The traditional single-touch marketing and sales models are no longer as effective, particularly in the B2B space. As customer journeys grow more complex, sales and marketing teams must evolve to align better and work cohesively. The multitouch model has emerged as a powerful approach, enabling businesses to interact with potential leads across various touchpoints. This blog explores how multitouch strategies are transforming lead generation and conversion and why businesses should move away from single-touch models.
How does Multitouch transform lead generation and conversion?
The multitouch approach, unlike single-touch strategies, engages prospective buyers at different stages of their journey. By distributing interactions across different channels, businesses can build awareness, nurture relationships, and remain top-of-mind throughout the decision-making process.
This multi-channel approach enhances lead generation by capturing an extensive range of data points, offering an in-depth understanding of the prospect’s interests and behaviors. Armed with this valuable information, sales teams can prioritize leads effectively, increasing conversion rates.
Aligning sales and marketing efforts becomes smoother as both teams can access real-time insights and craft personalized outreach strategies tailored to individual prospects. This enhanced customer experience, built on trust and rapport, increases the likelihood of engagement and conversion.
The multitouch model provides actionable insights that help marketing and sales teams understand which touchpoints are driving conversions. By tracking interactions and analyzing data, teams can continuously improve their strategies, optimize their marketing budget, and refine the sales process.
Why Should B2B Teams Move Away from Single-Touch Strategies?
In an era where buyers are overwhelmed with information, single-touch strategies fail to capture the nuances of a complex buyer’s journey. These strategies focus on one interaction, usually at the beginning or end of the sales cycle, leaving significant gaps in understanding a lead’s full intent.
1. Limited Engagement Opportunities:
Single-touch strategies miss out on multiple opportunities to engage a prospect. A customer may engage with a brand’s content but might not be ready to convert after the first touchpoint. With no follow-up, the potential lead often falls through the cracks. A multitouch model ensures continuous engagement, improving the chances of conversion as each interaction reinforces the brand’s message and value.
2. Lack of Comprehensive Data:
Relying on a single touchpoint means marketers miss valuable information that could be gained from ongoing interactions. This lack of comprehensive data makes it challenging for both sales and marketing teams to make informed decisions. In contrast, multitouch strategies track multiple customer behaviours, providing a complete view of the buyer’s journey and improving alignment between teams.
3. Inflexibility in Adapting to Buyer Behaviour:
Single-touch models fail to adapt to the nonlinear nature of today’s buyer journey. Modern customers often move between various channels before making a purchasing decision. By limiting interaction to one touchpoint, businesses fail to meet customers where they are. Multitouch models, on the other hand, provide flexibility, allowing businesses to engage with prospects at different touchpoints across multiple channels.
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Implementing a Multitouch Lead Generation Approach
Shifting from a single-touch to a multitouch model necessitates a well-directed effort from sales and marketing teams. Here are the essential steps to get started with a multitouch strategy:
1. Map the Customer Journey:
Begin by understanding the various stages of your customer’s buying journey. Classify key touchpoints where target users interact with your brand, whether through email, social media, website visits, or direct sales contact. Mapping these interactions allows your teams to develop relevant content and outreach for each stage.
2. Align Sales and Marketing Teams:
Successful multitouch strategies depend on the alignment between sales and marketing. Both teams must have access to shared data, tools, and metrics. Regular communication is crucial to ensure both departments work together towards common goals. Adopting CRM and marketing automation tools can enhance collaboration and facilitate real-time data sharing between marketing and sales teams.
3. Leverage Data Analytics:
Multitouch strategies thrive on data. By integrating data analytics tools, you can track every customer interaction across multiple channels. Use this data to measure the effectiveness of each touchpoint, understand customer preferences, and optimize campaigns for higher engagement and conversion.
4. Personalize Every Interaction:
Multitouch marketing requires a high level of personalization to be effective. Develop custom content for every stage of the customer journey, offering solutions to your prospect’s specific challenges. Personalized emails, targeted ads, and segmented content can all contribute to a more meaningful and impactful customer experience.
5. Experiment and Iterate:
No multitouch strategy is perfect from the outset. Continually experiment with different channels, messages, and timing to see what resonates best with your audience. Use A/B testing and other analytics tools to streamline your approach and drive ongoing improvement in lead generation and conversion efforts.
Conclusion
As the B2B landscape continues to evolve, multitouch strategies offer a more holistic, data-driven approach to lead generation and conversion. The shift from single-touch to multitouch models enables businesses to engage with prospects across multiple channels, enhancing alignment between sales and marketing teams and driving higher conversion rates. By adopting a multitouch model, businesses can future-proof their lead generation strategies and deliver a superior customer experience.
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