Lead generation: the most important trends in 2016

LEAD GENERATION Three experts provide information on their biggest challenges in 2015 and the hurdles they have set themselves for 2016. There are also tips on trends in the area of lead generation.FROM IVANO CELIA*The boundary between sales/distribution and marketing is fluid and seamless in modern lead generation. The fact that practically all lead generation providers offer performance-based pricing is also extremely exciting for clients. Apparently, however, such lead providers still often seem to fall on deaf ears in the market on this topic. This is astonishing. Lead generation is one of the hottest topics from an entrepreneur's point of view, because it can be used to plan turnover, DB and net profit and much more. Anyone who has filled their sales pipeline with leads (prospective customers), regularly replenishes it and achieves an appropriate closing rate has no worries about growth. Quite the opposite. The boundary is not only fluid or seamless within company divisions such as sales and marketing, but also in terms of offline and online measures. Offline, lead generation plays a role in telemarketing, customer care, help desk and telephone service. Online, the topic is relevant for inbound & content marketing, online advertising/promotion, programmatic marketing, affiliate, lead nurturing (mail), search engine advertising (SEA), search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing automation.What was your biggest challenge in the area of lead generation in 2015?KURT SCHWENDENER I think it certainly started with creating awareness among customers that standard branding advertising materials and landing pages cannot be used for performance and lead campaigns, but that something independent must be used that is clearly designed and optimized for lead generation. Performance and branding complement each other perfectly and should not be in opposition, but should work together. Why? Because the disciplines complement each other perfectly, together create the broadest possible advertising coverage and neither discipline can replace the other.I also saw it as a challenge to convince the user to react to the advertising, even though in most cases (apart from Google Adwords etc.) the user has neither waited for the advertising nor has the time and often has no intention to buy.VITO PUNTILLO In the area of lead generation, the lack of resources and time was certainly the biggest challenge.IVANO CELIA There is hardly any area (B2B or B2C), industry or company where lead generation via online channels would not work. This is logical in and of itself, because ultimately there is hardly anything that is not searched for and researched online. But it is also no longer so easy to get hold of the right users. Depending on how a market develops, the demands on companies are very high because corresponding expectations are raised on the user side. Content marketing and lead generation have long since become a race for some industries, but there is still enormous potential, especially in the B2B sector. The intelligent linking of offline (outbound) and online (inbound) as well as the development of meaningful and effective processes within integrated communication are certainly high schools and challenges that a company can hardly master on its own without outside help. This was a major challenge in 2015 and is likely to remain so this year.What are your wishes for 2016 in the area of lead generation?VITO PUNTILLO I primarily want to achieve greater reach via my own communication system, reach more customers in a "targeted" way and build customer relationships. This strategy should then clearly also have a positive effect on sales.IVANO CELIA Professionalization and structuring are still in their infancy and I would like to see more attention from entrepreneurs and decision-makers on this topic, because it means growth potential for companies. With new disciplines, it is always difficult to get the necessary resources spoken for, after all, the daily business has to be managed. Getting enough attention and time slots for this from customers is a challenge that we have to face together time and again. Lead generation in and of itself is an old topic that is entering a new era thanks to new methodological and technological possibilities for linking offline and online.KURT SCHWENDENER I hope that customers will be open to integrating this into their marketing mix and recognizing it as an important component. However, this is only possible if the correct and professional handling of lead data is guaranteed. Generating leads is one thing, but converting them into customers is another, and I hope that publishers will create placements and offers so that they can also be active in this area (and offer opportunities). Of course, without having to cannibalize their branding placements, but to create additional income for themselves.What are the relevant trends in lead generation in 2016?IVANO CELIA At the moment, most marketing professionals are talking about content marketing. I understand their focus on lead generation and lead nurturing as inbound marketing. I assume that many companies will increasingly discover inbound marketing for themselves. This requires the implementation of methodical online marketing and the use of marketing automation for lead nurturing. The biggest challenge remains recruiting the right users in the desired quantity and quality (traffic) and qualifying them for conversions, contextual and lifecycle marketing. The coordination of PULL and PUSH mechanisms is more important than ever, as purchasing processes have shifted in favor of online and mobile, but the mechanisms of purchasing decisions remain the same. People are people. We are still at the very beginning of mapping the disciplines of lead generation offline and online and linking them intelligently. At the end of the day, however, the client is only interested in getting quality leads and deals. All providers are required to offer smart and marketable complete solutions that are modular and scalable.VITO PUNTILLO I think companies will intensify their social media activities and focus more on search engine and content marketing.KURT SCHWENDENERThis is clearly the use of the right technologies. A campaign can only be carried out successfully if the right technologies and existing know-how are used. Be it at the level of optimization, analysis or final reporting.