Lead generation profiles can be a highly effective way to create targeted lead campaigns, working alongside your lead scoring efforts to provide a deeper level of personalisation. Much like buyer personas help B2C brands, lead profiles help B2B brands, creating a deep, insightful snapshot of your ideal client.
Among the benefits that can be enjoyed by customer profiles, you can expect to see better results from your lead nurturing efforts, along with a simplified approach that saves a great deal of time and effort. You can also enjoy savings in costs, as you do not waste time or money on leads that are not likely to convert.
How do you go about creating profiles for your ideal leads? Let’s take a look.
How to Create Lead Generation Profiles
Ultimately, lead generation profiles come down to identifying your best and worst customers and then evaluating the things that each has in common. From this, you will be able to determine the type of customer that offers the most value as well as the type of customer that provides the least value.
Identify your best customers
The first step is to identify your top five customers. These are the customers that provide the biggest value in terms of revenue and profit. They could also include those who you genuinely enjoy doing business with as well, however. Make a list of your top customers, with clear reasons on why they are in your top five list.
Identify your worst customers
The next step is to identify your worst five customers. These are the customers who generate the lowest profit and revenue. They are also the customers that you find it most challenging to do business with – the late payers, the difficult customers, and the customers that you dread speaking to at any time.
Create profiles for each customer
Now, you can create unique profiles for each customer. You will include their annual revenue, the number of employees in each company, the positions and roles of each contact, the scope of each company (local, national or global), the growth level of each company (startup, mature etc), any internal or external factors that may affect the company, as well as their corporate values, culture and even the events that brought their business to you initially.
Analyse what they have in common
Finally, you can analyse the profiles you have for both your best and worst customers and then compare them to see what they have in common. Your worst customers should be completely different from your best customers. Between the two, you will soon start to get a clearer picture of your target audience.
Rather than using guesswork and opinions to create your profiles, use historical data or, better yet, your lead nurturing tools to develop a clear and accurate picture. Using marketplace behaviour is key to ensure that you have the clearest possible lead generation profiles that will add real value.
