B2B lead generation is not an easy task. Its implementation is complicated by the characteristic nuances of complex niches: a long transaction cycle, limited demand, a relatively narrow audience, and a number of others.
In addition, over time, traffic channels dry up. It also happens that a company cannot use standard sources for one reason or another.
How to understand that it's time to use additional traffic channels
It's time to look for new sources of customer acquisition if:
There is no direct demand. For example, you can't reach your target audience through direct commercial queries or standard traffic channels. Either it seems to you that the auctions are overheated, the traffic from advertising has become prohibitively expensive, or the entire limit for contextual advertising and organic search results has been exhausted;
Your field is characterized by a long decision-making cycle, that is, you need to make several touches with the client to make a decision in your favor;
there is a need for brand development and work on company recognition on the Internet;
For one reason or another, standard lead generation channels are not suitable for you.
If at least one point correlates with your situation, then lead generation using non-standard channels should be considered as a growth point.
How to choose the right channels and reduce the risk of error
Channel selection is a critical step that needs to be addressed.
We advise you to stick to the following plan to choose the ones that will be most effective in your case
form a list of key queries, both directly related to your product, for example, "buy an elevator", and related to the target audience and its interests/needs, for example, "electrical installation of multi-storey buildings";
conduct a competitor analysis: study the search results for brand demand, as well as for queries from point 1;
collect a list of them;
filter and analyze each site;
Formulate a pool of hypotheses for each channel. Find out what promotion tools are available on them and build a strategy for each site;
Go to the site and test the existing hypotheses in practice.
Site analysis: what to pay special attention to
As practice shows, it is definitely worth studying:
the target audience, because the top of the search results can include, for example, both academic and legal portals;
geography of activity, if our business is geo-dependent. It is necessary that the site is active in your region of presence;
advertising opportunities. If the site appears in the search for queries that are important to you, but there is no possibility of natural access to it or there are no promotion tools, then most likely you should abandon it;
Top search results. Pay attention to which sites are issued by Yandex and Google. Keep in mind that entering these sites is not a strict requirement: it happens that the first page is reliably "occupied" by competitors. This situation is not hopeless, it is just worth choosing a different approach;
selection of a category, which is also not always obvious. For example, there may be no ads for the sale of 1C licenses in goods on Avito because they were placed in the service category. This is a feature of products that imply product + implementation installation. Take this nuance into account both when selecting and when placing it. The presence of the product and the demand for it are not always obvious on B2B marketplaces either;
the reputation of the platform, which is extremely important if you are building a brand. It should correlate with the level of your audience, for example, yellow press is unlikely to be suitable for B2B clients. Also, do not forget to study the content of the sites from the point of view of legislation, so that the exit does not play harmful.
And do not forget about the purpose of business promotion: if the site seems to be "good in everything", but placement on it will not bring you closer to achieving the goal, then this is a reason to think.