Marketing in a Slow Economy Requires a Laser Focus - Marketing Watchdog Journal

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		December 2008, Issue 58

Lead-Generation Best Practices
Marketing in a Slow Economy Requires a Laser Focus
Excerpt from a Bulldog Solutions White Paper

This article is an excerpt. Want to read the whole thing?
Download the complete Bulldog Solutions white paper, "Marketing in a Slow Economy Requires a Laser Focus."

Slow economies or recessions are particularly troubling for BtoB marketers. A common knee-jerk reaction is for companies to cut what is not perceived to add value-budgets, programs and even people may be sacrificed. At the same time, there is greater pressure on marketers to drive immediate sales engagements. However, traditional lead-generation activities may not move the needle fast enough because of the natural length of sales and buying cycles. This paper lays out specific steps you can take for better results:

Focus on leads with immediate potential
Tap into an often underappreciated resource, your own database of leads and customers
Collect and analyze the data that matters

Don't Waste Your Time on Leads That Aren't Ready

SiriusDecisions reports that 70% of leads that are incorrectly disqualified by Sales end up purchasing from another vendor.¹ These are the leads who have already engaged with you but who you haven't been able to effectively close. Let's consider how this might happen:

First of all, many lead marketing activities are one-off events that happen at a specific time. A single Webinar may attract a thousand leads, but of that one thousand, only a fraction matches the profile that would make these leads have strong potential. In addition, traditional lead scoring doesn't consider the lead's readiness to engage with you. If a lead has all the right attributes but is early in the buying cycle—essentially, still in the awareness phase—Sales will naturally disqualify that lead. By addressing these two dimensions of lead scoring, your sales team can focus on qualified leads that are in the Buying Zone (see image below).

Figure 1: The Buying Zone: Engaged Leads with Profile Strength

Considering where your leads are in The Buying Zone is especially important because timeliness in follow-up calls plays a significant role in your success. A KnowledgeStorm and Artemis Group study found that the success rate for connecting with a prospect eight to 10 days later is 4%, as opposed to 25% if your sales team can follow up in one to three days.²

If you don't have a lead scoring system in place, the first thing to do is come to consensus about what makes a lead a good lead. This requires getting Marketing and Sales in the same room to discuss what the important attributes and values are that determine a prospect's value. Is it their industry, title or company size that makes a lead a good one? Which factor is more important? Once you have agreement on the criteria that define a good lead, you can use this information to refine your media and advertising plans. When you capture a lead, apply this criteria so when you hand that lead to Sales, you are both confident that this lead has strong potential.

Notes

"SiriusDecisions Perspectives: What a Waste," SiriusDecisions (2004)
"KnowledgeNote: The Fine Art of Lead Follow-Up," KnowledgeStorm and Artemis Group (2005)

This article is an excerpt. Want to read the whole thing?
Download the complete Bulldog Solutions white paper, "Marketing in a Slow Economy Requires a Laser Focus."

Return to MWJ Home

Marketing Watchdog Journal is a monthly newsletter from Bulldog Solutions, a lead optimization and lead management company dedicated to helping our clients generate more, better leads and turn them into revenue. We welcome your feedback on this newsletter's content and design, and encourage you to share your ideas for topics you would like us to cover in future issues. Please send your comments or questions about Bulldog Solutions to Amy Bills, senior manager of Field Marketing.