Is New Business one of your top priorities? Is it a key metric on which your marketing team performance is judged?

“From the outset the pipeline looked healthy and during
the programme the conversion has been continually
improving.  Overall the metrics were very positive.”
Director Marketing and Business Development,
Grant Thornton UK LLP

The 2011 B2B Marketing Lead Generation and Lead Nurturing Benchmark Report identified that nearly 90% of B2B Marketers consider New Business Generation a high priority objective for their lead generation activity.

Finding the right approach is critical to getting this right.  There is a whole raft of tools and techniques available to the marketer and what works best will very much depend on each individual company: 

• There is a lot of hype about social media, but is it really the next big thing? 
  
• Traditional channels are making a comeback - they continue to perform well and deliver results.  

Marketers have always recognised that a careful blend of channels and approaches is most effective.  Engaging in a dialog with our prospects is another key element to this success.

The tools for success – are they digital, online, traditional or leading edge?

What’s working for you?  The range of channels, tools and techniques are ever growing and some will inevitably be performing better than others.  Often a channel on which we could rely for great results can deteriorate over time, or demand higher and higher investment to continue to deliver.

Social Media – the new revolution?

It’s the great new buzzword but yet to prove itself in how it will deliver a consistent pipeline of new business leads.

Web – here to stay

Established as a primary point of contact for decision makers but can it always stand alone to deliver high value B2B leads?

Email – quick, cheap and effective

A quick, cheap and measurable alternative to mail, but to be successful with email becomes increasingly challenging as the market matures and mailboxes get to saturation level.

Telemarketing – old hat or tried and trusted

Once written off due to high costs, bad practices and jaded experiences, telemarketing increasingly has a lot to offer  to good New Business Generation, when it's well managed.

Direct Mail – didn’t that go out with the ark?

High costs and the lack of measurability caused a steep decline in utilisation particularly for B2B.  But as email inboxes get overwhelmed mail is making a comeback.

In summary new channels are broadening the range of choices, and digital offerings offer lower cost entry points.  Traditional channels can sometimes be viewed as being prohibitively expensive or too old-fashioned, but marketers are increasing recognising their value as core New Business Generation tools.

So what is the magic formula?

Each channel has its benefits, and its pitfalls.  What works in one business may not be effective in another, indeed what works for one product or solution line may not necessarily be right for another even within the same business.  Indeed will what works now still be delivering in 6 months or a year’s time?

Many marketing teams are structured into channel silos, with campaigns run in isolation and judged on their individual success.  However the reality is that the prospect does not engage in a silo, they will potentially be exposed to multiple channels, and therefore programmes.  Success for one is most likely based on multiple touch points across the mix, and indeed it is exactly this mix that can also lead to failure, if programmes fail to be joined up.

The Newbury Group addresses this challenge for clients and consistently delivers against demanding new business generation targets.  Our Accelerator programmes are individually tailored and continually evolving, recognising the fundamental similarities and unique challenges of individual business models.  What is central and consistent is our 100% focus and success on generating high quality new business leads and appointments now and into the long term with measurable ROI. Explore our website to find out more.