Galileo Galilei (better known by his first name) was a scientist. He lived between 1564 and 1642 and, in addition to being a scientist, was also a mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and even a philosopher. Einstein even called Galileo the “father of modern science.” One of Galileo’s most important contributions was to prove his theories to science through the use of controlled experiments. So perhaps Galileo should indeed be called the “father of modern experiments.”
Before the advent of digital marketing tools, marketers measured response using unique phone numbers, redeemed coupons, and the sale of specific promotions. Today's digital tools make it much easier to test response, thereby pushing failed tactics out of the market. These new tactics often generate a significant ROI, which can have a major impact on lead generation.
Because the marketing world was inspired by Galileo, five of his experiments for lead generation in B2B marketing are listed below.
Lead Generation: Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC)
PPC works very well for certain companies. However, it does require a lot of courage, patience, resources, and expertise. Furthermore, it is highly measurable, and by closely monitoring the results, marketers can very effectively study which campaigns perform best. This allows you to quickly see which campaigns are not performing well, so that you do not incur unnecessary costs.
Lead Generation: Multivariate Testing
Galileo's research gathered information that modern scientists would today call “experimental” and “control” data. The two types of information are highly comparable; with the exception of the experimental group, the key variables were changed to see what influences the differences relative to the outcomes. Marketers should actually proceed in exactly the same way regarding the effect of landing pages. Testing combinations of headlines, copying layouts, photos, and even colors can have a drastic impact on the results.
Lead generation: Trying different offers
Everyone loves a big discount, whether it is a trial offer, an exclusive offer, or an extra discount. The point is that you test the offer. For example, if you are interested in generating leads and you are in a B2B environment, test free information in exchange for a free initial consultation. Which offer generates the most leads, and which offer provides the highest quality for a lead?
Lead generation: Applying new media to old methods
Marketers use mail pieces and other certainties and bring these traditional media back into the 21st century.th century by integrating them into the social marketing strategy. For example, add your Twitter details to the contact information or ask people to “like” your brand page on Facebook. These measures can also apply to radio, television, and other “traditional” lead generation methods.
Lead Generation: Try a New Approach to Social Media
A large part of Galileo's work involved observation and measurement. For example, the brightness of stars, the speed of falling objects, and the weight of objects. If he had been a modern B2B marketer, he would undoubtedly be very happy measuring the ROI of social media. After all, social media can be a powerful source for lead generation. For instance, you can experiment with a new method for social media by basing it on your core values. You could, for instance, investigate the quality and quantity of traffic you receive via a specific social media channel. Do you find that visitors via Google+ generate a higher number of traffic? Then it might be time to invest more time in that social media branch.
Finally, two indispensable pieces on lead generation.
First, measure everything very carefully. Second, make sure you know the average age of a customer. The last point will help you determine your ROI regarding lead generation experiments.