More Leads. Better Leads.

When I started out in marketing many years ago, we were measured strictly on the number of responses/leads our programs generated. Each year the lead goals would grow based on increased sales goals. The formula worked backwards would require programs reaching tens of thousands and delivering responses in the hundreds. Sales complained the “leads were crap” and conversion rates were low, but it really didn’t matter because marketing had hit their total number of leads. Sound familiar?

Fast forward to 2010. Marketing can no longer claim victory based only on the number of responses their programs generate. Only those leads that are actually sales-ready have the potential for conversion and revenue generation. Now marketing and sales should be on the same page regarding the importance of lead quality over lead quantity.

As marketers, we have everything we need to make this a reality:

• We can build targeted lists so our programs only reach those that match the criteria for a likely customer
• We have a wide range of online and traditional program options, when combined into multi-touch campaigns can significantly increase the percentage (and overall number) of leads we generate
• We can use personal touches (such as teleservices) to qualify and propel leads through the cycle
• We can track all leads through the entire lead lifecycle using management tools, such as marketing automation solutions
• Longer term leads can be nurtured until they become sales-ready
• We can live with smaller budgets based on focusing our investments on a smaller targeted audience and still achieving larger results
• We can deliver sales-ready leads that will significantly impact sales success

It is all about generating qualified and sales-ready leads vs. generating a large quantity of responses. Of course, a large quantity of qualified leads would be even better….

Susan Linman
Founder and President
Dunthorpe Marketing Group

Lead Nurturing: Faster, Cheaper, More "Sales Ready" Leads

We’re talking to a lot of people about the value of lead nurturing. It seems like 2011 is the year many companies have determined that generating all new leads to fuel the pipeline is not going to work on a sustained basis.

Nurturing the leads you have in your prospect database that have previously expressed some interest in your products or services. If you haven’t been evaluating how nurturing leads might work for your company, you should.

Why invest in lead nurturing? Three simple reasons:
It is cheaper
It is faster
It yields more sales ready leads

Lead nurturing is the process of building a consistent and relevant dialogue with target prospects regardless of their buying timeframe. By maintaining contact with prospects, you can maintain mind share and be there they are ready to buy.

Consider these typical buying timeframes from responders to a B2B lead generation campaign:
– 11% purchased within three months of inquiring
– 17% purchased within four to six months
– 25% purchased within seven to 12 months
– 47% bought in a year or more
Think how many opportunities would be lost if you gave up on a lead after just three months.

If you are looking for ways to stretch your budget and increase your results:
I recommend starting with your own database and an effective, consistent lead nurturing process and series of campaigns!

Susan Linman
Founder and President
Dunthorpe Marketing Group
http://www.dunthorpemarketing.com/

Marketing Automation in 2011

As we launch 2011 this month, there are endless articles with predictions and trends for the year and the decade.

Of course you can find opinions that support both the growth and decline of almost everything. But, there are some very consistent themes. Marketing budgets will increase but only modestly this year. A majority of companies want to increase their social media presence, but only if it can be finely measured and contribute a high ROI. The quality of prospect and customer databases is a top issue. And, although lead generation remains one of the highest priorities, the value of lead nurturing is gaining importance. Finally, more and more companies plan to use marketing automation as the glue that ties everything else together.

I believe lead nurturing powered by marketing automation should be a top priority for companies in 2011. And here are a few reasons why:

1. Integrated marketing automation and CRM systems change how marketing and sales work together to close business. It facilitates a collaborative effort to define leads; and then a process for qualifying, nurturing and routing qualified leads.
2. As more companies use social media, search engine optimization and other inbound programs to drive leads, marketing automation will be the key tool to manage the programs, target prospects and measure results.
3. Marketers are challenged to measure not only new leads generated, but all mid funnel results. Conversion metrics at every step of the sales process will quickly become the standard way of measuring marketing.
4. Marketing automation makes it possible to reinvigorate inactive leads using an existing asset, the leads database. A recent program was able to stimulate scheduled sales appointments with 6.7% of a client’s stalled leads (no activity for 3-5 month). Companies that are not recycling leads are wasting marketing dollars.
5. Marketing automation provides feedback on both buyer behavior and program results. However, most reports stop after summarizing what has happened in the past. This year more companies will take advantage of the power of analytics to define what works, what doesn’t and what actions need to be taken as a result. Testing, predicting and adjusting will be a part of all programs in 2011.

I do hope you’ll join us and our featured speaker, Kevin Joyce, Chief Marketing Officer, Market2Lead, for our upcoming webinar on marketing automation. He will share his insights on how B2B marketing is evolving this year and beyond and the role marketing automation will play in those changes. I will share a very detailed case study of one of our clients who has developed an extraordinary lead nurturing process and set of programs.

Susan Linman
Founder and President
Dunthorpe Marketing Group