ERP Software Lead Generation Tactics: That Really Work

As an ERP Value Added Reseller (VAR), generating leads for ERP software and professional services can be a daunting task, particularly for newcomers to the industry. ERP lead generation companies like SmithDigital knows this challenge all too well.

The ERP landscape is fiercely competitive, with industry giants like Microsoft, SAP and Oracle pouring billions into sales and marketing efforts, while countless ERP channel partners compete for potential customers' attention.

This, coupled with limited practical marketing know-how and extensive sales cycles, makes it incredibly difficult for VARs to secure new leads while simultaneously managing existing clients.

If you're an ERP Channel Partner finding it hard to build a healthy sales pipeline through your digital marketing efforts, this blog post is tailor-made for you. We will provide indispensable insights and guidance to help you kickstart your ERP software lead generation process more efficiently and effectively.

Here's are the four primary areas we see ERP resellers struggle when it comes to ERP software lead generation methods. 

Let's explore each of these briefly:

1. Lack of Sales Support from ERP Vendors

Many ERP consultants express frustration due to receiving minimal or no leads from the ERP software publishers they represent. This lack of support can make lead generation a daunting task for ERP VARs.

Even if you are part of an ERP ecosystem that provides leads, relying on this single source may put you in a precarious position if the referral source ever disappears. To avoid being caught off guard, it is crucial to learn how to generate ERP software and service leads independently.

Furthermore, numerous ERP software vendors, such as Oracle-NetSuite, have already established extensive direct sales teams comprised of hundreds of Account Executives (AEs) and Business Development Representatives (BDRs). With the need to sustain their direct sales teams, it becomes increasingly challenging for ERP vendors to allocate sufficient leads to their partner network. As a result, the best course of action is to develop a self-sufficient lead generation strategy for your business.

2. Website Not Optimized for ERP Lead Generation

A significant portion of ERP sales cycles originates from online research, with search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and Google playing a pivotal role. Google, in particular, dominates the search engine market.

To increase your online visibility, it is crucial that your product or service ranks on the first page of Google search results, ideally within the top 5. According to Backlinko, the top 3 Google results account for 75% of all clicks.

The challenge is further intensified by Google's ability to provide "instant answers" to numerous queries, eliminating the need for users to visit other websites for information.

If you have successfully optimized your website for search engines and driven significant traffic to your site, but still experience low form submission rates, it may indicate that there is too much friction for potential leads to engage with your digital assets. In the following sections, we will provide tips to address this issue and improve your website's lead generation capabilities.

3. Inconsistent Content Creation

Regularly publishing blogs and other forms of content is crucial for gaining traction with Google keyword acquisition. Consistency is key, as Google prioritizes fresh content from websites, and it's likely that your competitors are also consistently producing content. Balancing content creation with other business activities can be challenging, but it's essential to prioritize this aspect of your marketing strategy to stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

4. Lack of Keyword Strategy

Effective keyword research is a critical component of generating ERP software leads. By identifying the keywords your target audience is searching for, you can improve your content's visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). However, merely incorporating popular keywords is insufficient for achieving success. A strategic approach to keyword research is necessary for it to be fruitful.

Focusing solely on popular keywords that are challenging to rank for can lead to a futile effort without a solid marketing strategy in place. On the other hand, targeting long-tail keywords that are easier to rank for but generate minimal traffic may not yield the desired results. By developing a comprehensive and well-balanced keyword strategy, you can optimize your content for maximum impact and lead generation.

7 Things You Can Start Doing Right Now to Generate Sales Ready ERP Leads

As an ERP consulting firm, you understand that selling ERP software solutions is not the same as selling commodity products and services. The ideal ERP buyer is highly knowledgeable and selective in their product choice, as the credibility of the software they choose directly affects their daily work life.

Furthermore, ERP systems tend to be incredibly sticky, often staying with a company for 5-10 years or longer. Given this, it is essential to have a deep understanding of your target audience, including their desires, fears, and objectives when it comes to this significant investment.

To help you start generating leads for your ERP software business, we have outlined seven steps you can take advantage of today.

These steps will help you reach and engage your target audience, build credibility, and establish yourself as a trusted advisor in the ERP space.

1. Mastering ERP Software Keyword Research

Conducting thorough keyword research is a critical component of generating ERP software and services leads. This process involves pinpointing relevant keywords for your business and understanding their role in driving revenue. To accomplish this, it's crucial to comprehend the search terms and phrases your target buyers use when seeking ERP solutions online.

The "Big 5 Themes" serve as an excellent foundation for ERP Software VARs when it comes to keyword selection. These themes encompass price or cost, product comparisons, customer and analyst reviews, "Best of" or "Top" lists, and the problems that your product or service resolves. Utilizing these five themes as a starting point can help you identify the keywords and phrases that a typical ERP buyer might search for online while researching new ERP systems.

With these themes in mind, you can delve deeper into the specific keywords and phrases that ERP buyers are likely to use in their Google queries during their research process.

After identifying the ideal keywords to target, the next step is to assess if your website currently ranks for any of them. If you're unsure how to proceed, there are tools such as Ahrefs and Semrush designed to streamline this process. These platforms can help you gauge your existing keyword rankings and provide valuable insights to improve your overall keyword strategy.

2. Boost ERP Lead Generation with Google Optimized Assets

Upon completing your keyword research, it's essential to align your chosen keywords with the content you plan to create or optimize, utilizing an editorial calendar. This calendar serves as a roadmap for your inbound marketing strategy, keeping you organized and on track to meet your publishing and revenue objectives.

To keep your team organized, start with a basic Google Sheet template or consider using tools like HubSpot's SEO tool to visually structure and link your content.

In the industry, it's common to encounter marketing professionals who create excellent content without proper search engine optimization (SEO) or SEO professionals who write solely for search engines. To achieve successful content marketing, striking a balance between writing for human readers and search engines is vital.

Creating Content for Real People:
When crafting assets for your target audience, ensure the content is engaging, readable, and relatable. Overly technical or formal content can lose the reader's attention, failing to achieve the desired impact. Aim to captivate your audience by delivering information in digestible, enjoyable segments.

Content for Search Engines:
Writing content exclusively for human readers differs from writing for search engines. Search engines have evolved to detect content written solely to manipulate their algorithms. In the past, marketers could rank high in search results by overloading their pages with keywords.

This tactic leads to poor user experiences and high bounce rates, adversely affecting your Google ranking. While on-page optimization of target keywords remains crucial, search engines now also consider factors like page load times, linking page authority, and dwell time when ranking your page for specific keywords.

3. Optimize Your Assets

On-page optimization refers to the array of techniques employed on a website or webpage to enhance its visibility and ranking in search engine results. Factors such as keyword selection and usage, title tags and meta descriptions, link structure, and page speed contribute to effective on-page optimization.

By closely examining and optimizing on-page elements, you can maximize your website's exposure on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. To improve your online presence, prioritize optimizing your on-page factors!

We will focus on two primary factors:

1. Dwell time - the duration visitors spend on a website/webpage

2. Bounce rate - the percentage of visitors who leave a site without engaging with content or interacting with other pages

Dwell Time: A Crucial Metric for Google Rankings

Dwell time refers to the time a visitor spends on a specific page. A longer dwell time is a positive ranking factor for Google, while a shorter dwell time is a negative one.

The logic is straightforward - if your content is valuable and engaging, readers should spend more time on your pages.

Several methods can increase dwell time, including adding more content to your pages. This not only keeps readers engaged but also offers more opportunities for them to spend time on your site.

Incorporating video content in your blogs is another effective way to boost dwell time. Videos provide a quick, engaging overview of the blog topic and help retain visitors on your page longer. Create videos yourself or collaborate with a video production firm. Furthermore, Google indexes videos on platforms like YouTube, potentially enhancing your rankings even if your blog or webpage doesn't rank well.

Lastly, adding chat functionality to your website can increase dwell time and improve user experience. Chatbots provide instant answers to visitor questions, reducing bounce rates and maintaining visitor engagement.

Improve Your Bounce Rate for Increased ERP Software Leads

Bounce rate is a critical metric reflecting your website's ability to provide answers and relevant information to your audience.

A high bounce rate indicates that visitors are not satisfied with your site's content and are leaving without further exploration. This can negatively impact your website's performance and potentially harm your brand's reputation.

To address a high bounce rate, create new or additional calls-to-action (CTAs) to engage visitors. Offer enticing incentives on key pages, encouraging your audience to take action, such as clicking to a landing page in exchange for contact information.

Upgrade your CTAs if they currently consist of a single hyperlink text at the bottom of your website. Consider adding visually striking buttons or images above the fold or, at the very least, not at the bottom of your page. Tools like HubSpot offer entry-level solutions for easy CTA and form creation, potentially increasing your conversion rate and reducing bounce rate.

Track and analyze your bounce rate using free tools like Google Analytics or access the data directly from your individual pages analytics if you use marketing software like HubSpot.

Site Performance

Google PageSpeed Insights is a vital tool for measuring your website's performance speed. It assigns a score between 0-100, with 100 being the highest and fastest rating. This score helps you understand your website's speed and is used by Google to rank your site in search results. Consequently, enhancing your website's SEO requires focusing on increasing page speed.

Google's Lighthouse tool is an excellent resource to help you. As an open-source, automated tool, Lighthouse audits your website pages and offers improvement suggestions. Utilize Lighthouse to identify areas to enhance your page speed, and then use Google PageSpeed Insights to test your changes and assess their impact on your score.

Simple optimizations can significantly increase your website's speed and contribute to better SEO results. To check your website's performance, use the following link: https://pagespeed.web.dev/

With the right tools and a little effort, you can ensure that your website operates efficiently, delivers an excellent user experience, and bolsters your SEO.

Regularly Monitor and Update Your Content
To maintain your website's relevance and search engine rankings, it's essential to regularly monitor and update your content. By doing so, you can ensure that your content remains fresh, accurate, and engaging for your audience. This will not only help improve your search engine rankings but also establish your website as a valuable and reliable resource for potential ERP software leads.

To stay on top of your content updates, create a content audit schedule. Review your existing content periodically to ensure it's up-to-date and relevant. Remove any outdated information or broken links and replace them with current and accurate data. Additionally, consider updating your content's visual elements, such as images or videos, to keep your website looking fresh and modern.

Leverage Social Media and Email Marketing
In addition to optimizing your website and creating valuable content, leveraging social media and email marketing can be a powerful way to generate more ERP software leads. Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook can help you reach a broader audience and drive more traffic to your website. By sharing your blog posts, case studies, and other valuable content on social media, you can engage your target audience and encourage them to visit your website.

Email marketing campaigns are another effective way to nurture leads and maintain engagement with your audience. Regularly send newsletters and updates to your subscribers, offering valuable information, industry news, and exclusive offers. By providing relevant and engaging content through email marketing, you can establish trust and credibility with your audience and encourage them to engage with your website and brand.

4. Boost Domain Authority Through Strategic Backlinking

Google cares about more than just keywords - it wants to surface the most authoritative, trustworthy sites for each search. That's where domain authority (DA) comes in.

DA is a score (on a 100-point scale) that reflects a website's credibility and ranking capability in Google's eyes. The higher your DA, the better chance you have of ranking against competitors.

One proven way to increase DA is by obtaining backlinks from authoritative, high-quality sites. Google sees these links as "votes" vouching for your expertise.

An effective backlinking tactic is guest posting on industry blogs, news sites, and other influential domains. By contributing valuable articles with links back to your site, you can build a diverse portfolio of domains linking to you.

But you need more than just links - anchor text and context matter too. Align anchor text with target keywords, and ensure the content relates naturally. Automating outreach and optimizing anchor text density can accelerate results.

Link building takes time, but it's a crucial long-term SEO investment. More backlinks from authoritative sites signal to Google that your ERP content deserves a spot at the top. Let's connect to discuss how backlinking and boosting domain authority can improve your organic visibility.

5. Transform Website Traffic into Sales-Ready Leads

Once your ERP website starts ranking for key terms, the next step is nurturing all that new organic traffic into marketing qualified leads (MQLs). Avoid static forms that deter prospects with too many required fields. This friction can drive them to competitors with a smoother experience.

Instead, focus on providing an engaging, interactive journey. Replace clunky forms with smart tools like Typeform that adapt questions based on user responses. Offering gated assets in exchange for contact details creates value for visitors while capturing lead data.

Quizzes, calculators, and other tools that answer prospects' burning questions on the spot also drive engagement and conversion. Make it easy for prospects to get tailored advice.

Reverse IP lookup solutions like Zoominfo and LeadForensics let you identify anonymous website visitors too. Combine this with third-party buyer intent data to tailor outreach and convert unknown traffic into known, sales-ready leads.

The key is crafting an experience that speaks to each prospect’s needs. With the right mix of interactivity, personalization and incentives, you can turn your growing organic presence into a steady stream of qualified ERP leads.

6. Generating ERP Software Leads With Buyer Intent Data

In today's digital landscape, relying solely on your website traffic is no longer enough. To maximize sales opportunities, you need to look beyond your own domain and identify prospects actively researching ERP solutions. This is where leveraging buyer intent data can make a real impact.

Buyer intent tools track online activities like searches and content downloads to provide actionable insights into prospects' interests and intentions. For ERP providers, these tools reveal which companies are comparing solutions, researching specific features, and exhibiting other signals that indicate consideration for a new system.

Armed with this high-intent buyer data, you can align your outreach with demonstrated interest. A Business Development Representative can follow up to have more qualified conversations, address pain points, and convey how your ERP option can solve prospects' challenges. This level of personalization boosts response rates dramatically compared to cold outreach.

For scalable growth, consider automating lead capture and follow-up actions by integrating a buyer intent tool with your CRM. New opportunities can flow directly into your pipeline in real time. Combining these capabilities with CRM automation enables you to identify and nurture high-intent prospects at the optimal time, boosting sales productivity.

The bottom line? Buyer intent data provides a secret weapon for generating more qualified ERP leads. Reach out to learn more about how we can help incorporate these insights across your sales and marketing strategies.

7. Align Sales and Marketing to Drive ERP Lead Generation

For ERP providers, tight alignment between sales and marketing teams is essential to generate a steady stream of qualified leads. By working together seamlessly, sales and marketing can identify target buyer personas, map the customer journey, and craft compelling messaging that resonates.

To enable this collaboration, implementing a shared sales and marketing platform is key. Solutions like HubSpot provide integrated tools to support lead generation, email campaigns, landing pages, CRM, and sales processes on one connected system. This gives both teams full visibility into what content prospects are engaging with and how they move through the funnel.

The result is significant synergies that accelerate growth. Marketing gains recognition and can optimize assets based on sales feedback on what resonates most with buyers. Meanwhile, sales can leverage marketing's insights to have more informed conversations and close deals faster.

Overall, integrating sales and marketing through a unified platform ensures lead hand-off is seamless. This paves the way for marketing to deliver a high volume of sales-ready ERP leads, while sales can convert those opportunities efficiently thanks to shared knowledge of target accounts.

In Conclusion

Generating ERP software and services leads on a consistent basis can be a real challenge, but the financial rewards can be huge. With our expertise, we rank among the top ERP lead generation companies in the market. We have an amazing track record helping ERP resellers drive more web traffic, more sales-ready leads, and more customers. You can check out some real-life examples of our successes here: Inbound Marketing Examples.

If you are serious about growth and need a team that deeply understands the ERP industry and knows how to consistently generate more ERP sales leads for your sales team, you should request a meeting with one of our marketing specialists. Let us show you how we can add immediate value to your ERP consulting practice.