Finding new prospects is a challenge in all industries. As an ERP vendor, you want to fill your pipeline with high-quality leads in efficient, proven ways that save you time and avoid frustration. From attending industry events to hiring ERP lead generation companies, this is our best lead generation advice for ERP providers.
What is a lead generation strategy?
A lead is any person or company who shows interest in your company’s products or services, and has provided contact details, whether an email, a phone number, or even a social media account. They might have filled up a form in a website’s landing page, interacted in your social media channels, or phoned your company requesting information.
In other words, a lead is a sales contact that could easily convert into a customer, finding themselves at the top of your sales funnel.
A lead generation strategy, then, is an overarching, long-term plan that intends to attract prospects and get them to share their contact information, so that they can be contacted by your sales team or receive your marketing communications. And, eventually, become customers.
Do you really need a lead generation strategy as an ERP provider?
As an ERP provider, a good lead generation strategy should allow you to populate your sales pipeline and marketing distribution lists.
ERP lead generation strategies leverage the organic interest of your potential customers, utilising the data in your power to design marketing experiences aligned with your target audience’s needs. This is what is called “nurturing your leads,” and it should, ultimately, get you more customers.
If you are an ERP provider looking to expand and reach new customers, then a lead generation strategy is exactly what you need.
Lead generation advice for ERP providers
Create in-depth content
In general terms, leads become interested in a company’s services or products when they are looking for a solution to their problems. The best way to capture their attention is by creating engaging, comprehensive content that helps them sort those issues.
Producing comprehensive whitepapers, eBooks and case studies showcasing the benefits of ERP solutions and addressing pain points will attract your prospective customers interest and help you position your company as experts in the market. Besides, generating engaging and optimised content will help you rank in Search Engines, something we will address in the next point.
Organising webinars and workshops focused on educating prospects about ERP implementation best practices, industry trends, and success stories is another great way of attracting potential customers. When done properly (this is, by creating a targeted, value-packed webinar), it can provide you with a good number of highly interested leads.
Optimise your website
SEO is the practice of optimising your website to appear in Search Engine results pages (SERP). By ranking well for relevant keywords related to ERP solutions, you’ll ensure prospecting customers are able to find you easily. Whilst SEO has a technical component that analyses website performance in terms of speed and functionality, it is mainly by creating informative, SEO-oriented content that you can start ranking for ERP related keywords. Hence the importance of content that we previously mentioned.
Beyond SEO, however, when analysing your website’s lead generation performance, it is crucial to optimise your opt-in forms and landing pages. These are the elements in your website that will capture your leads’ contact details. Place opt-ins forms strategically throughout your website and create impactful, compelling landing pages for specific campaigns to ensure their efficiency.
Develop social media campaigns
There is a whole world of opportunities beyond what a website can offer.
According to this 2024 study, there are now over 5 billion social media users globally. Knowing this, the next logical step in a good ERP lead generation strategy would be utilising your social media platforms to share valuable content, engage with prospects, partner with industry influencers, and participate in relevant industry conversations. This is an easy (mostly free) way of reaching new prospects and creating brand awareness. Although, of course, you could also look into creating social media paid campaigns.
Offer free assessments and customer referral programs
Prospecting customers arriving at your website will most likely be looking for a solution to a problem. If they are really interested in what you have to offer, providing them with the opportunity to assess their current processes and see the potential benefits of an ERP solution through trial periods is a great way of capturing their information. Pair this with a survey at the end of the trial period to learn about their experience, and you won’t only have potential customers’ contact information but also insights into their behaviour, needs, and opinion of your product.
Another efficient ERP lead generation strategy is incentivising existing customers to refer new leads by offering discounts, credits, or other rewards for successful referrals. Happy customers can be powerful advocates for your ERP solution.
Attend industry events
Some good, old-fashioned strategies can go a long way. This is the case of participating in industry trade shows, conferences, and networking events, where you can connect with potential customers face-to-face. These opportunities allow you to showcase your expertise and build relationships with key decision-makers, physically placing you in front of them at a time where they are ready to make connections. Besides, participating in these kinds of events can help you position yourself as an expert in the industry and observe what your competitors are doing.
Consider hiring an ERP lead generation company
Some companies might not have the time or resources to implement their own lead generation campaigns. Some might need the help of an ERP lead generation company to complement their marketing efforts and support their sales teams.
ERP lead generation companies sell consumer and B2B data, develop marketing campaigns, and even organise appointments with prospects for their clients. But what’s most interesting about working with a lead generation company is that they are able to qualify leads for you, meaning that you will only receive high-quality sales lead from them. If you have any doubts, here’s how to choose an online lead generation company.
YourShortlist is your ERP lead generation company
A good lead generation strategy requires you to regularly analyse the results of your campaigns to identify what is working and what should be optimised. It can be difficult to decide what’s the best option for your ERP company from the lead generation advice in this blog post and implement those solutions effectively.
At YourShortlist we are experts in pairing ERP companies with prospective customers. We have been in the procurement industry since 2014, a time in which we have learned what works and what doesn’t when it comes to lead generation for ERP providers. Become a Partner today and boost your marketing efforts with the help of YourShortlist.