Every year, digital marketing and B2B lead generation spheres are always abuzz with predictions. Google is always in one’s mind, because it’s the kingmaker on the Web. But if you go through all the buzz and unnecessary noise of predictions every single time, you will come to understand that digital marketing and lead generation will always operate on a single, measurable goal. And that goal is attracting and keeping customers. That’s really it.

But this is the desirable outcome only: it’s not the process. It might sound like it’s part of the process, but it’s actually what takes place after you have done your job in generating leads for your business. If you haven’t outsourced your lead generation efforts say to agencies like RankLeads, there is a good chance that you need to read today’s most pressing guidelines on better lead generation for businesses. Let’s start.

1. Forms

No matter how high tech things get on the Web, it appears that electronic forms still hold sway because people still don’t mind filling them up, and actually working on forms gives people the satisfaction of knowing exactly what they are inputting and giving a website in the first place. While there are definitely numerous other solutions out there like live chat and chatbots, a staggering 74% of marketers still rely mainly on electronic forms for generating leads.

Quizzes and surveys bring up the rear at 54%, while the least used are chatbots. 49% of digital marketers state that their use of electronic forms (in combination with other lead capture methods) has resulted in higher lead generation outputs.

This means that while newer technologies are helping capture leads, perhaps people are just more likely to provide necessary information for lists using an older method that looks familiar. Familiarity is a huge thing on the Web, and it’s no surprise that at least three generations of users on the Web are comfortable with the venerable electronic form.

2. Tests, tests, and more tests

Not to make things gloomy at all, but it’s a known fact that not many marketers like running tests on their forms. There are three main types of user testing processes for general digital marketing and lead generation: form testing and analytics, A/B testing or split testing, and user testing.

User testing is measuring how well users are able to do something for you once you’ve asked them to do it. For example, let’s say that you want them to use your chatbot service. You leave a popup that gives the user a neat graphic and a CTA so they can click the hovering button of the chatbot. It’s neat in theory, but just how much of your traffic is actually doing it?

Sadly, 36% of marketers say that they don’t do testing of their lead capture tools or solutions at all. For instance, there is no information on the drop-off rate when filling up forms, which is basic information if you think about it.

A staggering 45% of marketers also say that A/B testing or split testing isn’t in their vocabulary when they do their campaigns, launch their landing pages, etc. This is a terrible situation for the rest of the marketers, but definitely something we can learn from: because we now know the actual stats, there is no reason to keep ignoring the need for testing.
A bit of good news: marketers who say they have done testing experience 15% more satisfaction with their campaigns and up to 19% more satisfaction with the actual results of their efforts (mainly, their conversions).

And here’s another surprising statistic: the more people tested their landing pages, forms, ads, and whatnot, the more they did it and the more they were satisfied. You would think that people would become more dissatisfied when they see those drop-off rates increasing right?

But if you evaluate the conditions from a more objective point of view, you will easily see that the more you test, the better off you will be, and ultimately, the more profit you will have because you keep changing what needs to be changed in the first place.

What does this all teach us? Easy: that the more data-driven your decisions are when performing your lead generation efforts or digital marketing efforts, the better off you will be. So whether you are trying to generate more Web design leads or SEO leads, the choice is yours: test and derive your data or stick to what may not work well in the long term. And we know that everyone is always looking at the long term and near-permanent gains.

3. Chatbots

Chatbots are all the rage now – but have people stopped to ask why customers are gravitating toward chatbots? According to current statistics, customers tend to use chatbots more than apps because of the following reasons:

– They are able to get fast answers to common questions about products and services.
– They no longer have to wait in a queue when calling customer support and they can get some information they need by simply relying on a chatbot, which is connected with a prepared knowledge base.
– It is more convenient to simply talk to a chatbot and go directly to the problem.
– Registering complaints have become easier and there are no looping processes and long wait times, compared to calling in just to register the complaint for the first time.
– It is possible to get straight, expert answers from a chatbot.

Now obviously for some of the issues and problems that pop up after sales, you will need a human most of the time at the other end of the line. But if the issue is gathering information and making sure that complaints are at least registered for later viewing by a representative, you have chatbots at your beck and call. So are chatbots really a good investment for your website? Definitely – and the statistics tell it all.