking on thought leadership, this is the biggest reason using webinars and events is great for lead generation. By sharing valuable information with attendees, you’ll take control of your industry and give your company extra brand authority. 

Tactic #3: Cold Emails, Campaigns, and Outreach

And now for the most cost-effective and easy-to-navigate lead generation tip of them all: using cold emails works (but only if you know how to do it).

With no upfront cost and some wiggle room with how to approach it, cold email marketing is fantastic for lead generation (and it has one of the highest ROIs on the market). It is fully scalable and can be automated depending on your email provider. And did we mention it’s highly personalized? 

To send out a batch of cold emails and campaigns with effectiveness, here are a few guidelines:

• Decide on a niche/client profile/audience: For example, if your goal is to work with women-owned PR agencies, Google “PR agencies near me – women-owned” and check out those search results. 
• Find the right person to talk to: This can be tricky, but finding the decision maker in the company is crucial. With some proper internet sleuthing, you’ll be able to find the person to email.
• Personalize and stay down to earth: A tip to getting your email read is by addressing the person by their first name. Keep it clean with a catchy (but not overly salesy) subject line.

B2C Lead Generation Tactics

Tactic #1: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Understanding search engine optimization (SEO) feels like an impossible task. As it constantly changes and develops, SEO becomes the holy grail of marketing and connecting with clients. 

The goal of SEO is to improve your website’s rankings, bring in qualified leads, and keep them educated, engaged, and listening to the content you put out. While lead gen and SEO are two separate strategies, they can be combined to benefit your business. 

Keyword research is going to help you on your journey with SEO as you’ll discover which keywords are most relevant to your industry as you work them into your blog posts, articles, headlines, and marketing materials. 

And if your potential customers are searching specific questions that your blog answers with the right keywords, it will rank higher in Google search results and allow those potential customers to connect with you and, hopefully, become loyal clients. 

Tactic #2: Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising

While PPC advertising is often attributed to the e-commerce industry, recently it’s become an effective lead generation tool for multiple companies or websites relying on optimization. This form of advertising means you bid on certain search terms that you feel will lead your target audience to your website and you pay for their interactions by the click. Meaning, with a little boost from paid promotion, you can easily appear on the first page of Google and be found by people needing specific services.

As with all forms of advertising and marketing, there are multiple routes a B2C business can use PPC. Some encourage a higher spend while others spend less by serving ads to specific targeted audiences. 

Your PPC options include Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, AdRoll, and RevContent which all carry their own pros and cons.

Tactic #3: Social Media Marketing

While social media marketing can be used for both B2B and B2C, there are different approaches and ways to promote and produce content. Here are our tips for best practices with social media:

• Build your page and optimize it: On Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Twitter, prospects will click on your profile and read when they’re intrigued and want to learn more about you and your business; it is often the first thing they see. Let’s get that profile into shape! Be sure to provide simple contact information so it’s easy to get in touch with your company. Include email, phone number, and a link to your website. Include clear calls to action (CTAs) such as signing up for your newsletter, booking a free discovery session, or a link to your shop.
• Pump out the engaging content: When in doubt, creating relevant content will grab the attention of your people. This content can be educational, entertaining, or personal stories, but creating pieces that stand out is important. 
• Targeted ads: Like we mentioned with PPC, paid social media ads can boost your business to generate more leads and your business can be hyper-specific about who sees them (did you know you can target people with specific interests?).

The Overlapping Tactics

While lead generation strategy and methods can differ greatly for B2B or B2C, some options work for both. These include email marketing campaigns, customer reviews/testimonials, landing page optimization, lead nurturing and drip campaigns, marketing analytics, and A/B testing. 

Summary

Generating qualified, valuable leads takes time and patience along with a firm understanding of your target audience, strategy, and continually adapting to new trends. When implementing the best lead generation tactics for both B2B and B2C businesses, you’ll see fresh growth, stronger customer relationships, and sustainable success. 

Navigating these tactics alone can be overwhelming and it is hard to know where to start, so we recommend hiring professionals to help guide you. If you’re curious to learn more about lead generation and how The Rock It! Co. can help you find qualified leads, let’s talk more!