How do B2B Companies Connect with Hard-to-Reach Prospects in 2023? [Analysis Based on 100+ Agencies]

Author's avatar Marketing UPDATED Apr 9, 2024 PUBLISHED Oct 10, 2023 32 minutes read

Table of contents

    Peter Caputa

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    Just how hard is it to connect with hard-to-reach prospects in 2023 as a B2B? And what tactics should you resort to when some of the more traditional tactics aren’t showing results?

    In B2B transactions, decision-making typically involves multiple stakeholders, each with their own priorities, preferences, and decision criteria. So, figuring out who to target isn’t always straightforward.

    Sales cycles tend to be longer because of the need for thorough evaluation, negotiation, and approval processes…

    And more often than not, you’re dealing with a much smaller and more specialized target audience that can’t simply be reached by running a few PPC ads.

    These are just some of the complexities many B2Bs deal with.

    So, what’s the solution, and how do you actually connect with prospects that are by definition “hard-to-reach”?

    That’s what we set out to find out in partnership with the Spot On agency. Together, we surveyed 114 companies to understand better how B2Bs are connecting with hard-to-reach prospects in 2023 and see which new tactics they plan to implement.

    We gained a lot of valuable insights into which tactics are working right now, what offers are converting prospects into leads most effectively, and got a sneak peek into their 2024 game plan.

    Let’s dive in:

    Who Did We Survey?

    For this report, we surveyed 114 companies from June to mid-September 2023, alongside our partners at Spot On. 35.09% of the respondents are business owners, 26.32% are Executive (CEO, CMO, SVP/VP), 17.54% are Directors, and 16.67% are Managers.

    About 60% of our respondents are companies with 50 or fewer employees. 26.32% of the respondents belong to Marketing and Advertising, 15.79% to Software & Technology, and the rest belong to more than 10 other industries (no industry has over 10% of the respondents).

    If you’re a healthcare tech company, you can also join the exclusive Healthcare Tech/Software Benchmark Group by Spot On Agency, for free. All benchmark data from contributors is anonymized.

    But if you’re not a healthcare tech company and still want to get access to your industry benchmarks, don’t worry. You can still join Benchmark Groups for free and find the cohort most relevant to your business. It’s free, and you get instant access to how you compare against similar-sized companies in your niche.

    Who Should B2B Companies Target?

    When B2B companies are reaching out to prospects, they should target specific departments within their target organizations based on their product and the needs of their potential customers.

    And when it comes to departments targeted within an organization, the most common is Marketing (62.14%) – it’s also the only department selected by more than half of the respondents. 

    Who Should B2B Companies Target?

    Brian Cauble, one of the partners at Spot On Agency, says that he finds it “intriguing that marketing was the only department that was targeted by over 50% of the survey respondents. I would have expected operations to be targeted by more than 50%. Operations is normally critical to most of the companies we work with in software.”

    Again, this will mostly depend on the actual product or service you’re offering. If you’re offering financial services, accounting software, and expense management solutions, it will probably be better to target finance departments instead of marketing.

    As for the organization level, most respondents stated that they usually target Executive (CEO, CMO, CIO, CFO, SVP) (73.79%) and Founder/Owner/Board of Directors (54.37%).

    Who Should B2B Companies Target when marketing and selling

    This makes sense since these individuals typically hold the highest decision-making authority within an organization. They have the power to approve budgets, allocate resources, and make strategic decisions. Targeting these individuals ensures that your proposal reaches those who can greenlight a deal.

    Most Effective Tactics for Connecting with Prospects

    Okay, so now that we’ve covered the who, let’s check out the how.

    Most of our respondents valued the following tactics effective for engaging with hard-to-reach B2B prospects:

    • Search engine optimization (SEO) 66.02%
    • Networking/referrals from customers 63.11%
    • Networking on social media 59.22%
    Most Effective Tactics for Connecting with Prospects

    Furthermore, the respondents shared a lot of interesting insight into how they utilize these strategies and some of their best tips for better leverage.

    Let’s check out the most popular tactics in-depth:

    Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

    Most surveyed companies selected SEO as the most effective tactic to connect with hard-to-reach B2B prospects.

    This doesn’t come as a huge surprise.

    When B2B prospects search for information related to their industry, challenges, or needs, they are often in the consideration phase. Ranking well in search results ensures that your content is visible to them at the right moment when they are actively seeking this information or solutions that you can provide.

    Plus, compared to many other marketing tactics, SEO is cost-effective in the long run. While it may require an initial investment, once your website ranks well, you can receive organic traffic without ongoing, substantial advertising expenses.

    Nityananda Rao of ACTouch Technologies is just one of our respondents who leverage SEO to connect with their ideal prospects.

    “We sell Cloud ERP Software to SME Manufacturing Companies. 90% of this segment get cheap advice and get into issues with losing money or data. When they search for ERP, they depend on friends, consultants, etc. But they do their own research before finalizing the transaction. So knowing the psychology of this segment, we came up with a different approach to address them with more SEO-compliant content.”

    For Brian Cauble, partner at Spot On Agency, SEO is also the go-to strategy for connecting with prospects.

    “SEO/inbound leads are the number one way we reach prospects. They also tend to be further in the buyer’s journey when they find us because they have been researching solutions.”

    “SEO/inbound leads are the number one way we reach prospects. They also tend to be further in the buyer’s journey when they find us because they have been researching solutions.”

    Brian Cauble

    Brian Cauble

    Partner at Spot On Agency

    Want to get highlighted in our next report? Become a contributor now

    Now, we mentioned earlier that the Spot On agency built an exclusive Healthcare Tech/Software Benchmark Group that healthcare tech companies can join for free and immediately compare their performance against industry peers.

    We investigated some of the results from the group regarding SEO and found some interesting benchmarks that could be useful.

    By investigating results achieved by Healthcare Tech/Software companies, we found that the median number of organic impressions is 93.12k, while the top quartile has 285.01k, more than 3 times higher than the median of the average.

    Impressions

    The median value for organic CTR is 1.53%, while the top quartile is 2.73%, showing that users find the content on top-performing companies’ websites helpful, relevant, and engaging.

    CTR

    At the same time, the median position is 31.68.

    Position

    Interestingly, the Authority Score (which is based on link power) of these companies, even in the top quartile, is between 21 and 26.

    Authority Score

    This may indicate that these companies don’t invest a lot of resources in link building, which is considered one of the most fruitful off-page SEO tactics. 

    Brian Cauble of Spot On also says that it’s interesting that the authority score range is low.

    “A company that really works on the fundamentals of having a great website and great content can definitely achieve a competitive authority score in a few years, even when starting from scratch.”

    The number of views also shows a significant difference. The median value is 11.01k, while the top quartile has 22.67k – more than 2x more views than the rest of the contributors.

    Views

    This indicates that these companies have a solid marketing strategy and have invested in valuable web pages that successfully direct people to the content they want.

    This is also confirmed by a solid Engagement Rate of more than 60%.

    Engagement rate

    We have the same case with Conversions, which are over 3 times higher for the top quartile (652) than the median value (212).

    Conversions

    HubSpot data shows that these Benchmark Group contributors also generate significantly more contacts and leads – over 3x more than the average.

    New Contacts
    New leads

    These benchmarks are based on the data from the current 68 group contributors. To make the insights even more actionable and useful for everyone, join the Healthcare Tech/Software Benchmark Group by Spot On Agency for free and connect your data (100% anonymous)! This way, you’ll also get insights into other areas aside from just SEO.

    PRO TIP: Want to drill into your SEO performance by keeping proper track of all of your most relevant metrics from Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Semrush, and similar tools? Download our free SEO Overview Dashboard and connect your key insights in one place, where you can track changes as they occur in real time. It’s as simple as connecting your data source, drag-and-dropping your metrics, and then visualizing them with a few clicks.

    SEO Overview Dashboard

    Networking/Referrals from Customers

    Networking and referrals leverage the power of trust.

    When a prospect is referred to your company by a trusted colleague, friend, or business partner, they are more likely to trust your business right from the start. Trust is a crucial factor in B2B relationships, which makes it that much more powerful.

    One way you can start networking with prospects is by going to the same events as they do. This is a strategy that Faizan Fahim of InfraCloud incorporates.

    “The one thing that really helped us in closing hard-to-reach prospects is joining the same events and conferences they do. Meeting in person has an amazing effect on partnering with clients. Online marketing, blogs, and emails can start a conversation, but a friendly chat over a table makes it easier to trust the other person and to begin a partnership.”

    PRO TIP: How often do you offer incentives to your loyal customers? Make it a habit to create new incentives every now and then to motivate your customers to refer you to other businesses that might benefit from your products or services. Satisfied customers are typically glad to do it even without an incentive, but why not reward them for bringing new business?

    Social Media Networking

    Another great place to network and build a relationship with prospects is via social media. And this doesn’t have to be a cold DM right off the bat.

    Instead, you can engage with your prospects by posting valuable content that they’re interested in and reacting to some of their posts as a start.

    Then, once you break the ice, you can send them a direct message to get to know them even better.

    Pushkar Sinha of FirstPrinciples Growth says that this is a “great way to get in touch with hard-to-reach prospects.”

    “One of our tactics is to build a relationship with them on social media and provide them with free value as well-wishers before selling anything.

    We follow the 10-4-2 rule to build rapport with our prospects which basically means that you have to like 10 of their posts, comment on 4 of their posts, and share 2 posts they’ve published on their social media. But you have to do that while keeping it natural over a longer period than doing all that in a day.”

    PRO TIP: While it’s good to prioritize one, it doesn’t mean you should only focus on a single social channel for networking and finding new leads. Expand your social media efforts to other platforms and test how the audience reacts to your content and whether any new quality leads show up. You won’t always hit the jackpot, but diversifying your presence is a key strategy to staying on top of your prospects’ minds.

    Cold Email Outreach

    Even though business owners and executive managers get hundreds (if not thousands) of cold messages each day, this can still be a useful channel if you do it properly.

    And by properly, we mean throw away the “fill-in-the-blanks” templates and really make an effort to personalize your messages.

    Alex Cascio of Vibrant Media Productions also talked about the importance of “personalized and value-driven communication” in cold email outreach.

    “Instead of using generic outreach messages, we took the time to thoroughly research each prospect’s background, pain points, and needs. This enabled us to tailor our messages to their specific challenges and demonstrate a genuine understanding of their situation. We highlighted how it directly addressed their pain points and provided tangible benefits that would make a significant impact on their business or personal goals. This approach not only grabbed their attention but also showed that we were invested in their success.”

    Sumeet Anand of Magefunnel also shared an interesting approach to cold emailing:

    “I operate a B2B marketing agency that serves various industries, each with its own Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). When working with small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), we follow a specific set of steps.

    Once we receive the specifications and ICP from the client, our Data Analyst extracts relevant data using various tools that align with the client’s ICP. This data is then utilized to run targeted email marketing campaigns while tracking open rates. Our telemarketing team reaches out to prospects to confirm their presence in the company. If confirmed, we proceed to send additional engaging content such as eBooks or whitepapers to build brand awareness. Following this, our appointment-setting telecallers contact these prospects using a script designed to generate appointments.

    In summary, if your company falls under the SMB category and lacks sufficient marketing awareness, we can help create brand awareness by syndicating your content through email marketing. This approach maximizes the potential for successful closures when we secure appointments with your target clients.”

    PRO TIP: Monitoring the success of your cold outreach efforts can get quite complex as you scale the number of messages you send out. To make sure you have a clear overview of every touchpoint and prospect reply, you can download our free Outreach (Prospect Overview) Dashboard and set it up in just a few minutes.

    Outreach (Prospect Overview) Dashboard

    Posting Educational Content on Your Website

    Posting educational content on your blog still remains one of the most effective tactics for connecting with prospects as a B2B.

    For starters, educational content helps position your company as an industry authority. When you consistently provide valuable information, prospects are more likely to trust your expertise and view your company as a credible source of information.

    Plus, B2B buyers often seek solutions to specific challenges or problems they face in their industries, and you can address these pain points directly with your blog.

    This can significantly boost trust and make prospects more likely to choose your company when the time comes to make a purchase.

    For Emilia Korczynska of Userpilot, this is one of their most effective strategies.

    “One strategy that’s been particularly successful for me at Userpilot in reaching “hard to reach” prospects is to create highly personalized content.”

    “This wasn’t easy, but it began with a deep dive into understanding our prospects, their pain points, desires, and the industry landscape they operate. We conducted market research, customer interviews, and mined existing customer data to really get a grasp on what makes our prospects tick.”

    Once they understand the audience, they “translate it into content – be it educational blog posts, case studies, or webinars. The key was ensuring this content spoke directly to their needs, showed an understanding of their industry, and demonstrated how our product could solve their challenges.”

    “One strategy that’s been particularly successful for me at Userpilot in reaching “hard to reach” prospects is to create highly personalized content.

    This wasn’t easy, but it began with a deep dive into understanding our prospects, their pain points, desires, and the industry landscape they operate. We conducted market research, customer interviews, and mined existing customer data to really get a grasp on what makes our prospects tick.

    Once we understand the audience, we translate it into content – be it educational blog posts, case studies, or webinars. The key was ensuring this content spoke directly to their needs, showed an understanding of their industry, and demonstrated how our product could solve their challenges.”

    Emilia Korczynska

    Emilia Korczynska

    Head of Marketing at Userpilot

    Want to get highlighted in our next report? Become a contributor now

    Leigh Greenwood of Evergreen PR talked about how crucial it is to really understand your target audience before you start working on your content.

    She also says that “in the healthcare space that we target, right now demand is high and capacity is low, making it harder to cut through the noise. However, in these challenging times, people will turn to experts that they believe can help them with their biggest and most stubborn challenges.”

    The key is to really understand your audience, what action you need them to take, and what their barriers and drivers are – as well as who might influence or block them on their journey to your particular outcome.

    At Evergreen PR, we’re using MERTO – our ‘Conscious Prioritisation’ Framework for Achieving Business and Health Outcomes – to help our clients understand their target audiences as whole people within their external context. This deep understanding provides the foundation for creating expert content that cuts through the noise, winning attention, building authority, and triggering action from target audiences who desire educational content and consultancy to help them navigate through difficult problems. It’s that combination of capturing interest, demonstrating expertise, and providing genuine educational value that is delivering the most effective results for health organizations.”

    PRO TIP: When creating content at scale, it can be easy to lose sight of what you’re content marketing efforts should bring to the table. Make sure to set actionable goals and determine which KPIs you will track to monitor your progress toward those goals. This way, optimizing your content marketing strategies and identifying low-hanging fruit opportunities for improvement will be a whole lot easier.

    Highest Converting Offers for Turning Prospects into Leads

    So you’ve zeroed in on your prospects and started a relationship – what is the next step that will help you turn them into leads?

    Based on our research, there are two types of offers that were selected by more than half of the respondents as the ones used to effectively turn hard-to-reach prospects into leads – Sales/consultation calls (67.96%) and Case studies (58.25%).

    Highest Converting Offers for Turning Prospects into Leads

    Let’s go through these offers in a bit more detail to see why they’re so effective:

    Sales/Consultation Calls

    Sales and consultation calls are highly effective for converting hard-to-reach B2B prospects into leads due to their personalization, trust-building potential, and ability to address objections.

    These calls provide an opportunity for direct communication, which can help build trust faster than other forms of communication like emails or paid ads. It allows prospects to ask questions, address concerns, and get to know your company and team.

    Hard-to-reach prospects often have objections or reservations about your product or service. On a call, you can address these objections in real time and provide solutions or additional information to alleviate concerns.

    Derrick Hathaway of VEM Medicals says that their sales team “takes a highly personalized approach in their outreach, focusing on building relationships and understanding the prospect’s unique challenges.”

    He says that by “providing valuable insights and solutions tailored to their business, we have been able to break through barriers, gain trust, and successfully close deals with previously elusive prospects.”

    PRO TIP: If you’re using HubSpot to keep an eye on your sales pipeline but have trouble navigating all the different functionalities, you can download our free HubSpot (Sales Activity) Dashboard to keep track of the key metrics in one place. Use it to monitor each stage of your sales funnel and quickly identify touchpoints where leads seem to be falling off to further increase your prospect-to-lead conversion rates.

    HubSpot (Sales Activity) Dashboard

    Case Studies

    With case studies, companies can showcase how their product or service has successfully addressed real challenges for existing clients. This tangible evidence can be highly persuasive for prospects that may be skeptical at first (and most are).

    Moreover, case studies offer a high degree of relevance. They can be tailored to address specific pain points or challenges that your target audience is grappling with.

    This level of customization makes them particularly attractive to hard-to-reach prospects who are actively seeking solutions to their unique problems.

    Tarlia Smedley of Pulse Recruitment says that content such as case studies is especially effective if you post it on industry forums.

    “One of the most impactful strategies we’ve employed to connect with “hard to reach” B2B prospects, especially C-level executives, is leveraging thought leadership content in niche industry forums and events. Recognizing that these high-level executives often seek insights and trends in their specific industries, we began creating in-depth whitepapers, case studies, and webinars that address the unique challenges they face.”

    “For example, we worked with a SaaS company targeting CFOs of large manufacturing firms. Traditional outreach methods yielded minimal results. However, by publishing a detailed case study on how a similar manufacturing firm leveraged the SaaS solution to streamline their financial operations, and then promoting this case study in industry-specific forums and events, we saw a significant uptick in engagement.”

    She says that this case study alone “resulted in a 35% increase in meetings with CFOs from our target segment, and eventually, a 20% increase in closed deals. The key was not just the content, but the strategic placement of it where our target audience was already looking for insights and solutions.”

    “One of the most impactful strategies we’ve employed to connect with “hard to reach” B2B prospects, especially C-level executives, is leveraging thought leadership content in niche industry forums and events. Recognizing that these high-level executives often seek insights and trends in their specific industries, we began creating in-depth whitepapers, case studies, and webinars that address the unique challenges they face.

    For example, we worked with a SaaS company targeting CFOs of large manufacturing firms. Traditional outreach methods yielded minimal results. However, by publishing a detailed case study on how a similar manufacturing firm leveraged the SaaS solution to streamline their financial operations, and then promoting this case study in industry-specific forums and events, we saw a significant uptick in engagement.

    This case study alone resulted in a 35% increase in meetings with CFOs from our target segment, and eventually, a 20% increase in closed deals. The key was not just the content, but the strategic placement of it where our target audience was already looking for insights and solutions.”

    Tarlia Smedley

    Tarlia Smedley

    Marketing Director at Pulse Recruitment

    Want to get highlighted in our next report? Become a contributor now

    PRO TIP: The more in-depth data you have, the better your case studies will be. Not only will you be able to go into more details, but you will also prove to be more credible and trustworthy to your prospects. However, dealing with so many different tools and numbers for a single case study is nowhere an easy feat. That’s where Databox can step in. Here’s how Nextiny uses Databox to create in-depth reports, both simpler and faster.

    Demo Trials

    A demo trial allows prospects to see precisely how the product will fit into their workflow, streamline processes, or solve their challenges.

    And the best thing about them is that demo trials typically offer a low barrier to entry for prospects.

    They involve minimal commitment, such as providing contact information or signing up for a trial account, making it easier for hesitant prospects to take the first step toward engagement.

    This is especially important when dealing with hard-to-reach prospects who may be wary of aggressive sales tactics.

    Furthermore, demo trials present a natural progression into the sales funnel. Once prospects have a positive experience with the demo trial, they are more likely to be receptive to follow-up conversations and further engagement with your sales team.

    It provides a logical and non-intrusive pathway to nurture leads and ultimately convert them into paying customers.

    PRO TIP: Make sure you have a ready follow-up email sequence to engage your prospects once the demo trial comes to an end. Give a sneak peek into something new you’re about to add to the product, ask them for their feedback and recommendations, and let them know that you’re taking it seriously, offer some new incentives, etc. There are a lot of different tactics you can use here, but the point is to stay top of mind by sending out relevant emails and getting them to come back to the platform.

    In-Person Events

    While online strategies can certainly be successful in reaching your ideal prospects, make an effort to also travel to in-person events when you have a chance.

    In-person events offer the opportunity for genuine face-to-face interaction. This personal touch goes a long way in establishing a rapport with prospects who may have been difficult to engage with in a remote setting.

    Meeting someone in person allows for authentic conversations, the exchange of ideas, and the opportunity to read non-verbal cues, which can help build a stronger foundation for a business relationship.

    As Cindi Brothers of Duality Systems puts it, the “most effective way to turn prospects into leads is to engage with them at in-person events and use that opportunity to better understand their challenges.”

    PRO TIP: Don’t approach events as a place where you can pitch your product 24/7 and try to convert prospects already during your first conversation. Instead, focus on building a relationship with them by actively listening to the problems they’re facing in their business. Only then, if your product truly is a solution, suggest that you follow up and showcase how your product can be helpful.

    Ebooks

    Ebooks are still highly useful in the prospect-to-lead transformation process.

    Firstly, ebooks offer valuable and in-depth information on specific topics relevant to your industry or niche. By addressing the pain points and challenges your prospects face, you establish yourself as a knowledgeable authority in your field.

    They also provide a non-intrusive way of engagement. Instead of interruptive advertising or cold calls, you offer something of value. Prospects are more likely to willingly exchange their contact information for access to this knowledge, making them bona fide leads.

    PRO TIP: Ebooks are also a great resource to use to build your B2B email list. To increase the conversion rate on them, you should always first do comprehensive research on what your audience’s pain points are and what they’re looking for that can be turned into an ebook format. This is much more effective than first creating an ebook and then hoping you nailed their pain points and desires.

    New Tactics B2B Plan to Implement in 2024 to Reach, Engage, and Close Hard-to-Reach Prospects

    We saw that tactics like SEO, networking on social media, and customer referrals are currently the most effective for B2Bs to connect with their audiences, but do they have any other tricks up their sleeves?

    You bet they do.

    Here are some of the fresh, new tactics that B2Bs plan to implement in 2024 to reach their prospects:

    Personalized Video Messaging

    Personalized video messages allow you to put a face and voice to your outreach, making the interaction more human and relatable.

    And while emails and messages certainly still work, a video can stand out and create a more genuine connection.

    Plus, creating a personalized video message takes more effort than sending an email. This extra effort signals to the prospect that you are genuinely interested in their business and willing to go the extra mile to connect.

    Ovidiu Cical of Cyscale says that personalized video messaging “allows me to create customized communications for difficult-to-reach prospects, addressing their unique problems and demonstrating how my product or service may help.

    These videos will give my communication a more genuine and human touch, increasing the likelihood that it will grab their attention. The personalization will show that I genuinely care about their needs, which will increase the likelihood that they’ll participate. In addition, I can monitor when people watch the videos, which enables me to follow up at the appropriate time. This cutting-edge method can greatly increase my outreach efforts and my capacity to engage with and complete transactions with elusive prospects.”

    Farah Ahmed of Zillion Designs also believes that personalized videos “can make a significant impact, instead of relying solely on written messages. This approach adds a human touch, allowing prospects to see and hear me, which can establish a more personal and authentic connection”

    Launching Virtual Events

    Virtual events break down geographical barriers, making it easier for prospects from different regions to attend. This leads to a more diverse and widespread audience than traditional in-person events.

    Hosting virtual events is also more cost-effective than organizing physical events. There are no venue rental fees, travel expenses, or costs associated with physical logistics. This can be especially beneficial for smaller B2B companies with limited budgets.

    Derrick Hathaway of VEM Medicals plans to launch a virtual event series to help reach his ideal prospects. He says that the series “will feature industry experts, thought leaders, and successful clients sharing valuable insights and experiences related to medical mold tooling and cleanroom injection molding.

    The virtual events will be interactive, allowing prospects to ask questions and engage with our team directly. We will use targeted marketing and personalized invitations to attract these prospects to the events. This approach will enable us to establish credibility, build relationships, and showcase our expertise, ultimately converting hard-to-reach prospects into valued customers.”

    “We are planning to launch a virtual event series to help reach, engage, and close “hard to reach prospects.” This series will feature industry experts, thought leaders, and successful clients sharing valuable insights and experiences related to medical mold tooling and cleanroom injection molding. The virtual events will be interactive, allowing prospects to ask questions and engage with our team directly. We will use targeted marketing and personalized invitations to attract these prospects to the events. This approach will enable us to establish credibility, build relationships, and showcase our expertise, ultimately converting hard-to-reach prospects into valued customers.”

    Derrick Hathaway

    Derrick Hathaway

    Sales Director at VEM Medical

    Want to get highlighted in our next report? Become a contributor now

    PRO TIP: Your virtual event promotion game needs to be spot on. One of the things you can do is ask the speakers to also help with the promotion and create ready-to-share content that they can use immediately. Another idea is to leverage industry influencers. Micro-influencers in particular can be quite effective for getting you more participants, and they will be more affordable than the bigger ones.

    AI Chatbots for Personalized Outreach

    AI-driven chatbots are seeing a massive surge in popularity.

    Firstly, they can handle a large number of conversations simultaneously, allowing you to reach out to a broader audience without increasing your human resources.

    AI chatbots are also available around the clock, ensuring that prospects can engage with your company at their convenience. They provide instant responses, reducing the waiting time significantly.

    There’s also the “personalization at scale” factor – AI chatbots can analyze prospect data and behavior to deliver highly personalized messages. By tailoring the conversation to the prospect’s specific needs and interests, you can create a more engaging and relevant interaction.

    David Reid of VEM Group says that his plan is to “create chatbots with AI that can converse with potential customers in real-time on our website and other channels.”

    “Personalized responses will be given by this chatbot depending on interactions and prospect data. Natural language processing will be used by the chatbot to engage prospects in tailored dialogues that resemble one-on-one sales interactions. In order to better understand their needs and adjust the messaging, it will pose specific questions.”

    PRO TIP: Instead of popping an AI chatbot as soon as a user lands your website, you can add timing triggers based on things like time spent on page. This way, you’re being less aggressive and give a bigger window to your visitors to get to know what your business is all about before deciding whether they want to have a chat.

    Interactive Online Showcase

    If you’re working on increasing your engagement with potential prospects, here’s one interesting idea – interactive online showcases.

    With this tactic, you should be able to easily grab your audience’s attention and encourage them to spend more time exploring your products. This, in turn, leads to a deeper understanding of exactly what you’re offering.

    Natasha Rai of Explainerd is one of the respondents who mentioned this tactic, and she says that interactive online showcases, allow her prospects to “customize and visualize how our motion graphics can enhance their projects. This hands-on experience aims to create a more personalized connection and increase our chances of closing deals.”

    PRO TIP: To assess how engaging are strategies such as the interactive online showcase, you can download our free Google Analytics 4 Engagement Overview Dashboard. With this template, you can easily check out how your visitors are interacting with your webpages, which actions they take, how long they stick around, and more. After connecting your data source, you can choose which engagement metrics are the most relevant to your efforts and drag-and-drop them to the dashboard. In just a few clicks, you can then turn them into stunning visuals.

    Google Analytics 4 Engagement Overview Dashboard

    Attending Local and Regional Events

    While big events are certainly a great way to get a chance to network with more people and connect with a large portion of your audience, don’t overlook the benefits of attending smaller events as well.

    Compared to large trade shows or conferences, smaller events tend to have fewer exhibitors and sponsors. This means less competition for the attention of attendees, allowing you to stand out and make a lasting impression on potential prospects.

    Plus, participating in local events allows you to become an active part of your business community. Building a presence within your local or regional market can help establish trust and credibility with prospects.

    Brian Cauble of Spot On Agency, our survey partner, plans to attend more local and regional events going into 2024.

    He also talked about the way healthcare tech/software companies are changing their tactics for connecting with hard-to-reach prospects.

    “I think companies need to be using AI to scale their outreach while also creating more personal outreach. The challenge with personalized content until recently has been the large time investment. I believe we are now poised to do smarter, more personal outreach.”

    “I think companies need to be using AI to scale their outreach while also creating more personal outreach. The challenge with personalized content until recently has been the large time investment. I believe we are now poised to do smarter, more personal outreach.”

    Brian Cauble

    Brian Cauble

    Partner at Spot On Agency

    Want to get highlighted in our next report? Become a contributor now

    How Databox Can Help You Connect with Hard-to-Reach Prospects and Understand Their Needs Better

    Yes, connecting with hard-to-reach prospects as a B2B is often a complex process that requires both innovation and testing until you land on the right tactics.

    But it’s not impossible…

    As you could’ve seen in our research, there are still plenty of channels that seem to be working for B2Bs, and many of them are constantly working on finding new means of connection.

    The question here is… how will you know your results are up to par with other B2Bs?

    Until now, this has been pretty much mission impossible, but not anymore.

    With Databox’s Benchmark Groups, B2Bs can now instantly get insight into how others in their industry are performing and see how they stack up in comparison.

    Whether you’ve hit the performance sweet spot with your strategies or are slightly falling behind, you’ll have real-time data that shows you all the details.

    And with Databox reporting and analytics features, you can zero in on your most relevant metrics and track them in one place – which makes spotting gaps and opportunities for improvement much easier.

    Just connect your data source (100+ integrations), pick out the metrics you want to track, spend a few seconds visualizing the dry numbers into captivating visuals, and whoila!

    The best thing is, you can directly connect your benchmark data to your dashboard as well.  

    Oh, and this is just scratching the surface.

    Now, Databox can directly help you connect with those hard-to-reach prospects and better understand them with our Collaborative Growth program.

    First, you create a free Databox account and build your private benchmark group. If, for any reason, you get stuck, you can contact our team to build it for you. No charge.

    Then, you get an invitation link for your invite-only group that you can share on your main marketing channels and add new members to the group.

    When that’s covered, it’s time to use the group to attract your ideal prospects. At this point, you also have the option to run a survey with us.

    In other words, we work on a questionnaire that revolves around a topic your target audience finds valuable. We then compile the insights, analyze the results, summarize the key points, and build a comprehensive report around that topic.

    Just like we did with this piece!

    This way, you’re reaching your target audience, addressing their burning questions, inviting them to contribute with their expertise, and creating unique content that can’t be found elsewhere.

    So what are you waiting for? Sign up for free and start leveraging all Databox has to offer to your advantage.

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    Article by
    Filip Stojanovic

    Filip Stojanovic is a content writer who studies Business and Political Sciences. Also, I am a huge tennis enthusiast. Although my dream is to win a Grand Slam, working as a content writer is also interesting.

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