The Marketing Imperative for 2009: Build a killer lead nurturing program

The Marketing Imperative for 2009:
Build a killer lead nurturing program
Executive Summary: We are facing an unprecedented difficult business environment in the coming year. Asked to do much more with less, budgets are being tightened - and the pressure for sales success continues to mount. This growing challenge for marketing departments around the world means they will have to partner closely with the Sales team to reinvent their lead qualification and nurturing process.
Check out these astonishing statistics being tossed out by marketing research firms in 2008:
- More than 65% of companies admit to not having a formal lead nurturing program.
- Almost 90% of leads acquired by companies are never effectively qualified, and some 35-40% are never contacted by the company.
- Of the leads that ARE qualified, less than 15% end with an actual sale. This leaves some 85% of qualified leads that are often discarded or go stale/unused.
- Estimates suggest that some 50-60% of leads that are handed over to sales are never actually touched - further eroding the potential of marketing investments.
In these trying times, no greater low-hanging-fruit opportunity exists than implementing a successful lead-nurturing program. But, creating one requires careful thought and planning - which this paper outlines. What are some key steps your organization should take to building a successful program? What marketing-platform capabilities should you consider to help you get the results you want?
2009 is the year to get your act together and squeeze as much business potential from the few marketing dollars you will have this year, and next. If you are feeling the pressure, imagine what your sales force is feeling. It's time to work together and build a best-in-class lead-nurturing program, including providing the tools and information to respond to opportunities quickly - and with optimal success.
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Note: Written by TailoredMail, a leading provider of email marketing solutions for more than 1,000 organizations worldwide. Learn more about our solutions at www.tailoredmail.com or call 877-E-TAILOR. The problem: Companies are heading into an economic climate unlike anything they've ever seen. Layoffs, budget slashing, and a 'do more with less' business mantra abounds. As a result, the focus on business-results takes precedent, and rightfully so.
Marketing invests in numerous lead-generation tactics such as Search-ads, Trade Shows, Whitepapers, Webinars, Direct Mail, and so on. Leads come pouring in and are ideally followed up on by sales. However, some research firms estimate that more than 70-90% of leads go to waste because:
. No proper definition exists of what is a "qualified lead" . Lack of a strategic communication plan/strategy to nurture the sale . The Sales team cherry-picks the leads they like, often leaving good leads untouched . Sales cycles are getting longer due to economic conditions, increasing the pressure to respond ONLY to leads that are the 'most-ready' to buy now. The above situation begs for the creation of an effective Lead Nurturing Program. Such an effort can dramatically improve the business ROI of a company's marketing investment. Sales teams can be more effective and focused as a result. Leads don't get lost in the shuffle. Most importantly, proper lead nurturing programs will more effectively match the actual 'buying process' to each prospect to improve overall success, and do so through the use of existing marketing materials and sales messaging. It will support, and append, the new mantra with: 'Do more with less by simply being SMARTER'.
Read on to learn how.
Lead Nurturing Defined: Lead Nurturing is a process that assists the sales process for those prospects that have the authority to buy, but may simply not be ready to do so. They may require more time to evaluate your solution, or must wait until budgets are available. They can likely benefit from further 'education' of your products, or on the market you compete in. As such, a good program should provide them with on-going relevant information designed to build credibility and an on-going 'dialogue' - until they are ready to be contacted directly by sales.
Leads are produced by Marketing in a number of different ways, and a lead nurt... [download for more]