Written by: Vickie Sullivan | October 13, 2016
Webinars: The Bright Shiny Object That Doesn’t Work to Generate Leads
Most of us are clear about what we do and the value we bring. The biggest strategic challenge folks tell me they have: finding the best buyers. That’s why my radar pinged at Ascend2’s 2016 State of Lead Generation report.
The sample isn’t large (fewer than 300), but the makeup is impressive: Half are B2B owners just like us. Over 75% have at least 50 employees. And the data is pretty fresh—from August. Pay attention to these findings:
• Quality over quantity. A whopping 77% cite improving quality of leads as a top priority, with 53% citing that challenge as the biggest barrier to their lead generation success. It’s good to know we are not alone. Many of the larger organizations also struggle with this issue.
Related: Content Marketing That Brings In Leads
• Nurturing drives quality. Almost half (48%) say they have a complex sales cycle with many influencers. These sales require much more nurturing. Think this happens only in large organizations? Anyone who has seen a spouse kill a deal will tell you differently. All stakeholders are buyers now.
• Surprises in last place. While content and email marketing tied for first place (at 45%) for most effective, I was more interested in what came in last: webinars. That’s right: Webinars were just below paid search and online advertising (29% and 30%, respectively.) Perhaps this tactic is the bright shiny object in our industry.
The bottom line: Content marketing is effective but also difficult. (There’s a reason why most companies hire this out.) As more organizations use education to get leads, those who stand out will be more effective. And that’s a brand issue, not a distribution issue.
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