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This paper introduces a breakthrough solution to these challenges called on-demand lead scoring. It directly and powerfully addresses this new merchant imperative, giving selling organizations deep insight into consumers previously unknown to them (as well as existing customers). Many companies have begun to score leads in recent years but most of them haven’t realized the advantages created by scoring leads on demand. The key is having this information at the instant that companies need it most: at the moment of impact for converting a sale. On-demand scoring enables lead prioritization: the ability to examine inbound contacts — in the call center, from the Web or at the point of sale — in a split second and apply a wealth of actionable insight at that very instant.
As a call connects, it can be instantly evaluated, prioritized and routed according to the projected value of the caller and the track record of the agent. Leads collected online can be treated the same way, triggering outbound calls by selected agents with carefully tailored messages.
Some companies are using scoring for prioritized sales efforts: knowing which prospects to call first and which to call more frequently. At the point of sale, a simple phone number from the customer unlocks targeted information that the vendor can leverage for cross-sell and upsell strategies in the next crucial moments.
The key to this instant, automatic decision making is to make sure that your scoring can be applied to all your leads and that the information used for scoring is current and accurate. In order to truly qualify a lead, you must use first ensure that the foundational contact information is actionable or verified. This requires information sources that go beyond publicly available data such as White Pages or Directory Assistance. Information from those sources could be out of date by 30 days to a year, so any analytics tied to this information may be no better than guesswork.
Once a strong foundation of information is in place, lead scoring can quickly produce a measurable impact. In every channel, on-demand lead scoring is at long last leveling the playing field for selling organizations. Merchants are dramatically improving service, sales, messaging, upselling and cross-selling ability — in short, responding smarter and faster than the competition.
Here are just a few examples of how on-demand lead scoring is working today on the ground in forward-looking organizations who interact with leads over the phone, on the Web and at the point of sale:
Dynamic Messaging : Communications Service Provider Improves Customer Acquisition in Call Center
A communications company is fielding phone calls from consumers to whom it has never spoken. When the phone rings, the caller is instantly matched against a set of customer profiles to identify the callers’ likely value and their interest in voice, video or Internet services. The coding intelligence is based on an analysis of existing customers, their past behavior and household-level demographics.
Based on these scores, the leads are prioritized and routed to specific agents who instantaneously offer packages most likely to interest the customer. An elderly couple might be calling to inquire about a no-limits phone plan. A household with teenage children might be looking for broadband Internet access for online games. A high-income couple might want the top-of-the line Digital Video Recorder and HDTV service. Tailoring offers this way increases conversion rates, customer satisfaction and profit.
Web to Agent: Auto Dealer Increases Sales by Prioritizing Follow-up
An auto dealer has arranged to receive names and phone numbers of local, active car shoppers within seconds of their filling out Web forms on auto-related Web sites. Upon receiving a lead, the dealer automatically verifies that the name, address and phone number are both valid and correlated to the same person. If the dealer doesn’t have the data coverage to verify each lead against up-to-date information, then the ensuing lead scoring may still not result in qualified prospects.
The dealer follows the split-second verification process with equally speedy lead scoring based on the individual’s household demographic information and the dealer’s experience with customers fitting that shopper’s profile. The dealer’s sales team is now fully equipped to prioritize the leads, rushing the most promising ones to the top of the queue for an immediate outbound call.
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