In a past column, ”
,” I explained the general definition of a basic lead, how to acquire it, and how to use it after acquiring it.
In BtoB sales activities, sales efficiency is realized by acquiring leads, and the majority of advertisers tend to adopt
marketing strategies
that focus on “acquisition” rather than “awareness.”
This time, I would like to explain this lead a step further.
Various faces (types) of leads
There are many different types of leads.
The marketing
funnel
*1
is often referred to as MQL
*2
, and the marketing department generates leads through inbound types (exhibitions and seminars) and outbound types (direct inquiries), and the organization also generates prospective customers for sales. Masu.
*1
The marketing funnel refers to the process of attracting a wide range of customers and then sifting through them to gradually reduce the number of prospective customers as they move through consideration, negotiation, and closing. It is so called because it resembles filtering through a funnel.
*2
MQL is an abbreviation for Marketing Qualified Lead. Refers to a list of promising prospects narrowed down by the marketing department. Leads acquired at exhibitions and online are nurtured and narrowed down based on a certain score.
The above is also commonly referred to as ”
lead generation
.”
After “lead generation” is completed, it leads to an activity called ”
lead nurturing
,” which involves nurturing customers through communication via email and other means.
Furthermore, there is “lead qualification” and “lead nurturing” to narrow down the search to more promising customers.
Using marketing automation and other methods to score each customer is a way to efficiently approach more promising customers.
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[Marketing automation mechanism]
Source:
http://oursocialtimes.com/how-does-marketing-automation-work-for-small-businesses/
How to use it after acquiring leads
When it comes to lead acquisition, what you are definitely looking for is how profitable it was and how cost-effective it was.
Is there a way to make the most of the leads you get to get the most bang for your buck?
The standard approach in the MQL area is to approach leads acquired from inbound and outbound sources.
There are various ways to nurture and qualify acquired leads, but the first step is to have a sales representative contact you and get a sense of the customer’s temperature.
By keeping this information as an activity history and nurturing and qualifying it, you can increase the efficiency of utilization after acquiring leads.
The need to directly know the temperature sensation is because it is difficult to judge the customer’s condition completely from digital tools, and the temperature feeling from direct conversation and the high score in terms of nurturing are not necessarily the same. is.
The above are measures to make marketing activities more efficient and increase sales opportunities.
This does not apply to personal usage methods.
The disadvantage of using individual methods is that it depends on the individual’s ability.
Generally speaking, if you have an ace-level salesperson, once you can get leads, the pattern is that they will take care of everything until closing (concluding the contract).
In this case, a very high level of sales skills is required, and from an organizational perspective, it becomes a fairly risky strategy.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a situation where streamlined leads can be maximized in marketing and sales.
summary
◆There are several types and methods of acquiring leads. Instead of just acquiring leads, you can nurture them and narrow down the quality leads.
◆By structuring marketing and sales, actions after acquiring leads will be made more efficient and leads will be utilized to the fullest.