the one-two punch of effective lead engagement
TRANSCRIPT
Accurate Lists and Powerful Content
The One-Two Punch of Effective Lead Engagement
Brian Carroll Executive Director of Revenue Optimization, MECLABS
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MECLABS: A science lab with a consultancy
• More than 10 years of research • 1,300+ major experiments • Over 1 billion emails • 10,000 sales-paths tested • Hundreds of publications and
conferences
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Today’s Speaker
Brian Carroll
Executive Director of Revenue Optimization
MECLABS
Brian Carroll is Executive Director of Applied Research at MECLABS. Brian is also co-founder of InTouch (now part of the MECLABS Leads Group), a B2B marketing firm and one of the first companies to provide lead generation services for the complex sale.
Author of the popular book, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale (McGraw-Hill), Carroll is a leading expert in lead generation and he's profiled and regularly quoted in numerous publications. Brian also speaks to 20,000 people a year on improving sales effectiveness and lead generation strategies.
He’s been profiled and regularly quoted in publications such as BtoB Magazine, Selling Power, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Target Marketing, Inc., Marketing News, DM News, MarketingProfs, MarketingSherpa, Software CEO and CMO Magazine.
@BrianJCarroll
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• 80% of marketing leads wind up lost, ignored or discarded
• 80% of B2B marketers pass raw leads to sales
• Long-term leads (future opportunities), often ignored by salespeople, represent 77% of potential sales
• 73% of companies have no process for re-engaging and nurturing leads after sales
MarketingSherpa 2010-2011 B2B Benchmark Report CMO Council and Business Performance Management Forum, Sirius Decisions
The case for effective lead nurturing
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Background: A B2B company with a short sales cycle launched an email series to nurture older leads Objective: To reinvigorate leads that have passed the initial 30 day window in which most clients are most likely to convert. Primary research question: Which tactics can be implemented to re-engage existing leads in the database?
Test Design: Intensive initial 30-day lead nurture campaign followed by regular newsletters, webinars and long term added-value email series.
Experiment ID: Protected Account Location: MarketingSherpa Case Study Library Test Protocol: CS31985
Research Notes:
Case Study
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Customers are from leads generated over three months ago
Customers are from leads generated over one year ago
Key takeaways: Focus on your fresh, relevant leads but don’t neglect those you met three or more months ago.
Ensure your brand stays top of mind but communicate to them in a way that is relevant and respectful.
What can you do to reach out to your existing list in a helpful way?
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Results: How did they do it?
37% 20%
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Step 1: Nurture the fresh leads first
Leads generated through content downloads
Topic C Topic D Topic B Topic A
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Step 1: Nurture the fresh leads first
Leads generated through content downloads
Topic C Topic D Topic B Topic A
Week 1
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Step 1: Nurture the fresh leads first
Leads generated through content downloads
Topic C Topic D Topic B Topic A
Week 1
Week 2
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CTA: sign up for online software demo
Step 1: Nurture the fresh leads first
Leads generated through content downloads
Topic C Topic D Topic B Topic A
Week 1
Week 2
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CTA: sign up for online software demo
Step 1: Nurture the fresh leads first
Leads generated through content downloads
Topic C Topic D Topic B Topic A
Week 1
Week 2
Online Software Demo
Sales-ready leads Re-engagement
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Step 2: Maintain an ongoing email program
If leads finish the initial nurturing series without converting, the team sends two other types of emails to the audience:
Email Newsletter This monthly email includes short columns from the company CEO, as well as information on industry events, book reviews, marketing advice and other content related to the company.
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Step 2: Maintain an ongoing email program
Once leads finish the initial nurturing series without converting, the team sends two other types of emails to the audience:
Monthly webinar invitations • The term "webinar" in its subject line • Personal salutation • Description of the event • One link and one button to register • Header image linked to registration page
Manage your email subscriptions
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Step 3: Design long-term "tips" email series
In addition to the newsletters and webinar invitations, a biweekly email series that features marketing tips and other practical information for 12 months. Leads enter this series immediately after finishing the short-term series.
Primary Goal: Maintain contact with the leads and showcase the company's expertise
De-emphasized call to action: Register for online demo
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Step 3: Design long-term "tips" email series
Pro-active option to opt-out
Above and beyond CANSPAM, an email is sent three months into this series which gives them an opportunity to opt-out.
Shows respect for the prospect and gives them a chance to reaffirm their interest.
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Step 4: Avoid overwhelming your audience
The schedules and scenarios surrounding the email marketing were thoroughly outlined and conditions were set, including:
• Stop emailing sales-ready leads
Leads that scheduled an online product demo stop receiving the nurturing emails and are handed to the company's sales team.
• Start over for new downloads
Any leads in the long-term series that fill out a form to download more content are taken out of the long-term series and placed into one of the four short-term series.
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Understand
Audience
Organize Content
Track Results &
Engagement
Execute Tracks
Messaging
Strategy
A relevant, consistent conversation with viable potential customers, regardless of their timing to buy.
•Touch
•Track
•Follow-Up
1 •Touch
•Track
•Follow-Up
2 •Touch
•Track
•Follow-Up
3 •Touch
•Track
•Follow-Up
4
Progressive Lead Movement Across Buying Stages
What is lead nurturing?
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Closed Loop
Feedback
Marketing Pipeline
Sales Pipeline
Customers
Returned Prospects
Events, Events, Summits, Guides, Subscribers, Website, Teleprospecting
Sales Ready Leads
Not a Fit
Sales Generated
Leads
Existing Clients
CRM
Measure ROI
HANDOFF
Level 3,4,5 Leads
Inquiries (Level 1)
Nurturing (Level 2)
Sales has a funnel – marketing should too
1 Develop a foundational database
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3
4
Design your content library
Measure and tweak
Cycle back to improve your DB
Four Key Steps
1 Develop a foundational database
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4
Design your content library
Measure and tweak
Cycle back to improve your DB
Four Key Steps
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Sales team
Past customers
Past event attendees
Inbound inquiries
Newsletter subscriptions
Direct mail lists
Teleprospecting lists
Develop a foundational database
Build your nurturing database – start with who you know
Nurturing list sources
Key accounts Business cards Past sales pipeline Leads not touched 90+ days
Web Phone Email
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Develop a foundational database
• Inquiries are not leads: As little as 5 to 15 percent of all inquiries are truly sales-ready.
• Marketing doesn’t need sales to “accept” the leads. Marketing needs sales to confirm whether the lead met the Universal Lead Definition that was agreed to between sales and marketing
• Create your very own version of the universal lead definition, apply it to every lead, and leave room for the definition to go through rapid iterations as you close the loop with your sales team.
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Marketing and Sales Alignment: What is a lead?
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Develop a foundational database
Action Item: ULD checklist F What makes a good sales lead? • How can we raise the bar and give your better more actionable leads? • What initiative or need makes this a good fit? • What info is necessary to determine if a lead is worth the follow-up? • What are the titles/job functions of economic buyers and influencers? • What does this company values? What’s its culture like? • What are the common business issues?
1 Develop DB
"
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Develop a foundational database
What information is required to qualify leads as being sales ready?
• What are the characteristics of the ideal sales opportunity? • What are the questions sales want answered before getting a lead? • What info is must-have vs. nice-to-have? • Which questions tend to gather the most-needed information? • What should we start doing to make leads more actionable? • What things should we stop doing with leads that don’t value? "
F Action Item: ULD checklist
What information is required to qualify leads as being sales ready?
• What are the characteristics of the ideal sales opportunity? • What are the questions sales want answered before getting a lead? • What info is must-have vs. nice-to-have? • Which questions tend to gather the most-needed information? • What should we start doing to make leads more actionable? • What things should we stop doing with leads that don’t value?
"
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Develop a foundational database
Action Item: ULD checklist F
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Use the ULD to delineate “sales ready” vs. “nurture” lead statuses • Will there be a time frame to evaluate and implement a solution? • Will there be a formal or informal budget in place? • Are there specific behaviors or traits you are looking for?
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Develop a foundational database
Identify key info a sales rep would value in speaking with a prospect • What fuels interest and how must we focus on it with the solution? • Where is the best entry point? • Who is involved in the buying process as it evolves? • Should anyone else be contacted? • Where’s the funding coming from and who has authority over it?
"
Then, only send as many sales ready leads that the sales person can effectively handle
Action Item: ULD checklist F
Then, only send as many sales ready leads that the sales person can effectively handle
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Identify key info a sales rep would value in speaking with a prospect • What fuels interest and how must we focus on it with the solution? • Where is the best entry point? • Who is involved in the buying process as it evolves? • Should anyone else be contacted? • Where’s the funding coming from and who has authority over it?
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Company lead classification
Industry
Employees
Sales
Assigned rep
Company notes
Company web URL
Site type
Site address
Site Qualification
Site web URL
Sao Paulo
Site type
Site address
Site Qualification
Site web URL
Frankfurt
Site type
Site address
Site Qualification
Site web URL
Milan
Site type
Site address
Site Qualification
Site web URL
Brian Carroll CIO
Lead classification
Contact info
Conversation notes
Qualification responses
Qualification comments
Contact history
Michelle Passe Dir. eBusiness
Pat Lorch
VP, Supply Chain
Lead classification
Contact info
Conversation notes
Qualification responses
Qualification comments
Contact history
Lead Classification
Contact info
Conversation notes
Qualification responses
Qualification comments
Contact history
Identify headquarters, sites
Identify firmographics, compile notes
Identify, qualify contacts
Target company Nestle
Paris
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Develop a foundational database
1 Develop a foundational database
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3
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Design your content library
Measure and tweak
Cycle back to improve your DB
Four Key Steps
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• Organizations deemed “best-in-class” see double the bid-win ratio on nurtured leads compared to peers
• Nurtured leads delivered 47% higher average order values than non nurtured leads
Non-Nurtured Leads
Nurtured Leads
2 Design Library
Design your content library
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Design your content library
Connect with your personas:
• Project Leader
• CIO
• Contact Center
• Field Service Center
• Executive Sponsor
• Stakeholders
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Design your content library
Connect with your personas:
• Project Leader
• CIO
• Contact Center
• Field Service Center
• Executive Sponsor
• Stakeholders
CIO Q1
Month 1 Free executive report via direct mail with follow-up call
Month 2 Invitation to executive roundtable via e-mail with follow-up call
Month 3 Link to relevant Podcast via e-mail with follow-up voicemail
IT Director Q1
Month 1 3rd party article via e-mail and voice mail
Month 2 3rd party article via e-mail with follow-up
Month 3 Link to relevant webinar via e-mail with follow-up call
IT Manager Q1
Month 1 Relevant white paper via e-mail with voice mail
Month 2 Direct mail piece
Month 3 Invitation to webcast via e-mail with follow-up call
Multi-track lead nurturing timeline
Client Plan for Q1 Audience: 3 Contacts Deep
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Design your content library Map channels and content
Nurturing
Phone Develop relationships
Confirm correct contacts
Gain internal referrals Get opt-in email
addresses Personal invitations
Re-engage aged opportunities
Identify qualified leads
Email By-lined articles
Links to 3rd party articles
Case studies Press releases Whitepapers
Event invitations Research reports
Collateral/brochures Events
Live seminars Webinars
Executive briefings Conferences Road shows Trade shows
Online RSS
Website Landing pages
Microsites
2 Design Library
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Design your content library - Repurpose
Leverage your internal experts • Harness the knowledge that exists in your functional business groups
• Create a process and function to capture the expertise and share it
• Develop your own thought leaders – make it easy for them to share
Gather, filter relevant content based on message mapping • Third-party articles, relevant topics, research reports
• Vendor-agnostic podcasts, webinars, blogs and case studies position sales team as trusted advisors
• Filter third-party content for a nurturing library of free sources http://www.google.com/alerts
Maximize your energy
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Quality content can be repurposed
Turn one piece of content into multiple pieces of content
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Research Chart
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Quality content can be repurposed
Tactical tool download
Blog post
Video Clip Webinar
Turn one piece of content into multiple pieces of content
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Research Chart
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The value of content beyond acquisition
Use a macro lens on your organization to make the case for content development support. Who else can benefit from your content?
Sales/Account Management
• Nurture your existing customers
• Upsell, loyalty and retention
Human resources
• Recruiting
• Internal training and communication
Customer Service
• Training and education
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1 Develop a foundational database
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Design your content library
Measure and tweak
Cycle back to improve your DB
Four Key Steps
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Tie content to a specific conversion
Tactical tool download
Blog post
Video Clip Webinar
Track for patterns to see what works (and what doesn’t)
Research Chart
Registrants Attendees
Replays
Views Likes/Dislikes Social Shares
Pageviews Comments
Social Shares
Opens Clickthroughs
Shares
Downloads Social Shares Lead Capture
Measure 3
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Measure and tweak
Quantitative
• Use analytics to help clarify how topics and types of content drive engagement and conversions – and which ones don’t
• Lead generation forms tie into database:
• Compare with how the prospect engages with you
• Look for patterns and score accordingly
Measure 3
Qualitative
• Comments and social media engagement on which topics resonate and may be a good direction for future content:
• Blog posts
• Videos
• Articles
• Encourage your sales team to share content with prospects to help explain complicated topics – get their feedback on what connects for the prospect
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• Supported by tools that make it easy to:
• Continue conversation
• Suggest offers based on behavior and engagement
• Lead nurturing automation tools must also support:
• Lower volume
• Ad hoc delivery
• All touch points (phone, email, online, in person)
• Measure nurturing results such as:
• Depth of contact in sphere of influence
• Percentage of contacts who opt-in for nurturing
• Percentage of contacts who become sales-ready leads
Measure and tweak Measure 3
1 Develop a foundational database
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Design your content library
Measure and tweak
Cycle back to improve your DB
Four Key Steps
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Cycle back to improve your DB
Web Inquiries
Sales Generated
Webinar
Registrants / Inquiries
Social Media Inquiries
Event Registrants & Attendees
Downloadable Tool
Database Touchpoints
John Smith Touchpoints: 02/08/2012 - Attended Workshop “B2B Advanced Practices” 10/18/2011 - Email Opened “TODAY: How marketers are transforming change” 10/18/2011 - Downloaded Tradeshow checklist tool 10/18/2011 - Attended Webinar - B2B Mkg BMR: Marketers 10/12/2011 - Email Link Clicked “Three ways to increase leads generation at tradeshows and events” 10/12/2011 - Email Opened “Three ways to increase leads generation at tradeshows and events” 09/20/2011 - Downloaded Q3 Event Summary whitepaper 09/19/2011 - Attended Webinar – “Event budget planning” 09/05/2011 - Called – Spoke with Inbound Inquiry team 09/02/2011 - Message: Your question about services 09/01/2011 - Web Lead – Web – Contact Page
4 Cycle Back
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Progressive Profiling 4 Cycle Back
First time download lead gen form Subsequent download progressive profiling
Capture a little more information each time you provide value
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Progressive Lead Scoring
• Phone – inquiries, conversations, sales leads
• Email interactions – opens, clicks, replies
• Website visits – product or service pages
• Collateral downloads – registrations or clicks
• Event attendance – webinars, tradeshows
• Information requests – contact-us form, email responses
Lead engagement doesn’t equal sales readiness! Use lead engagement to prioritize human-touch follow up.
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1 Develop a foundational database
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Design your content library
Measure and tweak
Cycle back to improve your DB
Four Key Steps
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Takeaway: Action items
Determine your Universal Lead Definition: Build and refine your DB approach
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Takeaway: Action items
Determine your Universal Lead Definition: Build and refine your DB approach
Build a three-month track for your top three personas
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Takeaway: Action items
Determine your Universal Lead Definition: Build and refine your DB approach
Build a three-month track for your top three personas
Create one piece of content, and then turn it into four
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1
3
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Takeaway: Action items
Track each content item’s conversion objectives and set goals to increase them
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Takeaway: Action items
Track each content item’s conversion objectives and set goals to increase them
Connect your content touchpoints to your DB and start a progressive profiling process
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Brian Carroll
Executive Director of Revenue Optimization
MECLABS
651-255-7700 x 640
@brianjcarroll
Additional lead management resources:
MECLABS.com
B2BLeadBlog.com
B2BLeadBlog.com/LinkedIn
Thank you