Lead Management in the Face of the New B2B Buyer
B2B buyers have more information than ever before, and as a result are controlling the B2B buying process. Marketers must adapt when it comes to how they manage buyer dialogue, primarily in the area of Lead Management. This session will take you through the shift the B2B buyer has undergone and a step-by-step process for better lead management of this new dynamic.
Jay Hidalgo, CEO, The Annuitas Group
Before we get into the ways to change, I want to show some recent numbers that also indicate the need for we as marketers to change the way we interact with our customers and prospects. One of the biggest thing these numbers say to me is that we need to change from this mindset of lead generation to lead management. This idea is not just managing the lead internally to make sure sales receives it, but also includes managing the lead from a dialog and conversation aspect. As we continue in our discussion today we will look at the realities of changing to a buyer dialog model really looks like and how it will impact us as marketers.
The definition of lead management is needed here: starts with “you have a lead”, and goes through to sale, and post sale nurturing. Not customer service, accounting, etc.
The traditional lead waterfall or funnel takes into account leads moving through the marketing and sales process in a very linear fashion. This is a faulty approach in that it only accounts for a piece of the marketing and sales funnel and is built with the idea that initial inquiries/web visits, qualified responses and accepted leads will leak out of the funnel and nothing will be done to keep them engaged. Not only is this a poor practice, but also devalues the potential ROI derived from a campaign. Companies need to begin to develop a multi-tiered funnel approach to their marketing revenue projections. By utilizing lead nurturing as part of the marketing mix, the leaks that are seen in a linear model are closed and all responses and leads are managed and the increase in ROI is substantial. This affects all areas of marketing and sales including lead forecasting, forecasting for quota attainment, ROI analysis and marketing budget allocation.