Lead management is an integral part of any sales process. Whether you’re trying to generate new business or keep your current clientele happy, you must have a system in place to generate leads, qualify them, and set up appointments for your sales representatives. While lead management is a complex process, the fundamentals are the same regardless of whether you’re in B2C or B2B sales. When you’re generating leads for B2C sales, it’s often a case of getting in front of the right person and ensuring that you have a solution for their needs.
B2B lead generation is very different from B2C lead generation. When selling to consumers, the objective is usually to get an appointment—often over the phone—. In contrast, when selling to businesses, the aim is usually to generate an email or a phone call where the salesperson can then build on the opportunity and move it towards a sale. The B2B lead generation process is much more complex than B2C lead generation and involves a variety of different strategies and tactics.
What is B2B lead management?
When it comes to generating B2B sales leads, few marketing channels can match the power and efficiency of lead management. By working with a dedicated lead management expert, your sales team can stay focused on closing deals and closing them fast, while your marketing team can generate more B2B sales leads. But what is B2B lead management, exactly? It’s a mix of activities and processes designed to help B2B sales teams find and close more high-quality leads than ever before.
B2B lead management is turning website visitors into sales-ready leads. It includes creating an acquisition strategy, designing a lead generation website, creating and marketing lead-generating content, and closing the loop to make sure you’re capturing and responding to your customers’ needs. B2B leads are often generated through content marketing, such as blog posts, email courses, eBooks, and white papers.
What is B2C lead management?
B2C lead management refers to the process of generating and qualifying sales leads for business-to-consumer sales activities. Salespeople use various techniques to generate new B2C sales leads, including generating referrals and contacts from current customers, advertising and direct marketing, and cold calling. After a sales lead has been generated, the salesperson must qualify the lead to determine whether it fits their business. Qualifying a B2C sales lead typically involves calling or emailing the potential customer to assess the sales potential, the buying authority, and the need for the offered product or service.
How B2B lead management is different from B2C lead management?
- Sales Cycle Length
The B2B sales cycle is significantly longer than the B2C sales cycle. This means that B2B lead management is different from B2C lead management in terms of the sales cycle length. In B2C, the sales cycle can be as short as a single interaction with the customer. B2B, on the other hand, requires several interactions over a while before the sale is closed. Sales cycles in B2C usually involve fewer people than sales cycles in B2B and are often limited to one or two people.
- Unique Content
B2B and B2C lead management require different strategies and processes to succeed. For example, B2B lead management is focused on generating leads through content marketing and brand awareness. B2C lead management, on the other hand, is focused on generating sales through advertising and sales calls.
In B2C, you can rely on a steady stream of search engine traffic, which means you can focus on managing the flow of leads coming in. In B2B, you can’t rely on search engine traffic, which means you need to get creative in finding new ways to generate leads. This can require a different approach to lead management, which is tailored to the unique content you produce for B2B.
- Audience Scope
B2B lead management is a complex process involving various stakeholders from sales and marketing to IT and support. For example, the sales process is often complex and involves many handoffs and communication to close a deal. In a B2C setting, the marketing department is often responsible for generating leads, so it’s easier to understand the audience scope. In B2B, the audience scope is more complicated because it involves a variety of departments and stakeholders.
- Main Goal
When it comes to B2B lead generation, B2C lead generation is quite different. While B2C sales are focused on closing sales and generating revenue, B2B sales are focused on building relationships and generating long-term revenue. Because of this, the main goal of B2B lead generation is different from the main goal of B2C lead generation. While B2C lead generation is focused on closing sales as quickly as possible, B2B lead generation is focused on generating long-term revenue by building relationships with prospective clients.
- How are the products sold?
B2B and B2C lead management are very different in sales and marketing. In B2C, the products are usually sold on a transaction basis, such as buying groceries or making a purchase at a store. In B2B, however, the products are usually sold on a relationship basis, such as buying computer equipment from a manufacturer or purchasing consulting services from a consulting firm. This has a huge impact on lead management because, in B2B, the sales process will often involve a longer sales cycle and a lot more hand-holding than in B2C sales.
- Product Knowledge
As a B2B company, one of the most important skills that you need as a product manager is product knowledge. You need to know all the ins and outs of your product, how different features work and what problems each one solves. This is why B2B lead management is focused more on building and strengthening the relationship between the product team and the sales team, and less on closing sales. In B2C lead management, on the other hand, closing sales is the name of the game.
- Interaction
Lead management in B2B sales is different from B2C lead management in terms of the nature of the interaction between a salesperson and a customer. In B2B sales, the salesperson has a much deeper interaction with the customer than in B2C sales. This depth of interaction gives the salesperson a better sense of the customer’s needs, which enables the salesperson to build a much more comprehensive sales presentation. Meanwhile, the customer can get answers to questions much more quickly.