B2B Lead Blog

I read two articles by Kate Maddox in BtoB Magazine that discuss the relative importance of lead generation.  Both articles lead me to conclude that that lead generation will continue to be a growth imperative for B2B companies in 2005. 

Marketers to stress customer acquisition in 2005
A study of 300 marketers in an exclusive BtoB survey, "2005 Marketing Priorities and Plans," showed that, "Brand awareness was cited by 17.5% of respondents as their primary marketing goal…other marketing goals for 2005 are lead generation (16.4%) and customer retention (7.7%)."

I don’t get it.  Why is brand awareness a top priority for marketers when CEO’s consistently rank ROI measurement as their number one marketing imperative?  See CMO’s losing influence at the executive table

B2B Marketers Must Stop Copying B2C

B2B marketers must to stop copying their B2C colleagues who sell consumer brands.  I’m still searching (in vain it seems) to find a 100%B2B focused study that shows a correlation between brand awareness and improved return on marketing investment (ROMI).  Until then, I can only conclude that it is simply not a priority for serious study. 

I’d appreciate a little help from my B2B branding/advertising friends…set me straight.  Yes, already I know there is plenty of data and research on B2C and consumer brand marketing – I feel like I’ve read most of it.   

Combine Brand Awareness with Lead Generation

In Mac McIntosh’s speech at the SF B2B Lead Generation Summit he stated, "marketers should try to generate both leads and brand awareness at the same time. To do this B2B marketers must stop advertising only for the sake of brand awareness and make sure all their ads have a clear call to action to generate inquiries."  I agree with him, it’s much easier to measure inquiries (BRC cards etc.) than it is to measure eyeballs. 

Study shows new business development needs attention

My thoughts on the same study
U.S. Companies Are Severely Mismanaging Lead Generation

Current Affairs, Lead Generation, Marketing Strategy, ROI Measurement, Sales Leads