In a previous article, we discussed how marketing automation is helping B2B marketers overcome one of their biggest challenges: relevant engagement with their target audience. The second biggest challenge for B2B marketers is how to deliver only qualified leads to the sales department. Here also, marketing automation offers the ideal solution.
Lead scoring – a marketer’s paradise
An important feature of marketing automation is lead scoring. Lead scoring assigns points to a lead based on pre-defined lead criteria, such as page views, content downloads, and webinar attendance. Combining this online behaviour – also called digital body language – with data acquired from a lead’s profile helps determine a lead’s level of interest in your solution and fit with your company’s target profile. This, in turn, helps your sales team prioritize their efforts.
Start with profile information
Profile information is lead data that has to do with the person himself and the organization for which he works. Usually stored in your CRM or marketing automation system, companies usually acquire this information when prospective buyers fill out landing page forms. They can add to records with each subsequent form fill, or append data from third-party data sources, such as Dun & Bradstreet.
An individual’s profile data can consist of a job title and e-mail address, whereas an organization’s profile typically includes annual revenues, number of employees, industry and annual turnover.
The more a lead fits your pre-defined lead criteria – and therefore the more relevant a prospect he is to your organization – the more lead points he is assigned. Determining the most fitting criteria for a promising lead and ideal customer is an exercise that marketing and sales should handle together. After all, marketing needs to develop the content and launch the campaigns that will attract and nurture the ideal lead, and pass hot leads along to sales to close the deal. If both parties do not agree on the definition of a lead, sales will forever complain that marketing is delivering junk leads.
Enrich your understanding based upon on- and offline behaviour
Behavioural data rounds out the profile. This includes on- and offline behaviour, such as website visits, content downloads and participation in events. The more a lead engages in these activities, the higher the score and the more likely the lead is interested in your products or services. This is what we call the engagement score.
Someone who participates in a webinar is likely to be more interested in a certain subject than someone who simply visits your homepage. After all, in order to participate in a webinar, the person has to submit personal information. Then again, someone who signs up for a master class on that same topic is likely to be even more engaged. The marketing automation system assigns scores to leads based on registered engagement.
Focus on qualified leads
Leads that fit your ideal customer profile, or target group, and have shown a sufficient level of engagement are likely more ready to purchase. When a lead reaches a certain score, your marketing automation system informs your CRM system, which automatically brings the lead to the attention of a sales or account manager. In this way, marketing automation helps sales to focus on prospects that are seriously interested in purchasing a product or service, or in receiving more information.
Keep leads engaged until they’re ready to buy
Leads with the right ‘fit’ but that haven’t yet shown a sufficient level of engagement can be nurtured with relevant content. Remember, even when a lead does not fit your target group but shows a high level of engagement, he or she could be an important contact. After all, this individual could be acting on behalf of someone else, e.g., a manager or decision maker.
Again, marketing automation plays a big role here. Based on your predefined rules and customer profiles and segmentation, the system will keep prospects engaged with relevant content. As these leads start displaying behaviours that indicate they are getting closer to making a purchase decision, your lead scoring will direct these prospective buyers to your sales team.
Not convinced yet?
What can you expect to achieve using lead scoring? Better sales and marketing alignment, more effective sales efforts and a higher conversion rate from lead to customer. It’s not surprising that 80% of the highest performing companies worldwide use lead scoring (source: Aberdeen Research).
More on marketing automation
This article is one in a series of posts in which we discuss the ins and outs of marketing automation. The 5 main reasons for marketing automation in B2B and Boost B2B buyer engagement with marketing automation were the first two articles in this series. In the next article, we’ll explain how marketing automation can help you overcome another major challenge: proving the ROI of marketing.
This blog (written together with Shimon Ben-Ayoun) has also appeared on Marketingfacts (in Dutch only).