Doing Business In the Attention Economy
How long after waking up do you check your mobile? Probably not long. First thing in the morning someone is vying for your attention. The reality is people have only so much attention to give. Nonetheless, businesses are constantly battling to catch the eyes and ears of potential customers. Some call this the “Attention Economy,” meaning that attention is a precious resource that drives markets.
Relationship building is the foundation of winning potential customers in the Attention Economy. It holds true for B2C businesses, and B2B, as well. With so much information at their fingertips, potential customers research and form opinions on brands and products well before contact is made with a salesperson and enter what’s called the customer journey. So when a potential customer does make contact with a salesperson they want something more than last century’s sales pitch. They want to trust your brand and feel good about buying what you’re selling. It’s on you to earn that trust and build a relationship with each customer.
The Customer Journey
Customer journeys vary across businesses and industries, but managing the journey is key to turning a prospect into a satisfied customer. And every journey started more than likely morphs into a lead for someone. This initial stage of the game is where you want to be in that initial pool of companies being considered.
This is why lead generation is critical. Without leads, your marketers have nobody to market to, and your sales teams have no buyers. Sounds obvious? And yet, 68% of B2B companies are struggling with lead generation, and only 13% of businesses describe their lead generation strategies as successful.
Lead generation isn’t about rounding up all the leads you can and forwarding them to your sales team, especially leads purchased from a list broker. It’s about finding quality leads, prospects that are seeking your solution set, that you can nurture into relationships. Quality leads improve your chances of turning prospects into sales and growing your business.
Next, we offer advice on with those leads once you’ve attracted them.
