In a recent SiriusDecisions blog post, Laura Cross revealed some startling information regarding the usual set up of lead scoring for most companies getting started with marketing automation. Well, I guess I found it’s startling because it’s not how Right On Interactive sets up our 3D Scoring methodology.
To start, she explains how most companies decide to utilize lead scoring.
“Too many organizations implement lead scoring because it was included with their marketing automation platform (MAP). Post-purchase, many MAP vendors ask, ‘With your subscription agreement and initial professional services agreement, do you want lead scoring or nurturing?’ Most organizations do not believe they have enough content for a nurturing program, so lead scoring is an easy choice – especially because organizations naturally want to give highly valuable leads to sales.”
Sound familiar? How many times have you signed an agreement for a product or service and been told a feature “comes with this package at no extra cost” only never to use it? When something is “included” it’s often given second priority. Unfortunately, marketing automation is hardly more than an ESP without lead scoring and lead nurturing.
Consider this, according to MarketingSherpa’s B2B Benchmarking Report, while many organizations are thinking about lead scoring for their business, only 21% of B2B marketers have actually established a lead scoring program. Let’s dive into those organizations who have an established lead scoring program. Does it work for them?
Cross confirmed in her post what I was already afraid of… many organizations that agree to developing a lead scoring program do so blindly and without the input from the folks directly dealing with leads the most often: sales.
“… Rather than a discussion between marketing and sales about the definition of a qualified lead. Typically, the scoring model is built without sales’ involvement, and many of the defined attributes are guesses that aren’t based on historical data or deal deconstruction.”
So how can an organization set up a smarter lead scoring program? The first step in fixing any broken tactic is understanding exactly what the tactic is and what it can [and cannot] do for your business. The goal of lead scoring is to understand each lead’s place in the customer lifecycle. However, before a lead can be scored, the scoring system has to be created. This system needs to be agreed upon and understood by sales and marketing teams in order to be implemented correctly and remain effective.
Don’t settle for lead scoring alone
A study from RainToday.com found that less than 25% of all new leads are actually ready to receive a pitch. This means that the other 75% will require different engagement strategies to build the relationship until the leads have been nurtured enough to get pitched. Smarter lead scoring allows marketing to work more efficiently and effectively, by nurturing the right leads. With a smarter lead scoring system, old prospects can be ignored, warm ones can be nurtured and hot, I’m-almost-there-clients can be pushed towards closing (in a shorter sales cycle).
For more information on Right On Interactive’s 3D Scoring model, check out our infographic on the Super Powers of Lead Scoring.
