According to a recent Jupiter Research Study, companies that segment their leads can increase their conversion rates up to 355% leading to increased revenues up to 781% (ReachForce)! Segmentation should always be used in order to achieve optimum results.
This piece will discuss lead segmentation, the best ways to segment your leads and discuss why it matters at all.
B2B LEAD SEGMENTATION
No one likes to be spammed with an abundance of junk that doesn’t fit their needs or wants. Business professionals and companies dislike being spammed even more because it wastes time during their busy working schedules.
Segmentation allows you to define who gets what and when. This will allow you to fit the right people with the right product or service you are promoting. Your clients and prospects will appreciate the personalized message and you will get better results because those who are reading your message will actually be more interested.
5 BEST WAYS TO SEGMENT YOUR B2B LEADS
As mentioned it is important to get the right message, product or service in front of the right buyers and right kinds of companies. This is why there is such a thing as lead segmentation and more importantly for this piece, B2B lead segmentation. Listed below are the 5 Best Ways to Segment for B2B Leads:
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Industry
Sorting by industry can act as a top level filter for B2B segmentation. It is a good way to narrow down your results even further and target people specifically by industry amongst other factors.
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Prospect Role/Title
This filter is crucial to get your product or service in front of the right person. So many times your communication never makes it past the front desk person to the decision maker. By being able to sort by role, you can specifically speak to the person receiving the communication. Your response rate will go up tremendously if you are speaking directly to the person instead of sending them a generic communication.
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Geography
Being able to filter by geography can impact your results tremendously. Narrowing down by geography can help you focus on regions that have produced well for you in the past or areas that fit your target market well, areas with more money than others, etc.
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Company Size & Revenue
When trying to promote a solution for your prospect or client don’t present something that would better fit a large company when they are a small business. In addition, you do not want to present your most expensive solution if their budget is going to be much smaller due to the revenue they bring in. Be conscious of these two key facts and present the option that makes most sense.
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People Who Completed An Action
Filter your results by those who have completed some sort of action on your website. Have they watched a video, filled out a form or even shared your info with a friend? Knowing these statistics will help you personalize your messages to each unique visitor or prospect.
BONUS TIPS: Here are a couple more that are equally important to your B2B lead segmentation success.
- Bonus #1– People Stuck in The Sales Pipeline – A great way to rejuvenate old leads is to sort and filter by those who have been in the pipeline for a longer length of time. Send them a targeted message or another form of targeted communication to try and get them back moving through the pipeline again.
- Bonus #2– Lead Score – As you may know, a lead score is a way for your company to quantify the quality of each lead and rank them by importance or urgency. Sorting by this score can help you prioritize leads based on interest in your product or service. It can also allow you to change the message they receive based on their interest level as well.
WHY LEAD SEGMENTATON IS IMPORTANT
All companies generate B2B leads from marketing efforts; tradeshows, online marketing, content marketing, social media, etc. Not all companies handle those leads with the same amount of care or get the best results from them. Proper lead segmentation is what can set yourself apart from your competitors. It is the one fact that can boost your lead conversion rates like no other form of marketing or tactic you could put into place.
FINAL THOUGHTS
B2B sales leads come from all types of companies in many different forms but more importantly, they come from all stages in the sales purchasing cycle. Segmenting your leads can help you filter for that fact and so much more. Increase your results by implementing a B2B lead segmentation program.
“The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who actually do.” – Steve Jobs