The reputation of outbound lead generation is unusual. Some marketers still consider it archaic. You can’t ignore its significance in digital marketing, though.
The best aspect about this method is that it allows you to immediately reach your target audience, whereas inbound techniques require time to show results. PPC advertising by itself can attract a lot of traffic to your website.
What’s outbound lead generation?
Outbound lead generation is a technique for communicating with potential customers who aren’t familiar with your product or service. It works by sending salespeople notifications to potential leads.
The purpose is to generate interest in a product or service to create a sales funnel. Some of the communication tactics used for outbound lead generation include cold calling, direct email, social selling, and direct mail.
For example, company X provides team-building activities for large businesses in California. Company Y searches for these services and locates you using a search engine, LinkedIn, or advertisements. With a little assistance, this lead may go through the sales funnel and become a client. This is an example of inbound lead generating.
Company A finds one hundred leads that meet their ICP and may be interested in this service because the leads need to keep flowing. Then, via phone, email, pre-targeting advertisements, or social media, sales professionals contact them. Ten prospects have expressed interest and are prepared to meet with sales representatives. This is an example of outbound lead creation.
Inbound vs outbound lead generation
These are the differences between inbound and outbound lead generation strategies:
- Controlling of engagement
- Worth of marketing assets
- Campaign cost profiles
1. Controlling of engagement
The key distinction between the inbound and outbound approaches to lead generation, as we’ve already discussed, is who controls the timing and location of all activity, from content consumption through information exchange.
In an inbound strategy, you let prospects select how they engage for the most part. You provide prospects the opportunity to find you when the moment is suitable for them and in the manner that they choose.
Outbound lead generation allows you, not your prospect, to choose when they see advertisements, receive calls, or receive emails, with no regard for the prospect’s readiness.
2. Worth of marketing assets
Outbound campaigns have a shorter lifespan than inbound assets. Evergreen content, for example, can generate leads long after it was first developed, resulting in a strong long-term return on your marketing investment.
Due to their greater cost profile and risk levels, outbound programs are often constrained and short. The majority of the assets you’ve generated aren’t used again once the campaign is over.
3. Cost profile of campaigns
Inbound campaigns have cheaper costs and are often spaced out over a longer period. Because traffic is earned rather than purchased, there is no necessity to purchase the distribution technique.
A typical outbound campaign will have a short and high-cost profile. This is owing to the relatively high expense of the distribution techniques used (advertising, mail, or cold phoning) as well as the requirement to minimize the risk of failure. You don’t want a failed outbound effort to linger for too long.
However, given enough time, the costs of any lead generation effort can add up. But, because of the compound returns offered by inbound strategies, the cost per lead decreases over time with inbound. Outbound campaigns’ cost per lead will often stay the same or even rise if the creative isn’t updated and the target audience becomes tired of it.
What is outbound lead generation?
Outbound lead generation is a strategy for reaching out to potential customers who aren’t familiar with your product or service.
Making outbound calls or sending other messages to a specific group of potential leads to generate interest in a company’s products or services and build a sales pipeline is what it entails.
For outbound lead generation, firms can utilize a variety of communication tactics, including phone calls, email marketing, social selling, social media, TV and radio advertisements, direct mail, and more.
Outbound leads are divided into two categories. They are described as follows:
Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
MQL is a customer who has met the bare minimum requirements to keep engaging with the customer to convert down the marketing funnel and pass the customer on to sales for further review and conversion.
Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
Unlike MQL, SQL has indicated budget information, an increase in user interest, company size, the role/company of the lead, the number of employees, or something else relevant to the lead’s industry. You can “fast-track” a new lead from the target list as SQL when running an account-based marketing campaign.
Who generates outbound leads?
Outbound lead generation requires optimizing your content and digital marketing methods to attract the customers you want. This is accomplished through your sales and marketing departments.
Outbound sales team (Sales Reps)
Sales Development Representative (SDR), Marketing Development Representatives (MDRs), and Business Development Managers are all members of the sales team (BDMs). Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) conduct research, contact, and qualify potential leads.
Marketing Development Representative (MDR) follows up on any actions that Marketing-qualified Leads take. Business Development Manager (BDM) is in charge of negotiating deals, presenting live demos, and closing new business.
Outbound marketing team (Marketers)
Content marketers, campaign marketers, and performance marketers make up the marketing team. Each one aids in the generation of outbound leads distinctly. Campaign marketers handle promotional programs via email, television, radio, print, and social media, while content marketers develop compelling content for your target audience. Performance marketers oversee paid advertising and brand marketing.
The top outbound lead generation strategies
Quality leads are generated by well-thought-out and implemented sales and marketing initiatives. There are a variety of approaches that produce positive outcomes.
Generating outbound leads for sales
Cold calling
Because it has been demonstrated to work overtime, cold calling outbound lead generating strategy has been in existence for a long time. Sales development representatives create specific contact lists and then cold-call prospects on that list. The goal is to start building a relationship with the prospect by setting a meeting. Sales development representatives must research the optimum times to call and be well articulate in selling your product or service to execute cold calling correctly.
Outbound email
This is amongst the most worthwhile and practical outbound strategies. Sales development employees use this strategy to send email messages to prospects that stimulate participation and dialogue. The most effective outbound email demonstrates benefits to prospects. Sales development representatives should explain how the product might benefit the prospect’s company.
Social selling
LinkedIn is amongst the most popular platforms for B2B social selling. Sales professionals use their brands to interact with and grow leads. Sharing content and also offering quality to potential buyers are examples of this.
Generating outbound leads for marketing
Campaign marketing
Campaigns can be run in various ways, including online, through social media, via email, and even in print. It’s a type of business-to-business marketing that expands the reach of your company. B2B marketing campaigns have the purpose to reach out to more prospects who probably have not heard of your business before.
Content marketing
Content marketing involves blogs, social media posts, advertisements, etc. These strategies engage customers and turn them into leads by establishing trust and maintaining a relationship with them during the buying process
Paid advertising (PPC)
The performance team is in charge of PPC. It’s a quick approach to establish your brand and put yourself in the view of potential customers who have expressed interest. “Pay-per-click” simply means that you will pay for each click made by a user on your internet advertisements.
Referral
Referral marketing has to do with encouraging existing clients to refer their friends and family to your business. It’s all about converting your clients into brand champions and giving them incentives to spread the word about your business. We have a distinction between an inbound referral and an outbound referral.
Inbound referral: This referral comes to you after hearing about your company from another source. They have qualified leads with a high likelihood of conversion.
Outbound referral: You must make a call to someone whose contact has been provided to you. An inbound referral is more qualified than an outbound referral.
How data impacts outbound lead generation
These sales intelligence solutions enable firms to gain access to all of the data they require, allowing your outbound initiatives to expand and improve.
Data can assist you in identifying new business prospects, determining your total market, and maximizing buyer intent.
Approaching outbound lead generation with a data-driven strategy you’ll be able to regularly achieve and exceed your performance goals by analyzing data to find the best-fit customers and the best times to reach out to them.
The right lead generation method for your business
While outbound strategies aren’t completely dead and still have a place in the B2B marketing and sales mix, inbound has shown to be a much superior foundation for B2B success.
Inbound lead creation is less expensive and easier to get started with, has a smaller risk of failure, and provides compounding returns that reduce costs over time.
Conclusion
Generating B2B outbound leads can be difficult because there are only a few successful tactics that a marketer can employ in their marketing efforts. However, it should not be overlooked in your marketing strategy. To receive the most exposure, your marketing strategy should be a mix of diverse marketing strategies, such as inbound marketing and outbound marketing. Outbound marketing can be a very cost-effective and targeted marketing approach, especially if you are in a very competitive field where inbound requires a significant cost. You only contact and engage leads who are a good fit for your business.