Marketing to the industrial sector is a totally different beast than consumer marketing.
First off, the products you’re trying to sell may be quite technical and complex. Most of them probably require customization and tweaks in the design in order to suit specific buyers.
Secondly, industrial buyers have an immense amount of industry knowledge. If your marketing doesn’t speak to them in the same type of jargon and demonstrate — in specific terms — how the product is superior to others, then it won’t be received very well.
Thirdly, large-scale industrial sales aren’t closed in a matter of hours. (Compare this to, let’s say, buying a pair of winter boots). In some cases, a company might even shortlist a few suppliers and then request sealed quotes or bids. A competitive process then takes place, with the lowest bid typically accepted.
With all that being said, does cold calling really work when it comes to generating new leads for your B2B business?
The short answer is, that in the age of the internet, cold calling is an outdated strategy that won’t do much to drive your sales needle. You’re better off investing those resources elsewhere.
But let’s take a closer look.
Your B2B Researcher Is Now Online
In a 2015 study, Google revealed that 89% of B2B buyers turn to the internet at the beginning of their research process.
What’s more, they conduct, on average, 10 searches before landing on a potential supplier’s site to investigate more thoroughly.
In 2014, when this data was collected, Google saw that the number of millennial B2B researchers had increased by 70% compared to the previous two years. People in the 18-34 age bracket comprised 46% of all B2B researchers, making it the largest demographic.
In an updated 2017 study, Google essentially confirmed that millennial influence has completely changed the way businesses go about their purchasing decisions.
While in the past, salespeople relied on personal relationships and referrals to grow their network and company brand, B2B buyers today simply don’t want to interact with a human sales rep until they’re getting close to finalizing the deal.
This represents a significant change from the way these interactions were handled previously. Today, industry events, trade shows, and other human elements involved in reaching your target consumer need to be deprioritized.
This doesn’t mean that these things are totally redundant and unnecessary, but rather that they just can’t take precedence over your inbound marketing efforts.
How Do You Get B2B Buyers’ Attention?
Right off the bat, your industrial marketing strategy must include inbound lead generation methodologies.
Let’s illustrate this with an example. Say you’re an industrial dealer for Caterpillar construction and mining equipment. Your prospective customers definitely know about the brand you represent, but they want to engage in further research about its effectiveness compared to rival products.
In the past, this may have compelled the B2B researcher to pick up the phone and call one of their buddies at another firm. However, thanks to the internet, all buyers have to do now is type this search query in Google:
What exactly does the “volume” figure represent? That’s the estimated amount of people conducting this specific search query every month — not bad, for such a niche category.
Now, let’s check out the search results:
Out of the top seven search results, at last five are pages and blogs directly comparing the two brands and their products. While your buddy may have had time for a quick 5-minute conversation and a cursory overview of how their Komatsu equipment fared, the internet will give you troves of data instantly.
As a researcher, which method would you prefer?
Start by getting into the heart of your target consumer. Try to understand their problems and possible business search queries. But don’t market to them in a bland, boring way. Bring your brand to life by using snappy visuals and infographics. Yes, your industrial marketing must be technically and factually accurate, but there’s no harm in trying to make it aesthetically pleasing as well.
You’ve Gotten B2B Buyers’ Attention … Now What?
Once a potential buyer visits your B2B site, it’s crucial to get them to convert.
This means convincing them to hand over contact information like an email address or phone number. You’ll want this for your sales team.
But should you cold call them at this stage? Not yet.
As your B2B researchers progress further into the buyer journey, it’s a good idea to present them with retargeting ads.
Website visitors subjected to retargeting ads once they leave are 70% likelier to convert. This will help your brand stay top of mind as buyers scour the web for more information.
Only call them when they’ve moved down the sales funnel and are in a position to buy.
Cold Calling in the B2B Industrial Space
To recap: Cold calling just isn’t a valuable B2B tactic anymore. You’ll only be annoying your potential customers by doing so. Instead, entice them to come to you.
Phone calls are ineffective unless you’re convinced a customer is a warm lead. And the best way to determine that? Through inbound marketing.