The Trackable Journey of the Customer
Drew began the day by introducing the concepts and high-level ideas that attendees would learn about and discuss throughout LeadGen Day. His message focused on “trackable customer journeys” and the importance for businesses to customize this journey for their audiences.
Customers are more picky than ever. The market is demanding faster, smarter, and more personalized experiences. The new status quo is here, and it’s up to businesses to adapt and surpass that standard.
Marketing technologies are a big part of being able to lead the pack. Marketing technology is not one-size-fits-all. There are literally thousands of marketing solutions available.
He referred to the MarTec 5 000, a list that includes marketing technology solutions for almost any industry. The sheer number of technology solutions that are listed gives it its name. It was originally a list of 5000 companies. Today, it is a list of nearly 8000.
Recent innovation in sales and marketing is almost unmatched. If you’re looking for a way to make your business that much more intelligent/agile/etc., this list is the perfect place to start.
Drew touched on concepts we would discuss throughout the day. Today, the amount of business intelligence that companies have available allows them to create creative ways for their marketing and sales teams.
Most effective marketing campaigns focus on the potential of the product or service rather than highlighting how amazing it is. Drew concluded his presentation by saying: “Sell the security and protection of the moat. Not the shovel used to dig it.”
Grayson LaFrenz is Bringing sales and marketing together
Grayson’s presentation focused on the collision between sales and marketing over the past two decades. Marketing technology innovations (see above) have helped to bridge the gap between sales and marketing. The communication between the two sides of business development has never been simpler.
You need to have a constant dialogue between your marketing and sales teams, especially if you are in a business with a long sales cycle. Marketing teams cannot wait six months or more to find out which campaigns are bringing quality leads to sales. Later, when I discuss Julie’s presentation, I will expand on this.
Grayson shared strategies to improve the quality of prospecting. B2B outreach can be automated with the right email and marketing technologies (see, again, MarTec 5000). Once teams “crack” the code in terms of which exact personas they should be targeting with messages and offers that are exactly tailored to this persona, optimization is all it takes.
Business intelligence and tracking are essential in B2B. Before you can improve your strategy, your team and yourself need to understand what traffic, leads, and closed business means.
Grayson’s other poignant message was that the website of a company can either be its biggest asset or obstacle. A good website will act as if it were a top salesperson. Your team should be able to easily segment leads by allowing the nurturing of warm and cold prospects to be automated. Offer thought leadership to your visitors (and Google’s algorithm!) upfront. You should be able to show that you are an expert in your field. You should give your traffic the option to send an email to get more information about your solution, such as a webinar or whitepaper.
With a quality website, you can diversify the sources of your online leads. When you receive a steady stream of high-quality leads through your website, you’re less dependent on email sales outreach, tradeshow introductions, and partner referrals. You can fully utilize the power of digital marketing.
Google’s algorithm will recognize you as an expert in your field, and you will receive higher rankings for SEO and organic traffic. Google Ads will also have a better quality score, which lowers your CPC. This gives your ads more chances to convert. Your brand will be given a good first impression by traffic from social media and PR posts.
We can even say it has an impact on the “old-school” methods of generating new business. Your offer will impress prospects that you meet during conferences or networking events. Your partners will feel more confident referring your business if you have a website that makes it as simple as registering as a customer. Your sales team will have the best chance of closing deals with prospects who are already familiarized with your brand.
It’s true that rising tides do lift all boats.
Effective Communication between Sales and Marketing
If Drew is the “What” and Grayson is the “Why,” then Julie will be the “How.” How does a successful sales and marketing team communicate?
Julie says they must first speak the same language. What qualifies a lead as qualified? How do you differentiate between a sales-qualified lead and a marketing-qualified lead? The questions that must be answered with quantitative and qualitative metrics.
Julie discussed the implementation of a lead scoring method that will allow your team to quickly come together and understand what true opportunities are generated by their efforts. This becomes more important as the sales cycle lengthens. Julie suggested that it is easy to complicate the process.
You must define three key metrics: Lead fit, lead interest, and lead behavior.
You can then create a score for MQLs, SQLs, and disqualified leads. This will give your team multiple indicators of success. You won’t have a perfect campaign at first, but you will be able, over time, to adjust your strategy based on what is generating the best-qualified leads for each stage of your marketing funnel.
The funnel is a manifestation of this optimization-focused digital marketing approach. What motivates the most qualified prospects to provide their email address in order to receive a case study, whitepaper, etc? How can the marketing team reach out to that prospect through nurturing emails or ad campaigns? Your team can create a constant flow of high-quality opportunities over time.
She stressed the importance of segmentation, personalization, and testing messages to prospects at every step of the funnel. Teams should test how they communicate with their audience at each level of the funnel. People want to interact with businesses in a more personal way.