5 Lead Generation Strategies for Software Startups

 

Here's how startup software developers can easily and affordably cultivate leads.

As a startup software developer, you have a lot on your plate. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if you are currently juggling the roles of a coder, manager, marketing, sales, and HR. With so much going on, finding the time to generate leads and nurture them can be difficult, and yet it’s imperative that you do so. Honestly, even established companies with dedicated sales and marketing teams and big budgets have trouble with leads. Fortunately, there are some actions you can take that have a low cost (or none at all), require little time, and produce some results.

DevPro Journal recently spoke with Nick D’Alessio, a Sr. Business Development Manager with Brother Mobile Solutions. D’Alessio has years of experience in creating sales and marketing programs that deliver results, and he shared some actionable advice to help you cultivate some leads.

1. Lean on your hardware partners

“Partnering with manufacturers and doing joint marketing activities such as website landing pages or contributing web content is a great way for ISVs to drive leads,” he says. “Manufacturers often have larger marketing budgets and other resources that can help expand an ISV’s reach in their respective industry segment. Manufacturers are eager to work with ISVs in this way because it is mutually beneficial. In many cases, this is at little to no cost to ISVs other than time coordinating and planning.”

2. Create case studies

“ISVs control the solution and have customers that are successfully deploying a given solution,” says D’Alessio. “Working with end-user customers and hardware manufacturers to create and evangelize the success story case study carries more weight than ANY other lead generation vehicle. Hardware manufacturers will usually contribute to costs associated with creating assets, whether it is a case study, brochures, or video testimonial.”

3. Let your partners do the nurturing

“One strategy that has worked very successfully for us is compensating the individual ISV directly for doing nothing more than emailing referrals directly to our outside sales reps,” he says. “Many ISVs do not want or cannot spend time dealing with the hardware complexities. They just want to sell their software. However, one easy technique is merely emailing hardware referrals to hardware partner companies and let them take it from there. Getting compensated for doing nothing more than sending an email is simple to do and takes very little time.”

4. Leverage social media relationships

“Actively participating in social media to make others aware of successful business solutions, and hardware partnerships is a great way to drive awareness and create leads,” he says. “Best of all it’s free. Keep it genuine and brief. Hardware manufacturers who may have a large following on social media are happy to re-tweet, like or repost such posts, enlarging the reach.”

5. Exhibit at trade shows on the cheap

“ISVs should seek to participate in the right trade shows for their respective industry,” he says. “Most trade shows are hardware vendor heavy, and light on ISVs, so many manufacturers will welcome ISVs participating in their booth, bringing a real solution alive. This draws customer prospects and provides great visibility of both hardware and software.” 

https://www.devprojournal.com/software-development-trends/sales/5-lead-generation-strategies-for-software-startups/

15 lead generation strategies for 2021

Generating high-quality leads has never been so important for B2B organizations and the way we do it is evolving. Our lead generation experts have pulled together 15 tips for executing the most effective lead generation strategies ahead of 2021. Use these ideas to fuel your plan and future-proof your new business strategy.

1. Look back on 2020

Start by reflecting on what worked for your business in 2020 — and, most importantly, what didn’t. It’s been a year of uncertainty, with lots of changes in the B2B world — and to always be improving in the future, we need to learn from marketing activity of the
past.

2. Stop relying on events for lead generation

Networking events have been a reliable source of new business leads for as long as every marketer can remember. The past few months have showcased that
this won’t always be possible — and ensuring you have a plan B that caters to a digital-first and remote working audience is vital.

3. Put your website at the center of your strategy

For too long, B2B marketers have ignored the power of their websites. In 2021, your business website is the B2B equivalent of the high-street shop window. So, yours needs to be a central-focus of your strategy — a hub of engaging content that keeps your visitors coming back for more.

4. You have access to a world of data — use it!

To generate the best leads, you need to know exactly who your audience is and what they best respond to. From your existing customers and your website
analytics, to your one-time website visitors and your digital marketing campaign results — you have a bounty of vital data at your fingertips.

5. Up the ante on your digital outbound marketing

Outbound marketing tactics work quietly in the background of your online strategy to build brand awareness and drive traffic to your website. While we should always focus on quality leads over quantity, a well-executed and well-researched outbound marketing strategy can work wonders when it comes to converting your website leads.

6. Get savvy on social media

Social media can introduce you to thousands of new leads — so make your presence count. Boost engagement with stories and live videos; build relationships through influencer, affiliate and partner marketing campaigns; experiment with social selling and employee advocacy — and capitalize on this engagement by directing every post back to your website.

7. The power of personalization

With great data comes great responsibility — so if you know what your audiences want, you need to be personalizing your marketing output to meet their specific needs. Start by personalizing landing pages and URLS; segment your audience by industry, and embrace personalization software to deliver bespoke experiences at scale.

8. Track your website performance and visitor behavior with analytics

If you’re not already using a website analytics tool, you could be missing out on hordes of opportunities to improve your site and engage your visitors. Analytics will help you see where your website needs enhancing, show you your best-performing pages, highlight your top referer channels and more.

9. Optimize your site for conversions

Using your analytics, implement a conversion-rate optimization (CRO) strategy that encourages each and every website visitor to convert. From the way your site looks and where you place your calls-to-action, to the colors you use and the length of your forms, every element plays a crucial role in converting traffic.

10. Recognize the changing world of SEO

To generate leads in 2021, you must first optimize your website to meet the online search needs of B2B buyers. SEO has changed — from an increase in voice, visual and mobile search, to the growing demand for SERP Position Zero, there’s a lot to consider. Don’t get left behind!

11. Always automate where possible

To prepare your B2B lead generation plan for all eventualities, automation software is the way forward. Whether you’re looking to eliminate the need for manual input, save time, speed up or enhance your existing processes, personalize your communications, or amplify your lead generation marketing results, there’s an automation solution for your business.

12. Interactive content: the ultimate lead magnet

Static content will soon be a thing of the past — with the demand for interactivity at an all-time high. Interactive content is a great way to generate new
business leads, especially if your website or product can’t offer on-site purchases. Increase engagement with surveys, quizzes, tool kits and more.

13. Implement a ‘real-time’ response culture

B2B buyers are consumers in their personal lives — and consumers demand immediacy. We’re used to instant responses from chatbots; we expect hyperfast
replies, next day delivery and real-time updates. Your follow-up approach to leads needs to cater to this — and a company-wide culture of immediacy is the only sure-fire way.

14. Go ‘video-first’ to meet the needs of new B2B buyers

From short-form social media videos to interactive webinars, it’s no secret the video marketing has been a huge part of 2020. Try gating longer-form, engaging video content to generate leads and vital contact information, while enticing viewers with quick-fire trailers, animated visuals or gifs, and video snippets on social media.

15. Discover Lead Forensics

With lead generation technology working seamlessly across your website, you’ll transform every website visitor into a lead on arrival. Lead Forensics, for example, helps you maximize the return from your lead generation, eliminating the need for on-site conversions and enriching your outreach with the most accurate contact and firmographic data.

Lead Forensics is intelligent B2B lead generation software that reveals the identity of your previously anonymous website visitors to instantly generate business leads. It works by utilizing intelligent reverse website visitor tracking technology and a global leading database of business IP addresses to track your website visitors, reveal their identity and notify you in real-time. Users are provided with the business name, contact details of key decision-makers and detailed website analytics. This way, you have everything you need to reach out to the right person, with the right information, at just the right time. Book your Lead Forensics demonstration today!

Source   @ https://www.leadforensics.com/15-lead-generation-strategies-for-2021/

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