Lead scoring is a methodology used to rank prospects against a scale that represents the perceived value each lead represents to the organization. [1] The resulting score is used to determine which leads a receiving function (e.g. sales, partners, teleprospecting) will engage, in order of priority.
Lead scoring models incorporate both explicit and implicit data. Explicit data is provided by or about the prospect, for example - company size, industry segment, job title or geographic location. [2] Implicit scores are derived from monitoring prospect behavior; examples of these include Web-site visits, whitepaper downloads or e-mail opens and clicks. [3] [4] Additionally, social scores analyze a person's presence and activities on social networks. [5]
Lead Scoring allows a business to customize a prospect's experience based on his or her buying stage and interest level and greatly improves the quality and "readiness" of leads that are delivered to sales organizations for followup.
When a lead scoring model is effective, the key benefits are:
Various lead scoring methodologies are employed:
Businesses iterate on existing methodologies and change methodologies in an effort to better prioritize sales engagement. As businesses grow in headcount & the number of products they sell, predictive lead scoring methodologies are generally favored for their ability to ingest new customer data routinely and evolve its predictions. [11]
With machine learning, lead scoring models have evolved to include components of predictive analytics, generating Predictive Lead Scoring models. Predictive Lead Scoring leverage first party data - such as internal marketing, sales & product data - as well as third party data - such as data enrichment & intent data - in order to build a machine learning model of the ideal customer profile. Predictive Lead Scoring models can also be used to identify, qualify & engage product-qualified leads based on identifying statistically differentiating elements in historical user behavior which best predicts whether a user will spend above a certain threshold. [12]
Predictive Lead Scoring is particularly beneficial for SaaS businesses, which have a high Customer lifetime value & a plethora of customer data. Predictive lead scoring models enable businesses to identify high-value prospects early in the buyer journey, creating a FastLane experience for prospects predicted to be a good firmographic & behavioral fit.
The success of Predictive Lead Scoring models is measured by their ability to identify a subset of prospective buyers who will account for a significant portion of sales opportunities. This is expressed in the following way:
X% of leads represent Y% of conversions
Optimal performance of a predictive lead scoring model sees X approaching 0, Y approaching 100 & conversions defined as a bottom-of-funnel metric such as opportunity created or opportunity won.
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or another organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information.
Personalized marketing, also known as one-to-one marketing or individual marketing, is a marketing strategy by which companies use data analysis and digital technology to show adverts to individuals based on their perceived characteristics and interests. Marketers use methods from data collection, analytics, digital electronics, and digital economics then use technology to analyze it and show personalized ads based on algorithms that attempt to deduce people’s interests.
Database marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses databases of customers or potential customers to generate personalized communications in order to promote a product or service for marketing purposes. The method of communication can be any addressable medium, as in direct marketing.
Email marketing is the act of sending a commercial message, typically to a group of people, using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It involves using email to send advertisements, request business, or solicit sales or donations. The term usually refers to sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing a merchant's relationship with current or previous customers, encouraging customer loyalty and repeat business, acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately, and sharing third-party ads.
In marketing, lead generation is the process of creating consumer interest or inquiry into the products or services of a business. A lead is the contact information and, in some cases, demographic information of a customer who is interested in a specific product or service.
Lead management is a set of methodologies, systems, and practices designed to generate new potential business clientele, generally operated through a variety of marketing campaigns or programs. Lead management facilitates a business's connection between its outgoing consumer advertising and the responses to that advertising. These processes are designed for business-to-business and direct-to-consumer strategies. Lead management is in many cases a precursor to sales management, customer relationship management and customer experience management. This critical connectivity facilitates business profitability through the acquisition of new customers, selling to existing customers, and creating a market brand. This process has also been referred to as customer acquisition management.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to marketing:
Customer analytics is a process by which data from customer behavior is used to help make key business decisions via market segmentation and predictive analytics. This information is used by businesses for direct marketing, site selection, and customer relationship management. Marketing provides services to satisfy customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the production level, to the end of the cycle at the consumer. Customer analytics plays an important role in the prediction of customer behavior.
Oracle CRM is a customer relationship management system created by Oracle Corporation. It includes a number of different cloud applications that can be deployed together or used individually to analyze customer data and help companies connect and manage sales, marketing, and customer support.
HubSpot, Inc. is an American developer and marketer of software products for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service. HubSpot was founded by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah in 2006.
A contact manager is a software program that enables users to easily store and find contact information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers. They are databases that provide an integrated approach to tracking information and communication activities linked to contacts. Simple ones for personal use are included in most smartphones. Sophisticated contact managers provide calendar sharing features and allow colleagues to access the same database.
The purchase funnel, or purchasing funnel, is a consumer-focused marketing model that illustrates the theoretical customer journey toward the purchase of a good or service.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a provider of digital marketing automation and analytics software and services. It was founded in 2000 under the name ExactTarget. The company filed for an IPO in 2007, but withdrew its filing two years later and raised $145 million in funding. It acquired CoTweet, Pardot, iGoDigital and Keymail Marketing. In 2012, it raised $161.5 million in an initial public offering, before being acquired by Salesforce for $2.5 billion in 2013. ExactTarget was renamed Salesforce Marketing Cloud in 2014 after its acquisition by Salesforce.
The fields of marketing and artificial intelligence converge in systems which assist in areas such as market forecasting, and automation of processes and decision making, along with increased efficiency of tasks which would usually be performed by humans. The science behind these systems can be explained through neural networks and expert systems, computer programs that process input and provide valuable output for marketers.
Healthcare CRM, also known as Healthcare Relationship Management, is a broadly used term for a Customer relationship management system, or CRM, used in healthcare.
Optimove is a privately held company that develops and markets a Relationship Marketing software as a service (SaaS). Optimove's product has a Customer Data Platform at its core and applies algorithmic optimization to autonomously improve multichannel campaigns. The company serves various industries, including retail, eCommerce, travel and hospitality, gaming, and financial services.
Marketing automation refers to software platforms and technologies designed for marketing departments and organizations automate repetitive tasks and consolidate multi-channel interactions, tracking and web analytics, lead scoring, campaign management and reporting into one system. It often integrates with customer relationship management (CRM) and customer data platform (CDP) software.
Social selling invented by Jamie Shanks, CEO at Get Levrg, is the process of developing relationships as part of the sales process. Today this often takes place via social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, but can take place either online or offline. Examples of social selling techniques include sharing relevant content, interacting directly with potential buyers and customers, personal branding, and social listening. Social Selling is gaining popularity in a variety of industries, though it is used primarily for B2B (business-to-business) selling or highly considered consumer purchases. C2C companies have been using social selling techniques since far before the Internet existed. B2B and B2C companies are now adopting many of those techniques as they are translated to social media platforms.
Conversica is a US-based cloud software technology company, headquartered in San Mateo, California, that provides two-way AI-driven conversational software and a suite of Intelligent Virtual Assistants for businesses to engage customers via email, chat, and SMS.
Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience (CX) is a suite of cloud-based applications offered by Oracle Corporation that includes tools for advertising, marketing, sales, e-commerce, customer service.