Gleansight lead nurturing - q42010 - licensed

December 2010

Gleansight
.

Lead Nurturing
Every salesperson knows that leads can go cold very quickly. They also
Content know the challenge of trying to follow up on every lead in a timely manner. No
Part 1: Topic Overview matter how hard you try, some leads are going to fall through the cracks. Sales
Part 2: Reasons to Implement reps are incentivized to focus on short-term revenue and are always trying
Part 3: Value Drivers
Part 4: Challenges to determine which leads are most likely to close the fastest. However, some
Part 5: Performance Metrics leads present real opportunities for converting to sales but aren’t quite ready
Part 6: Success Story to buy and require a longer process. Why let these good leads go to waste?
Part 7: Vendor Landscape (not If marketing could “nurture” all leads until they were fully mature and ready to
included in this version)

Sidebars:
Survey Stats
Benchmark KPIs
Core Technologies
Gleanster Numbers

close and then, only when they are ripe and ready, hand them off to sales for
closure, the sales group’s time and efforts would be maximized.
Lead nurturing promises to do just that, by engaging prospects early in the
buying cycle and automating engagement at a pace that the prospect controls.
Prospects get the information they want but nothing more (i.e., no sales pitch)
Rate & Review
until they’re ready to make a buying decision. At that point, the prospect turns
Related Research into a “sales-ready lead” and is forwarded to the sales department. This
Tell a Friend Gleansight explores the processes for determining which leads are sales ready
(versus those that should be funneled through the nurture process) as well as
Note: This document is a licensed version. It
does not include the Vendor Landscape section. the technologies, organizational resources and performance metrics that Top
To download the full report, or to view related
research, please visit www.gleanster.com. Performers are using to make lead nurturing a done deal.

Entire content © 2010 Gleanster, LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.

Gleansight: Lead Nurturing 2

Survey Stats Part 1: Topic Overview
For most people, the word nurture conjures up images of coddled babies,
The research findings featured in
this Gleansight benchmark report pampered pets and well-tended plants. It is not a word that one generally
are derived from the Q3 2010 finds in the lexicon of technology-enabled business initiatives, which is
Gleanster “Lead Nurturing” survey.
dominated by words that tend to be less “soft and feely” and instead have
• Total survey responses: 324 more of a mechanical association (leverage, automate, optimize, etc.).
• Qualified survey responses: 279 Yet lead nurturing has been widely adopted in recent years by solution
• Company size: Very Small (12%); providers and industry practitioners alike to describe the topic at hand.
Small (36%); Medium (26%);
Large (21%); Very Large (5%)
And, in many ways, the term is a perfect fit.
• Geography: North America (69%); Consider the definition of the word nurture. people as possible and to qualify everyone
Europe (16%); Other (15%) It can be used to mean the environmental you meet with questions and conversation
factors that partly determine the structure points. When you get back to your office, you
• Industries: Software and Hardware
of an organism. It can also be used to flip over the business cards you collected
(45%); Financial Services (15%);
mean the act or process of promoting to decipher notes you scribbled on the
Other High Tech (13%); Other (27%)
the development of an organism. back, and start writing follow-up letters.
• Job levels: C-level (5%); SVP/
For most marketing and sales executives, Sound familiar? Without a methodical system
VP (15%); Director (25%);
it’s not a stretch for qualifying, process-
Manager & Staff (55%)

Sample survey respondents:
to imagine a
qualified lead that “Lead nurturing ing and closing leads,
going after prospects

engages prospects
just entered the is a shot in the dark.
• Marketing Director, Logitech sales pipeline as Now imagine you are
a living, breathing back in the same room
• Vice President, Ingersoll-Rand
• Marketing Director, SimplexGrinnell
thing that is both
the product of its
in highly relevant, with your head three
feet above the crowd.
• Manager, American Express environment (e.g.,
what was the personalized inter- The 10 people who
are ready to buy are

actions, based on
• Marketing Director, Oracle source of the lead all wearing the same
• Director, Kronos and what was the red hats, and so are

prospect behavior.”
context in which easy to spot. Written
• Manager, TransAct
it was acquired?) on the top of each
• Director, Cisco and one that also hat is the person’s
requires a great deal of care and attention in chief challenge or need. You focus only on
• Manager, Tetra Pak
order for it to ultimately reach its full potential these 10 people and address each need
• Vice President, Xerox (i.e., become a new client for the company). individually. By the end of the night, you have
begun targeted, relevant relationships with all
More to the point, lead nurturing is a technique
of them. That’s the value of lead nurturing.
for building campaigns that interact with
customers across multiple touch points. Lead nurturing engages prospects in
Nurture campaigns progressively move highly relevant, personalized interactions,
prospects through a series of relevant content based on prospect behavior. By nurturing
stages that map to the prospect’s buying cycle. leads individually, companies can increase
Leads mature from awareness to a sales- revenue by maintaining relationships
ready stage through an automated system. with potential customers who are not yet
Typically, lead nurturing is applied to the ready to buy in the short-term. In this way,
pre-sales process as a multi-step communica- companies can increase sales productiv-
Rate & Review tion between a potential prospect and a seller. ity by reducing the time sales reps spend
cultivating prospects. They can educate and
To illustrate: Imagine you are standing in a
Related Research influence potential customers about products
room of 500 people. Within the group are
and solutions. And they can establish a
Tell a Friend 10 prospects who are ready to buy. But
brand reputation as a trusted advisor and
which 10 and how do you find them? You
Note: This document is a licensed version. It a valuable source of thought leadership.
spend the evening trying to meet as many
does not include the Vendor Landscape section.
research, please visit www.gleanster.com.



Part 2: Reasons to Implement
Benchmark KPIs Gleanster research findings show that, not surprisingly, Top Perform-
ers view the promise of increased revenue and sales productivity as top
Gleanster uses 2-3 key performance
indicators (KPIs) to distinguish “Top reasons to invest in lead nurturing. But these aren’t the only reasons.
Performers” from all other companies
(“Everyone Else”) within a given data
Improving collaboration, reducing marketing spend and increasing
set, thereby establishing a basis customer profitability are also seen as large potential benefits.
for benchmarking best practices.
By definition, Top Performers are
comprised of the top quartile of
qualified survey respondents (QSRs).
69% 71% 84%
Most
The KPIs used for distinguish-
ing Top Performers focus on
Compelling
performance metrics that speak
to year-over-year improvement in Reasons to
relevant, measurable areas. Not
all KPIs are weighted equally. Implement*
Increase the number Increase sales Increase revenue
of sales-ready leads productivity
The KPIs used for this Gleansight are:
* According to Top Performers, based on 279 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster survey on Lead Nurturing
• Change in revenue
Increase revenue. Creating a dynamic Increase the number of sales-ready leads.
• Change in sales pipeline
nurturing program for leads can provide Automated lead nurturing delivers more
• Lead-to-sale conversion rate significantly higher return on investment qualified leads to sales with much less effort
than standard new-customer acquisition than pure customer-acquisition campaigns.
campaigns. Lead nurturing marketing ensures By mapping content to the appropriate buying
To learn more about Gleanster’s that the sales team focuses on leads that are stages, sales has a better idea of the path
research methodology, please click
here or email research@gleanster.com. ready to close, providing maximum revenue that each prospect took to get to the buying
performance for every lead received. At the stage, what their unique needs are, and how
same time, it allows marketing to cultivate to meet and exceed them in a timely manner.
longer-term opportunities, resulting in higher Increasing the number of sales-ready leads
overall revenue from qualified prospects that also increases the number of leads closed
would otherwise fall through the cracks or and the value of those conversions.
be lost to competitors. It also allows sales
Increase marketing effectiveness. Lead
to more accurately manage pipeline cycles
nurturing consists of a series of triggers that
and predict close rates based on historical
release predetermined messages or informa-
conversions. Companies that proactively
tion based on prospect behavior, such as
nurture their leads before moving them to
signing up, making a purchase, abandoning
sales generate more revenue by closing
a shopping cart, or calling customer service.
more leads and reducing cost-per-lead.
Monthly statements and invoices, packing
Increase sales productivity. A typical, slips and permission-based weekly or monthly
manually-driven sales approach leaves sales- emails are also great opportunities for adding
people chasing down dozens of leads at a time, targeted messages. These methods are
many of which can turn out to be unproduc- timely, highly relevant and targeted to each
tive dead ends. Lead nurturing prioritizes individual or prospect’s specific needs, and
prospects so that salespeople are working on more effective than mass messaging.
the hottest leads at all times and maximizing
Increase collaboration between marketing
the full potential of the opportunities in their
Rate & Review and sales. Tight collaboration between
sales pipeline. By engaging customers with
marketing and sales can improve ROI
relevant content in real-time across multiple
Related Research anywhere from 5% to 15%. To achieve improve-
channels, lead nurturing increases conversions
ment, the two departments must first agree on
Tell a Friend and sales performance. To increase sales
a common terminology for critical terms such
productivity, look for processes for deliver-
Note: This document is a licensed version. It as a lead, a prospect, and what determines that
ing information content within your sales and
does not include the Vendor Landscape section. a lead is qualified; create a model for identify-
To download the full report, or to view related marketing cycle that can be automated.
ing qualified leads, then define the threshold



43% 58% 58%
Compelling
Reasons to
Implement*
Increase relevance Increase collaboration Increase marketing
of marketing communications between marketing and sales effectiveness

“Automated lead

management al- point at which leads get passed from marketing
to sales. After this, study the projected number
data about prospects’ behaviors will yield
insights that will help increase efficiency

lowed us to take a of leads and determine whether rules and
processes need to be adjusted to increase
and improve marketing effectiveness.
Automate personalized communications.
more sophisticated or decrease the projected number of leads.
Increase the relevance of marketing
Using a marketing automation solution to
deliver messages will drive lead nurturing
approach and seg- communications. Utilize existing customer
data to customize messages and information,
through a turnkey program that maximizes
relevancy and targeting. It will also automati-
ment leads as they both for retention efforts and for predictive
modeling purposes to locate prospects who
cally score leads to determine the phase a
lead is at, including which leads are hottest
come in. We take mimic existing good customers. If certain
types of information are missing, find a way to
and which leads are cold and of no value.
Remember that lead nurturing is a process,
different actions collect it with a promotion offer or a survey. By
requesting opt-in, new customers will willingly
not a single event. Communications that grow
and cultivate leads contain a consistent feel
based on the qual- receive information from companies they are
actively doing business with and are more
and progression that help move prospects
through the funnel and across the different
ity of the lead, so likely to give personal information, as well.
Using existing data to determine trends, issues
phases of their unique buying cycle. An
automated system maintains that consistency.
we don’t waste and challenges to focus content, increasing
the relevance of messaging. This will result in
Increase customer profitability. By educating

sales time focus- higher opens, clickthroughs and conversions.
and informing prospects at each stage of
the funnel, they are automatically being

ing on lower value Reduce marketing spend. Lead nurturing
reduces both cost-per-lead and overall
engaged in the brand in deeper ways, without
being pressured to buy. As they continue to

prospects.” marketing spend through the use of automated
content that is mapped directly to a customers’
move through the funnel, trust is built and
their likelihood to close when they are ready
buying process. Serving only the content that increases. These leads are highly prequali-
matches a prospect’s need at a given point fied and are likely to be retained at the same
Jim Kemp, Marketing
in time—and improving that content as your length of time and at the same profitability
Manager, ColombiaSoft
prospect moves through the funnel—will level as valuable customers. Also, the fact that
maximize every connection and minimize they were not drawn in through discounts or
marketing spend. In addition, collecting premiums will add to their overall profitability.

19% 19% 28%
Less
Rate & Review
Compelling
Related Research
Reasons to
Tell a Friend
Implement*
does not include the Vendor Landscape section. Increase customer Automate personalized Reduce marketing
To download the full report, or to view related profitability communications spend



Core Technologies Part 3: Value Drivers
Lead nurturing is a technique, not Most companies recognize the need to focus on a number of different
a technology. However, the level of value drivers, often in combination, in order to maximize the value of their
sophistication — and success — of
a lead nurturing campaign is largely investment in lead nurturing. Interestingly, according to Top Performers,
a function of the capabilities enabled the most important value driver relates not to putting an enabling technol-
by a set of core technologies. These
technologies include the following: ogy, business process or organizational resource in place. Rather, it
relates to the need for the marketing and sales departments to arrive at
Email Marketing. Over 80% of Top an agreed-upon definition of what a “sales ready” lead means, in the first
Performers utilize email marketing for
outbound customer engagement. Email place. For many, this step (which may need to be revisited on an ongoing
provides a vehicle for linking other basis) is easier said than done.
channels including the web, events,
and social media. There are two
lead nurturing techniques for deliver-
83% 89%65%
**
ing email campaigns; drip-marketing
(where a series of emails are delivered
based on pre-determine time intervals) Most
and trigger-marketing (where emails
engagement is triggered by prospect
behavior- for example a click-through
Important
on a prior email or a website visit).
Today, all email marketing tools allow
Value
marketers to add personalized “fields”
to outbound email. This could include Drivers*
a prospects name in the salutation or Enable prospect qualification Agree upon the definition
a reference to a recently purchased with lead nurturing of a “sales ready” lead
product. Email personalization is
critical to maximizing the relevance * According to Top Performers, based on 279 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster survey on Lead Nurturing
of lead nurturing communications. ** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers

Centralized Marketing Database. Agree upon the definition of a “sales ready” vs. “how to expand key product lines.”
Customer data is the lifeblood of lead. It is critical that marketing and sales
Align marketing content to the prospect
lead nurturing campaigns. Ideally, work together seamlessly and have a singular
buying cycle. With each step of the lead-
lead nurturing campaigns will deliver understanding of the entire sales-marketing
just the right content for just the right nurturing process, place corresponding content
process, including who is responsible for what
stage in the prospects buying cycle. that unobtrusively signals if a lead is moving
Therefore it’s critical to track and and how the process will work and flow. A
closer to the buying process. For example,
monitor the type of content prospects singular lexicon across both departments is an
suppose someone searched an online catalog
are consuming over time. Naturally, this important first step, as well is understanding
for the generic term “car stereos.” Appropriate
would be difficult or impossible to do the definition of what constitutes an inquiry,
manually, so automated systems should content could be an article on “How to Choose
marketing-qualified lead, sales-accepted lead,
collect and aggregate all customer the Best Car Stereo.” If, a day later, this Web
data to one centralized database. sales-qualified lead or closed business.
site visitor returned to searchon “wattage”
Most automated lead management Enable prospect qualification with lead and “style,” they could be presented with an
systems track email marketing, web
nurturing. There are several reasons to article on “Consumer Reports’ Top-rated Car
analytics, and landing page conver-
sion from one centralized system for a prequalify a lead, including: reduce cost-per- Stereo Systems.” As they move closer to the
complete view of all marketing activity lead; reduce the amount of time (and financial shopping cart, present them with content that
with prospects and customers. investment) spent with a lead; and improve the matches their specific need at each click.
value of the lead over the long term. To help Through lead nurturing, each search term,
prequalify a lead, a lead-nurturing process is piece of content delivered or clicked on, not
designed to move a person or company one to mention how long they spent with each
step at a time through the sales/marketing piece of content, helps define where the
Rate & Review prospect is on the buying continuum. Through
funnel, which also provides visibility on where
Related Research every lead is inside the sales funnel. Start an automated reporting structure, this path
prequalifying with broad, basic questions, can be followed and continually adjusted.
Tell a Friend such as: “Click here if you are a consumer
Prioritize leads based on propensity to
products firm” and “click here if you are a
Note: This document is a licensed version. It purchase. By aligning marketing content
does not include the Vendor Landscape section. business-to-business firm.” Or, prequalify
to the prospect buying cycle, one can see
To download the full report, or to view related them by need. For instance, whether they click
research, please visit www.gleanster.com. how close (or far ) they are from conversion.
on an article about “how to start a business”
With this information in hand, one can easily



53%79% 58%38% 75%
** **

Integration with CRM. Integration
between marketing automation tools
and CRM provides a complete history Important
of marketing and sales activity on
prospects and customers. In fact, this is Value
absolutely critical to building an efficient
lead nurturing process. Integration can
help deliver automated alerts to sales
Drivers*
to ensure sales are focused on the
high priority opportunities that have the
greatest chance of closing. At the same Centralize prospect behavior Prioritize leads based Align marketing content
time, this integration creates a seamless and marketing activity history on propensity to purchase to prospect buying cycle
(typically in CRM)
flow between marketing and sales; lead
quality can be tracked and monitored * According to Top Performers, based on 279 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster survey on Lead Nurturing
and the organization can close the loop ** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers
to start collecting some tangible metrics
about return on marketing investment. prioritize leads and the amount of time spentd over a given period of time? How many of the
with them, based on who is most ready to sales-accepted leads became sales-qualified
Lead Scoring. Advanced lead nurturing buy. This information is a moving target and leads? How many of the sales accepted
techniques involve the use of lead could change as quickly as every few minutes leads closed and how much revenue was
scoring and prioritization. Lead scoring or as slowly as every few months, depending associated with these leads? While it may
techniques provide a mechanism on the type of products and services sold. not be possible to tease out the percentage
for prioritizing leads and automating
when they are passed to sales based of each sale that lead nurturing was respon-
Centralize prospect behavior and marketing
on numeric values that are assigned sible for, one will be able to determine that,
activity history (typically in CRM). Look
to different prospect activities. These of all incoming leads, the ones processed
for common denominators across prospects’
“rules” assign numeric points to different by alead-nurturing program with will likely
activities in the buying cycle; clicking behavior. Group together those whose buying
present higher value than those that were not.
an email, visiting a website, download- behavior is the same or similar. Then look
ing a whitepaper, etc.). After prospects for ways to centralize and automate how Automate lead prioritization. Determining
reach a pre-determined aggregate you address those behaviors, such as with which lead to follow up on next should not be
threshold they are automatically passed
targeted emails or direct mailers, customized arbitrary or time-consuming. Similar to the way
to sales as qualified opportunities
ensuring sales reps engage at just the telemarketing calls, or personalized letters. a customer service rep’s phone automatically
right time, with just the right message. Grouping ‘like’ people together will also help rings when a customer is on the line, sales reps
one uncover and address any gaps, problems, should be automatically fed with lead informa-
issues or challenges standing in the way of tion. Use lead scoring to determine the priority
Web Analytics. In a complex sales
closing sales. They may also bring to light new of each lead. There are several variables that
cycle, there is no question prospects
will be visiting websites and looking for ideas for cross-selling and upselling to these will come into play when determining a score,
research online. Web analytics data and other prospects or customer segments. including: title, industry, location, revenue and
is a window into prospect needs and budget. Marketing and sales should jointly
desires. Automated lead management Track lead nurturing revenue to measure
determine the values/points to assign to each
tools can track and monitor activity the success of marketing programs. Lead
variable and what numbers should be used
email click-thorughs to websites and nurturing campaigns should provide answers
landing pages and incorporate this to weight the data. Once all the factors are
to the following questions, which are directly
into nurture marketing campaigns determined, business rules can be written to
tied to ROI: How many marketing-qualified
as behavioral triggers. More sophis- decide when a lead is ready for passing to
ticated web analytics tools can leads did marketing nurture over a given
sales and whether it is a level 1 (“hot”) priority.
also be used to shape the content period of time? How many of the marketing-
and messaging in lead nurturing qualified leads became sales-accepted leads
campaigns. What search terms
are prospects using? What content
do they typically download? What
52% 29% 52%
**

challenges are they trying to solve?

Less
Rate & Review Important
Related Research Value
Tell a Friend Drivers*
Automate lead Track lead nurturing revenue to
does not include the Vendor Landscape section. prioritization measure the success of marketing programs
research, please visit www.gleanster.com. * According to Top Performers, based on 279 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster survey on Lead Nurturing
** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers



Part 4: Challenges
There are numerous challenges associated with launching a lead nurturing
program. They range from securing executive level buy-in to getting
sales and marketing onto the same page, educating staff at various
levels throughout the company and from across a variety customer touch
points, understanding the prospect audience; putting the right technology
solutions in place in a timely manner; determining business rules; making
joint decisions such as scoring values and which software to use; and
putting metrics and measurement tools in place. Like the lead nurture
funnel itself, each one of these steps should be handled in a particular
order, one step at a time, and most importantly, together.

80% 82%
Most
Challenging
Aspects*
Achieving acceptable Developing effective nurture
customer data quality marketing campaign content

* According to All Companies, based on 279 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster survey on Lead Nurturing

Developing effective nurture marketing Finally, capture the search terms thatprospects
campaign content. To map the right content use online and compare search terms for those
to each buying stage, understand the attitudes who convert against the search terms used for
(i.e., what’s important to their buying decision those who don’t convert. Spot the gaps and
and what their deciding factors are) and audit the search process for improvements.
behaviors (i.e., do the majority of prospects
Fostering a sales and marketing alignment
follow a pattern prior to buying and how
culture within the organization. For lead
can you help them achieve those behaviors
nurturing to succeed, sales and marketing
through specific content) prospects exhibit.
must work together seamlessly. That means
Once these attitudinal and buying behaviors
being in agreement on all goals and objec-
are understood, craft content ideas that match
tives, definitions—including knowing when
those intents. Example: Manager A wants
a lead is sales-ready—and metrics. To
a recycled paper stock that is as white as a
align the culture between marketing and
No. 1 sheet; Manager B wants an affordable
sales, the two departments must be willing
catalog stock but doesn’t want any show-
to agree on and automate business rules,
through. Each of these distinct issues can be
then share all resulting data, and agree on
addressed through different pieces of content.
the data’s interpretation. If sales is measured
Achieving acceptable customer data on the quality of the lead, there must be
quality. The best data for making actionable separate metrics in place to incentivize and
decisions is behavioral. Work backward from credit marketing for doing its part, too.
Rate & Review conversion and capture each individual step
Measuring ROI on lead nurturing activi-
the prospect made until you reach a threshold
ties. Calculating a true ROI on lead nurturing
Related Research where the steps are no longer unique and
campaigns can be difficult because nurturing
become general. Also, attitudinal data will help
Tell a Friend leverages a variety of different channels
make visible how prospects perceive your
(email, search, Web content, white papers,
Note: This document is a licensed version. It brand vs. the competition. In addition, cleansing
analytics, webinars) across the life of a
does not include the Vendor Landscape section. data regularly is critical. Eliminate wrong
To download the full report, or to view related campaign. This makes it difficult to allocate
research, please visit www.gleanster.com. addresses, expired emails and phone numbers
revenue to direct costs for a true cost-
and merge duplicates on a regular basis.



52% 55% 64%
Challenging
“The difference Aspects*
between good and
great marketing is
having a process Measuring return
on investment
Measuring ROI on
lead nurturing activities
Fostering a sales
and marketing alignment

that is integrated
culture within the organization

and measurable to benefit analysis. Also, today’s prospects
and customers may have been influenced
computing, although talked about heavily but
still only sparingly used, will eventually become

understand what by any number of factors, including competi-
tors, friends and family, bloggers, etc. It is
a driving force in the elimination of legacy
apps. This will increase sales and marketing’s

marketing is work- not possible to tease out a lead-nurture-
only ROI separate from other efforts, as
reaction time in addressing prospects’ needs
and speed up the process of delivering leads

ing for your audi- lead nurturing is part of a holistic approach.
However, upper management generally
to the nurture system or the sales team.
Securing executive level buy-in. The CEO
ence and what mar- will want marketing to be able to justify the
use of lead nurturing, so keep track of lead
is only interested in one thing: ROI. However,
there are stakeholders at multiple levels. It
keting customers nurturing’s participation in each conversion
and compare those numbers to the number
often makes sense to open up a dialogue
with the lower-level executives to win their

are responding to.”
of leads converted that were not nurtured,
support first, and remember to ask them
along with their equivalent lifetime value.
for their opinions about the company’s pain
Measuring return on investment. Sales is points. Accumulate some wins to help plead
based on short-term metrics, while marketing, your case, starting with a series of small tests.
Director, Web and Direct Marketing, when measured at all, can be looked at Use the test results to extrapolate projec-
National Instruments with either a short- or a long-term view. tions for a larger projects, and be prepared
Since prequalified leads tend to result in to show how lead nurturing can help.
better-targeted customers who have higher
Securing the right operational and analytic
long-term value, it is important to maintain
resources. When requesting funding for
a long-term view of the value of customers
your lead nurturing program, be sure to align
converted through lead nurturing. Also, the
your strategy with the company’s goals.
more holistic the measurement is (i.e., across
Show upper management how lead nurturing
all channels), the more accurate it will be.
helps the firm achieve those goals. When
Eliminating the use of legacy applications. discussing budget requirements, be sure to
As the enterprise becomes more holistic start with your small wins and extrapolate
and the customer becomes more multi- what that would equate to in a roll out along
channel-oriented, it becomes increasingly with the timing for payback. Ask the vendor
more important to eliminate siloed data and for case studies of companies of similar size
applications, replacing them or integrating them and need and present their ROI, as well.
tightly with other customer-facing apps. Cloud

28% 37% 49%
Less
Rate & Review Challenging
Related Research
Aspects*
Tell a Friend
does not include the Vendor Landscape section. Securing the right operational Securing executive Eliminating the use
To download the full report, or to view related and analytic resources level buy-in of legacy applications



Gleanster Numbers Part 5: Performance Metrics
76 Sales is a department that is driven entirely by performance. When it
Percentage of top performers comes to lead nurturing, marketing is inexplicably tied to sales, and so
(compared to 39% of Everyone Else) it becomes imperative that all steps along the lead nurturing path are
utilizing lead nurturing campaigns
measured. Justifying the value of lead nurturing requires tangible, improv-
able metrics, and marketing should be able to correlate how lead nurturing
72
Percentage of top perform-
contributes to the sales pipeline and, ultimately, to revenue.
ers utilizing drip-marketing
techniques for lead nurturing
79% 90% 98%88%
**

34 Most
Percentage of top performers utilizing Commonly
multi-channel trigger marketing
techniques for lead nurturing Used
12 Metrics*
Lead Volume Email Click- Revenue
Percentage of total leads that in Sales Pipeline Through Rates
are deemed “sales-ready” that
actually result in an immediate sale * According to Top Performers, based on 279 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster survey on Lead Nurturing
(across all survey respondents) ** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers

Revenue. The revenue metric is a good quarters, serves as an accurate predictor of
89 example of the cliché, “You get out of it what future sales. With this metric, Marketing can
Percentage of top performers who you put into it.” Companies that use lead determine whether an increase or a course
cited “personalized email engage-
ment” had the most significant impact nurturing generate more revenue from their correction are needed in its acquisition
on revenue growth over the last year lead-generation activities than companies that marketing and/or lead nurturing efforts. Even
do not. This is mainly because their leads are a sales pipeline that is flowing smoothly and
better prequalified. Moreover, the company performing on target should be monitored
63 earns their trust over time, which results in a continuously and analyzed for trends that
Percentage of top performers that did deeper relationship and meets needs in a more could affect future performance. An automated
not have a problem securing executive targeted, relevant fashion. While sales will be lead nurturing system can help the sales
level buy-in for lead nurturing initiatives
more interested in short-term results, marketing pipeline maintain sales volume objectives.
should remember to continue to measure
Cost per lead. Many companies purchase
89 revenue over the long-term (i.e. lifetime
online media on a CPM basis, but measure
Percentage of top performers that value) from each individual or company that
results on a cost-per-lead basis. Lead nurturing
share the definition of a “sales-ready became sales-ready through lead nurturing.
can play a significant role in helping companies
lead” between sales and marketing
Email clickthrough rates. Clickthroughs keep within their cost-per-lead targets. The
are an important first step in getting content challenge with cost per lead is that it generally
viewed and absorbed. The key to understand- does not follow the click through to conver-
ing their value, however, is to not measure sion and cannot show whether one lead
them in a vacuum. While it’s important to turned out to be more valuable than another.
measure them, it’s an accepted fact that By using predictive modeling to source
high clickthroughs don’t equal conversions, leads that mimic best and most growable
and smart marketers know not to stop there. customers, companies can adjust cost per
Clickthroughs are just one part of a holistic lead—and their lead nurturing program—
approach to understanding your prospect’s accordingly, based on a projected LTV.
Rate & Review
total value by including where your prospect
Average deal size. Across the board, the
Related Research goes on your website, time spent on your site,
economic downturn has affected average deal
whether they register or make a purchase, and
Tell a Friend size. But companies that utilized their existing
whether they forward your email to others.
customer data to create relevant and timely
Note: This document is a licensed version. It Lead volume in the sales pipeline. Hitting offers and content for most valuable prospects
does not include the Vendor Landscape section.
sales targets requires a constant flow of have likely suffered the least and remained
research, please visit www.gleanster.com. sales leads, and understanding the current the most stable. Some have even continued
sales pipeline volume, as compared to past to grow and sustain profitability despite the



53% 56% 60%
Commonly
Used
“It all starts with Metrics*
a clearly defined
taxonomy for lead New customer
acquisition rate
Average deal
size
Cost per
lead

stages and align- * According to Top Performers, based on 279 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster survey on Lead Nurturing
recession. To increase average deal size, work status and feed the content engine with that
ment with the to understand, predict and address prospects’
wants and needs even further. And remember
information, as well as content that solves the
problems of the most valuable customers.
sales team. You that the customer base is a moving target.
Continue to regularly refresh and analyze
Landing page activity. The landing page

can’t nurture un-
should drive visitors in a natural pattern from
data about customers and prospects.
the top (or broader) information down toward
New customer acquisition rate. A percent- the shopping cart, registration or conversion
til you know how age of the customer base will be lost every
year to natural erosion (moved away; marriage;
point. If visitors are jumping from place to place
in an unnatural order, or moving in a pattern
you want to treat the company is acquired; the company goes
out of business; a new competitor in the
other than the preferred one, rearrange your
landing page to match their behavior, putting
different types of marketplace). Without proactive replace-
ment, one could lose an entire customer
links or teasers to the most popular informa-
tion at the top. Ensure that the landing page,

leads.” base in just a few years. By comparing the
rate of new customer acquisition against
registration page and shopping cart are clear
and easy to use. Any flaw in site functionality
the attrition rate, one can determine whether and usability can cause a lower conversion.
customers are being acquired as fast or
Doug Sechrist, VP of Demand Return on marketing investments. To justify
Marketing, Taleo faster than they are being lost. Coupled with
your lead nurturing program’s existence,
monitoring the new customer acquisition
measure its contribution to the sales pipeline
rate, one should track and proactively work
and to conversions. Use an automated,
to keep customers who are attrition risks.
closed-loop system where data can easily
Ratio of sales-ready leads to total leads. be exchanged between sales and marketing
The ratio of sales-ready leads to total leads and prospects can be tracked through the
will help determine if: 1) if the right media, sites lead generation lifecycle. By automating this
or networks for reaching the target audience process, you will be able to measure your
are being used, and if the right targeting return on marketing investment as often
parameters are being used; and 2) if the lead- as necessary in real time. Well-aligned
nurturing program is working as effectively organizations use a closed-loop measure-
and efficiently as it could be. To increase ment process to see what messaging is
the ratio of sales-ready leads to total leads, converting buyers at different phases, as well
continually analyze the type of content that as the points where leads may be leaking
is driving the most conversion to sales-ready from the sales and marketing funnel.

29% 43% 50%12%
**

Less
Rate & Review Commonly
Related Research Used
Tell a Friend
Metrics*
Note: This document is a licensed version. It Return on Landing page Ratio of sales-ready
does not include the Vendor Landscape section. marketing investments activity leads to total leads
** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers


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