Best Practices Archives – Page 38 of 54

Best practices for lead generation, marketing automation and revenue generation topics.

7 Successful Tips to Improving Lead Scoring

January 29, 2013/0 Comments/in Best Practices, Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

The marketing team is working hard to collect an abundance of information on potential leads using demand generation activities like email, newsletter, website and event registrations. Every lead has a unique profile based on how the information was obtained, their demonstrated interest in a product or service, and their demographic characteristics. Lead scoring is a powerful sales tool that will dramatically increase a company’s chance of conversion.

Here are 7 Successful Tips to Improving Lead Scoring

1) Use lead scoring as an opportunity to gather the best marketing and sales resources available in a collaborative effort to qualify potential leads. The marketing and sales departments have the greatest insight into potential customers and combining their expertise and experience will ensure that the lead scoring criteria is as accurate and relevant as possible.

2) Develop lead scoring characteristics that define an ideal customer using your current client base. Gather the marketing and sales team together to analysis existing customers and pinpoint their behavioral and demographic attributes. Take this information and create a profile that covers all of the signs that a lead has the potential to be converted into a sale.

3) Come up with creative ways to extract data from visitors on your site. Develop demand generation activities that entice potential leads to volunteer their information in exchange for educational or entertainment value. A lead can choose what they are willing to share, so it helps if there is an incentive for doing it.

4) Keep track of each lead’s frequency and interest. How often a lead visits a site, the more pages they click on while on the site, and the more information they download for future reference are all factors into how they should be scored. There is a higher chance of converting leads that have already invested a significant amount of time or energy into researching a product or service.

5) Ensure that the demand generation activities being used to capture information coincide with the data needed for effective lead scoring. The questions that are being asked in surveys and forms should spark the answers that are needed to accurately rank and prioritize the lead.

6) Review lead scoring criteria regularly to make sure it is generating the right leads. Leads that rank high should be easily converted into a sale once given to the sales department. If generated leads are not creating the response you would expect thenit is time to re-evaluate the behavioral and demographic characteristics outlined in the lead scoring process.

7) Don’t toss out leads that are not ready to purchase. Leads that have strong demographic attributes that are not actively pursuing your business are still valid leads. These leads should remain in the marketing automation system for further nurturing.

These seven successful tips will improve your lead scoring campaign. Lead scoring however does take a significant amount of time, experience, and commitment. It is not something the average person can easily master, which is why most people turn to a marketing automation expert for advice and guidance. Let Lead Liaison’s experts help you!

Managing Time During B2B Lead Scoring Crusades

January 28, 2013/0 Comments/in Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

It’s important to start managing time during B2B lead scoring crusades. Numerous aspects involving bringing leads into sales departments, doling them out to proper salespeople while keeping these B2B prospects ‘hot’ revolve around properly managing time. It’s rather rudimentary when sending new emails between departments after individuals fill out contact forms requesting more information or telephone contact; we do this daily. Lead scoring opportunities, however, easily become inundated when higher volumes of leads flow through offices, causing either perpetual traffic jams or accidentally dis-remembered leads. Avoiding B2B lead scoring ebbs require pragmatic yet masterful time management techniques, put into better perspective below.

Actions Diminish Over Time

Since wasteful efforts mean diminished B2B lead closings, having well-orchestrated finesse during lead scoring initiatives will provide quicker pathways for sales personnel to receive leads, provide speedier correspondence to those seeking specific information about company products and services while allowing marketers pushing B2B campaigns to concentrate solely on lead scoring campaigns forthcoming. Putting the ‘call’ back into ‘call to action’ shouldn’t take the greater part of your time; therefore, work on schedule, campaign and processing syncopation with all departments to avoid unneeded lagging between B2B lead initiatives.

Perfecting Your Model

B2B lead scoring models need intrinsically smooth detailing behind every step, perhaps even consistent refinement during downtime Depth is also key when deciphering categorical inclusions for particular business customers; for example, going beyond your ‘Texas’ category to specifically define ‘Plano, Texas’ should be understood before shuffling piles of undecipherable gobbledygook onto desks of confused salesmen. Perfecting your model of B2B lead scoring means precision, perhaps programmer assistance in altering lead capture forms and back-end databases yet will always take worthwhile effort if closing sales sounds plausible to your boss. Again, however, time management during modeling ‘tweaks’ should be adhered to since quick transitions between departments will make or break lead closing.

Cut Down On ‘Steps’

Every B2B lead scoring campaign will begin with capturing and end with hopefully coveted relationships actively trusting your products and services. The steps between, scoring included, mustn’t take several day’s effort to circumvent around your office. Workers on vacation should be known beforehand so passing leads onto others’ desk happens much quicker while avoiding affront between sales employees dying to receive extra commission.

If reaching sales ready stage currently takes 5 steps, perhaps work towards cutting down a few so interested B2B customers don’t feel dizzy from speaking with numerous company representatives just for one purchase agreement. Time management provides marketing lucidity unbeknownst to past campaign while providing avenues where unnecessary steps could be chopped without sacrificing quality. One centralized ideology for new marketers entering your corporate realm begins with saving every minute possible without rushing B2B leads to make immediate decisions.

Invest Wisely In Lead Scoring Time-frames

Larger corporations aren’t playing from greener fields than your company is; they’re just investing wisely in time spent procuring each step of B2B lead scoring, nurturing and closing while synchronizing each department for implementing their roles. Scoring B2B prospects into proper categories, niches, interests and even social media habits needs undisputed attentiveness yet without wasting too much effort. Whether shaving extra minutes means cutting down on extra steps, programming databases to handle algorithms apart from human contact or incorporating fewer questions via online contact form, ameliorating processes which arbitrarily weigh down production should contribute heavily towards more affluent B2B lead scoring campaigns.

Predictive Analytics Fuel Operative B2B Lead Scoring Drives

January 25, 2013/0 Comments/in Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

Businesses primarily servicing B2B industries invariably find predictive modeling platforms particularly useful when futuristic campaign initiatives are considered. Using strategically placed questions, algorithmic-ally calculating cause and effect while providing consistent updates to computerized modeling makes B2B lead scoring seamless on all levels. Many businesses question the effectiveness current analytical platforms programmed by Google or collegiate campuses since predicting actions businesses would take involves too many coefficients many individuals aren’t qualified to handle. Simple predictive analytics, however, will fuel efficiency when lead scoring B2B prospects transpires.

How Cross-Selling To B2B Customers Happens

From programming ingenuity to marketing prowess, some process propels accurate up-selling suggestions while cross-selling compatible business services when shopping carts are filled. This process, the direct result of predictive analysis, provides probability scores for various actions based on locality, visitor-ship along with other discovered information harvested from contact form submissions. Suggestive marketing, your direct result of accurate B2B lead scoring initiatives, works seamlessly behind the scenes to provide answers before questions are asked, making proper nurturing of B2B leads much easier than without useful information. Sounds pretty technical yet for businesses operating clockwork scoring campaigns, nobody catches the gist of behind-the-scenes computer programs.

Predictive Analytics In Business Today

Considering large entities are using big data when making enterprise-level marketing plans, predictive analyses have tied in perfectly, making pulling data for B2B lead scoring initiatives much easier. Sure, lead scoring does still entail visual acuity, heavy focus on demo-graphical and behavioral tangents along with quickly responding to changes in data per annum. Predicting future trends in today’s economically handicapped B2B world happen much smoother, however, when some level of surety happens algorithmically. This level of analytical referencing happens during transactions, billing cycles and widely gauges creditworthiness when B2B credit terms are reached, and its practicality goes without saying.

Lead scoring seems simple when viewed through articles, content or manuals written for informational purposes yet predictive analytics in B2B lead scoring becomes your business’ driving force when turning good campaigns into successful conversion ratios. Depending on how upscale your sales management programs are, marketer input heavily determines where, when and how deep particular campaigns tally scores and assign proper point values. Again, this is all predictive analytics working for your B2B scoring.

Increasing B2B Lead Scoring Dynamics

Given previously stated information without generating verbiage related to computational dynamics, leveraging your lead scoring using amped up computer programs doesn’t require programming finesse. Outsourcing small programming algorithms capable of handling large projects such as this would prove more advantageous. You’ll receive exponentially accurate B2B lead scoring analyses software, drop very little monetary infusion during the process and perhaps increase time spent with prospects instead of worrying about losing them. Herein resides the true reason why predictive analytics works wonders with B2B lead propagation: scoring leads, considering it’s based off numerical calculations relevant to numerous data fields, provides an easier method for businesses to gather historical figures and reapplying them to future filters. Providing better marketing designs directed towards improving services and providing more nurturing time trumps spending hours on irreparably downtrodden marketing plans which render few leads and further impede ROI growth. Operative B2B lead scoring campaigns work wonders when all cylinders are firing; predictive analytics is your B2B V-Twin force.

Lead Scoring vs. Lead Grading

January 24, 2013/0 Comments/in Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

Within the B2B marketing niche, the term “lead score” often refers to the quantification of the behaviors and attributes of a marketing lead. But a lead’s score is typically just one component in a lead qualification matrix. A lead’s total rating (hot, warm or cold) is actually a combination of a lead grade and a lead score. In this post we will compare lead scoring vs. lead grading to help you understand the differences.

Lead Grade

Marketing leads are graded in most scoring models according to attributes which define the individual and associated business that has responded to a marketing contact. For example, company size – as measured by number of employees – is used to rank the lead’s physical presence within its industry. Grades for attributes are used to determine the lead’s fit within an optimal lead profile. The ranking system used by many automated marketing programs assigns letters such as A, B, C, etc. to leads, usually giving an A for the highest grade attainable.

Lead qualification matrices typically calculate an average of several attribute grades into a composite grade for a sales opportunity. Categories such as location, revenues, title and industry are often included in the calculation. It’s important to keep in mind that a lead can achieve a high grade but a low score due to low level of interest, as measured by its marketing engagement activities.

Lead Score

Marketing leads are scored according to specific activities that indicate interest in a certain solution. Scoring values are typically represented by numbers. Many lead scoring matrices calculate the average score for all activities, which can then be used to determine if the interest level meets the minimum ranking needed to pursue a prospect.

The lead scoring matrix should include both the type of interest and activity level exhibited by your prospect. Examples of scoring criteria include:

Interest Type

Product Demo Request
Video View
White Paper Download
Email Click-through

Activity Level

Number of Web Page Views
Duration of Webinar Attendance
Number of Emails Opened

Bear in mind that a level of interest in one solution may not translate to interest in other solutions offered by your company. To determine whether a lead would make a good cross-sell or up-sell customer may require a sales engagement or a separate marketing campaign.

Applying Weight and Default Values

Within a lead qualification matrix, some behaviors and attributes are weighted to account for the importance of certain factors. For instance, a prospect’s title may be weighted more heavily than company size. The weight for a certain behavior or attribute is typically represented by multiplying a grade or score by a factor of two through five.

Marketing automation users can assign default values that may differ from company to company. Determining appropriate default values for lead grading and lead scoring is a matter of preference. One company may use a default score of 10 for opening a marketing email, whereas another company may use a default score of 25. The key is to be consistent in assigning default values across all marketing campaigns.

Developing Behavioral and Demographic Lead Scoring (Part 2)

January 23, 2013/0 Comments/in Best Practices, Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

In a recent blog titled Developing Behavioral and Demographic Lead Scoring (Part 1) we talked about using behaviors to help score/qualify leads. In this blog post we’ll look at the other contributing factor to lead qualification, demographic lead scoring.

Demographic Lead Scoring

A demographic lead score is used to identify if a lead has the same characteristics as a typical customer. Using data collected in registration forms and surveys, it compares the leads likelihood to purchase against pre-determined criteria that defines the company’s existing customer base.

The following are common examples of demographic-based lead scoring:

Company name
Annual revenue of the visitor’s company
Industry of the visitor’s company
Address, city, and state or business
Available budget for your product or service
First name and last name of potential buyer
Address, city, and state
Job title
Purchasing authority
Years of experience with the company

It makes sense that not everyone or every business has the need and the budget to purchase a particular product or service. Leads could be displaying behavioral characteristics for a variety of reasons that won’t necessary result in a sale. For example, a student could be researching a product or service for a school assignment. They may download numerous reports and heavily frequent a good resource website, but that doesn’t mean they have any chance of being converted into a customer.

Combining a lead’s behavioral and demographic information gives the marketing department a clear picture of each individual lead’s attributes, as well as the potential of them becoming a sale. Once a lead can be accurately depicted, marketing can then prioritize which leads are ready to be passed on to the sales team, which leads are not worth pursuing, and which leads need further nurturing.

An alternative approach to demographic lead scoring is lead grading, also supported by Lead Liaison. Instead of a point system Lead Grading uses a letter/grade system from A through F based on how well the prospect fits your company’s ideal buyer persona.

Developing Behavioral and Demographic Lead Scoring (Part 1)

January 22, 2013/0 Comments/in Best Practices, Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

This is part 1 of a 2 part series on developing behavioral and demographic lead scoring. Lead scoring criteria can be categorized into two distinct types; behavioral and demographics. Every successful lead scoring campaign needs to weigh both sides of their lead’s profile to determine their individual potential for conversion. A lead could have all of the demographic characteristics of an ideal customer, but lack behavioral indicators that usually result in a sale. The same could be said for a lead that shows a genuine interest in a product or service, but doesn’t have the budget or authority to commit to a purchase. That is why both are necessary for effective lead scoring.

Developing Behavioral and Demographic Lead Scoring – Starting with Behavioral Lead Scoring

A behavioral lead score is when the lead is actively pursuing their purchase and researching their options. The more time a lead invests in researching a product or service, the higher the score for that particular activity. The following are common examples of behavioral-based lead scoring:

Used specific keywords in a search engine to find your site
Participated in a website or phone chat
Opened an email message about a certain product or service
Completed online company survey
Read press releases
Clicked on multiple pages during a single visit
Visited a specific page multiple times
Visited your website on more than one occasion
Downloaded relevant ebooks, tutorials, or articles
Participated in free trials
Attended relevant trade shows
Viewed or shared videos from your website
Stayed on your website for a lengthy period of time

Based on the list given above, characteristics that require significant time and energy like “participating in a website or phone chat,” would describe someone who has demonstrated a greater interest than someone who has “used specific keywords in a search engine to find your site.” Each example needs to be ranked based on its relevance to a product or service, as well as the likelihood that the specific behavioral quality is a known indicator that the lead is ready to be converted into a sale.

Consistently Improve Your B2B Lead Scoring Models

January 21, 2013/0 Comments/in Best Practices, Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

Salesmen find implicit data most viable when assigning new values after successful B2B lead scoring campaigns have commenced while marketing professionals remodeling new campaigns would find explicit information more plausible, especially when leads which previously were unsuccessfully nurtured need shifted towards different niche markets. Whichever angle your current goals reside, consistent improvements to B2B lead score models should be wholly approached instead of individually planned. A new business quarter is upon us, thereby providing the new window of opportunity necessary in getting B2B lead scoring perpetuated early. Here’re several benefits of scoring early, and often.

New Year, New Information

Marketing competition, often seen as the ‘Scaramouche’ of social businesses, heightens when new quarters, and years, commence. Previous years’ global data is available, various demographical trends change and economically induced changes in B2B buying shifts along with newly discovered data sets Properly vetting your competition, scrubbing your own database and reiterating your B2B lead scoring plans before everyone jumps ahead of your makes the ensuing blogging ‘balderdash’ much easier to deal with. Why bother discussing marketing blogs during lead scores? Quite simply, there’re surpluses of B2B information available which assist various departments in quantifying, and qualifying, their leads just off information found in blogs B2B customers actively engage in.

Scoring Models Will Change

Segmented leads from previous years’ campaigns will inevitably change, along with models used to determine sales readiness. Because of inevitable changes forthcoming to marketing plans, B2B lead scoring models used to grade, file and seal various leads during stages of nurturing will need fed through new funnels for proper segmentation based off newly discovered information about business buyers. Keeping current databases refreshed when year-end data becomes prevalent will allow for future scoring models to be introduced much more seamlessly while allowing new information to be found much easier.

Businesses May Lose Interest

Since we’ve recently found our government passing tax reform which affects business decision makers known to marketing professionals as ‘B2B leads’. Many individuals will make their buying decisions earlier than normal so as to avert the potential fiscal cliffs expected to fall throughout January and February. Collection of newly available information, scoring B2B leads while funneling them quickly through sales channels before others jump ahead will assure your business will receive their cut of the cake, per se, when B2B lead scoring results are expected to be higher than years previous.

Quickly Improve Your Modeling

As we’ve said, 2013 will be B2B lead ‘make or break’ for numerous smaller companies wishing to avoid undue hardship by nurturing B2B customers towards purchasing appeasement. Therefore, revamping B2B lead scoring models previously used while comparing potentially better models for this new year of deeper economic uncertainty would make your campaigns potentially more fruitful than without planning newer initiatives.

Since many individuals reading this piece have some familiarity with lead scoring on B2B level, keep moving your leads from one funnel to another, always refresh information when made available while never forgetting information from previous years will help reassess your current database for plausibility purposes. 2013 could make or break B2B lead scoring models – make sure your current schema doesn’t falter.

How Customer Engagement Data Can Fuel Lead Scoring

January 18, 2013/0 Comments/in Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

Lead scoring is a systematic, data-based approach to understanding where a lead is at in their buying process. This is done so marketers will have a great knowledge of how to nurture a lead with the right content until they are ready to commit to a purchase. Once the lead is ready to make a decision, marketing can give the lead and their scoring profile to the sales department to complete the process. Learn how customer data can fuel lead scoring.

The key is engaging the customer in order to extract useful information for scoring. The concept of lead scoring is simple enough, but the practicality of implementing it can be complicated and overwhelming without the necessary technology and engagement tactics to support it. Every lead leaves a trail of information about their buying process on the internet, but without marketing automation and customer engagement it is nearly impossible to absorb all the demographic and behavioral characteristics that describe the potential consumer’s thought process.

One popular approach to use is interactive multimedia to connect with the lead. It engages prospects on a more personal level and it is an extended experience that captures incremental information. This priceless information is necessary to build a more detailed customer profile for lead scoring. Marketing automation enables you to collect data at multiple points throughout the experience, including interactive and passive responses.

It is also possible to collect user-supplied demographic information such as job function, buying authority, budget, or purchasing influences through registration forms, but you can go beyond that by utilizing interactive polling, Q & A and click data. This information is a vital part of the registrant’s profile which can be scored to assess their readiness to make a purchase.

Customer engagement data is easier to collect when a lead has willingly interacted with either the main website or various social networking platforms for a given business. The key is giving them a reason to participate. Ask questions that will spark responses or make potential customers offers that will inspire them to get involved with a specific business.

Another technique is providing them with helpful and relevant content that needs to be downloaded. If a customer has taken the time to download an article or tutorial, it is a good sign they are sincerely interested in a product or service. They feel appreciation for the business that provided them with free information and at the same time, it gives the company promoting the content a better look into their lead’s buying process.

The goal of engagement marketing is to create relationships that are beneficial to both the customer and business that is promoting it. By giving potential leads the chance to interact, it will help build brand loyalty and provide a business with valuable customer engagement data for lead scoring. Strong content and perceived leadership aligned with the willingness to listen can also strengthen a company’s credibility. The more a company can engage a lead prior to their purchase, the more likely they will become a loyal customer for years to come.

Five Steps to Creating an Effective Customer Profile for Lead Scoring

January 17, 2013/0 Comments/in Best Practices, Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

Lead scoring can save a company significant time and money if scoring is done based on an accurate and effective customer profile. The first step in every lead scoring initiative is to create a profile that captures your ideal lead. This is the benchmark all future leads will be ranked against.

These are six simple steps to creating an effective customer profile for lead scoring:

1. Create a detailed description of existing customers

Hopefully there is already a detailed account of your existing customer’s characteristics, but if not there should be. Describe their demographics, personality, and behavior as it relates to your products or services.

2. Locate your customers online

This is where you analyze exactly which websites and pages customers have visited in search of information about your business, product, or services. Determine the kinds of searches (keywords and keyword phrases) they are using, as well as what types of articles they are reading to gain further insight into their purchases.

3. Define their purchasing process

There is a different purchasing process for every product or service. Expensive or complicated purchases usually involve significantly more research, quotes, and time before a commitment is made. Put yourself in the shoes of a typical buyer who is in need of your product or service. Record the steps they would take before you feel confident in making an informed decision. These steps would all be considered strong criteria for an effective customer profile.

4. Survey current customers

Existing customers are invaluable resources. There is a specific reason why they chose to deal with a particular business and it is important to understand the thought process that brought them to that point. Ask current customers why they first bought and why they continue to buy.

5. Develop a customer profile and corresponding criteria

Using the information gathered in step 1-4 to create a list of the characteristics that make up an ideal customer. What is the demographic background of a typical customer, what steps did they first take in their buying process, and what inspired them to make a purchase. Include everything that could possible impact their decision.

6. Rank each criteria based on relevance

Some factors in the customer profile will have more weight than others. If a potential lead has downloaded a relevant tutorial on a product or service, it will have more significance then just clicking on the home page. A lead who attends a local event in person would most likely have a higher ranking than both of the previous criteria. Ranking should be aimed at discovering which leads have invested the most time and effort into researching a product or service.

Contact Lead Liaison to learn more about our unparalleled lead qualification capabilities including lead scoring, lead grading, a hot lead dashboard – called Briefcase, and more!

An effective customer profile is the basis for reliable lead scoring. By following the six steps outlined in this article, the end result should be an accurate and detailed description that captures your ideal lead. That priceless information can help the marketing team develop more personalize content, prioritize leads for the sales department, and nurture a stronger relationships with new customers.

Lead Scoring Attributes: Hidden Information That May Not be Included

January 16, 2013/0 Comments/in Best Practices, Lead Scoring, Revenue Generation Blog/by Lead Liaison

When you use a lead ranking system like the one in our Lead Management Automation™ platform, you’ll find that leads are prioritized according to fit and behavior. Lead scoring combines a grade for explicit attributes, which indicates fit, with a score for implicit attributes, which indicates an interest level. While implicit attributes measure digital body language, such as website visits or email click-throughs, explicit attributes rank how well a prospect meets an optimal lead profile.

Grading leads according to fit seems straightforward; each grading category will include easily definable attributes which help determine a good or poor fit. Scoring leads according to interest may also seem simple enough; online body language can be easily captured to show whether there is enough interest to justify pursuit. However, there are usually non-apparent factors which may not show up in a “standard” lead scoring matrix. Here are a few examples of critical information that may not be reflected in a standardized lead scoring matrix, these lead scoring attributes should be included.

Revenues

Annual revenue figures can be easily defined and included in a lead form, but the figures may be misleading. A company representative may either not have that information or be reluctant to select a revenue amount when filling out a form. Usually providing a set of amount ranges to choose from may be effective. For example, $0 to $500K, $500K to $1MM, etc. may be appropriate.

Also, current revenue figures don’t reflect future earnings. A lead that earned $750K last year may not rank highly in your matrix, but if revenues rise to $1MM, its rank may rise accordingly. In this case, it’s important to avoid discarding a lead because of its low current revenues grade. (It may be effective to include a revenue projection category in your lead form.)

Number of employees

Company size is an important determinant to a lead’s fit. But employee numbers only tell a part of the story. The number of employees, like revenue figures, is a dynamic characteristic. For instance, the company may have just completed a downsizing or may have merged with another company. These actions won’t be easily captured in a lead form.

Another factor that isn’t usually reflected in a lead scoring matrix is: what are the possibilities for growth for a lead? Certainly, if a lead employs 500 workers then it may qualify for a high score in your matrix, but where will that lead be in a year or two? Is the industry growing? Are there more competitors entering the space? While it should be easy to collect and score the current company size, potential growth may be a more subjective score to determine.

Website product pages visited

Many lead scoring matrices include negative scores which decrements a lead’s overall rank. One scoring example would be a lack of page views about products. It may be difficult to capture through a standard lead form why a prospect visited your site but viewed no product pages. The reason could be due to a lack of need or incorrect timing. If a contact has only visited certain pages, such as investor relations, careers or about us, the reason for the site visit may not be a product purchase. Some visits to management pages may be part of a company review in anticipation of a purchase; however, visits to those pages should accompany product views if a lead is to be scored high.

For more thoughts on effective lead scoring, connect with our revenue generation blog regularly and learn how Lead Liaison can drive revenue through marketing automation.