Lead Liaison

Out of the Box Lead Scoring

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Out of the Box Lead ScoringOut of the Box Lead Scoring – Huh?

What is out of the box lead scoring? According to Wikipedia, “an out of the box feature or functionality, particularly in software, is a feature or functionality of a product that works immediately after install without any configuration or modification.” That’s exactly what we’ve brought to the table. We heard from many of our prospects and customers how other marketing automation systems had overly complex lead scoring techniques that took too long to map out and configure. When you really sit down and think about it, the majority of activities that a marketer and sales person want to capture and use in a scoring model are consistent across companies. The basic stuff like web form submissions, landing page views, email opens, etc.

We’ve introduced the industries most simplistic model – but we did that after introducing the industries most flexible model, our custom lead scoring. Our main goal was to keep things simple and get them working right away without compromising the deep customization that some companies covet. Now we’ve got the power of out of the box, instantly ready, lead scoring that marketers can harness and extend with custom lead scoring capability.

Why Should Marketers and Sales People Care about Out of the Box Lead Scoring?

Marketers come out looking like heroes when new leads are automatically qualified within minutes of implementing Lead Liaison. We’re still providing our Lead Scoring Model Designer which is a great tool to help companies put their lead scoring interests on paper. The only change now is that we’ve simplified the process. Our unique lead qualification capabilities gives marketers about five different individual parameters that get combined into a single priority rating for leads. How simple is that? What’s hot and what’s not, sales just wants to know. For marketers, what we find is that most marketers will use a fraction of the power of a marketing automation platform and often times lead scoring was de-prioritized over lead tracking, lead nurturing and other essential solutions. Our main differentiator in the marketplace is ease of use and simplicity. I think we’ve just upped the annie…brace yourself – or get back in the box ;-)

Lead Liaison

We Have Lift Off: Marketing Automation is Taking Off!

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Houston, Houston, we have lift off!!! Marketing automation is taking off. David Cummings wrote a nice article on his blog the other day about the coming wave of marketing automation adoption. The post clearly lays out the opportunity for marketing automation vendors like Lead Liaison. More importantly, businesses have a great opportunity to bring new technology in house to improve efficiency and drive revenue, faster. David identifies the gap in companies using CRM systems but not marketing automation systems. He references the following figures for CRM usage:

  • Salesforce.com: ~140,000
  • SugarCRM: ~10,000
  • Microsoft Dynamics CRM: ~40,000
  • Netsuite: ~13,000
  • Total: ~200,000 companies
David points out that 9,000 of these companies also use a marketing automation system. That’s a 4.5% penetration rate, leaving 95.% of companies not using marketing automation. In David Cummings post he only considers the opportunity for companies using a CRM. Believe it or not, but many of Lead Liaison’s customers don’t use a CRM at all. Looking at some numbers provided by a leading analyst in the space, David Raab, we see these figures are consistent with those reported by David Cummings; however, David Raab uses a broader scope to segment all businesses in the US with more than $5M in revenue into three categories, small to mid-size, large and enterprise companies and look at installs/adoption across each segment:


By looking at this data we see only 6% of all businesses more than $5M in revenue use marketing automation. The lowest penetrated space is the $5M to $20M range. Only 9% of all companies $20M to $500M use marketing automation. About one out of every three enterprises use marketing automation. Assuming an average selling price (ASP) of $10K for small to mid-size companies and $30K for large businesses, that leaves $4.4B in total available market (TAM) for marketing automation vendors. We’re excited about the growth opportunity here at Lead Liaison and look forward to having all of our new customers take our marketing automation platform to the next level.

If you’d like to see a demo of Lead Liaison’s marketing automation system for your business contact us!

 

Lead Liaison

Segment Your Database for Email Success

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Segment Your Database for Email SuccessDatabase segmentation can have a significant impact on your email campaign effectiveness. The relevancy of your messaging and offers is critical to generating opens and – more importantly – sales. Lead Liaison’s database segmentation tools provide parameters that allow you to create email distribution lists that target lead attributes, buying status, behavioral identifiers, and trigger events. Make sure to segment your database for email success.

Segmenting your lead database is important for two reasons: 1) you can target specific leads for customized messages and 2) you can avoid spamming uninterested suspects. With our database segmentation feature, you can accomplish both in a matter of minutes. There are over 65 preset attributes and over 10 trigger events that can be used to filter your email list.

How to Segment Your Database

So what are some of the effective criteria that marketers should use to segment a lead database?

Geography – where are your leads located? Whether your sales team is organized by territory or not, geography can play a role in how you approach a lead. The culture in Texas is different than in New York; messaging can be tweaked to appeal to each region’s cultural differences.

Lead Grade – leads that are graded on how well they fit your buyer profile should be segmented according to appropriateness. After all, should a line worker at a company with revenues below $1MM be approached the same way as a CEO of a company with $10MM in revenues?

Lead Score – marketers should segment according to the implicit (behavioral) attributes that are provided through online activities. For example, a lead that has attended a one-hour webinar should not be grouped with leads that have visited a single webpage.

Gender – this one is not always considered when segmenting a database. However, grouping by gender allows marketers to create messages that appeal to each gender’s buying triggers, emotional attachment(or lack thereof), and value systems.

Job Function (Title) – b2b decision-makers typically reside within certain positions: CEO, vice president, purchaser, etc. Though not always the case, segmenting email recipients by job function is effective at putting your salespeople in front of the right person.

Past Purchases – if a lead has previously purchased from you, it should be segmented for specific repeat, up-sell, or cross-sell purchase messaging. Once segmented, you can deliver special offers and build brand loyalty.

Buying Cycle – why should your sales team be contacting prospects who have just begun their buying process? Leads can be segmented according to indicators that reflect where they are in the buying cycle.

Reduce Waste

When you wish to avoid sending emails to unlikely prospects or invalid addresses, there are several criteria that can be used such as:

Delivery Bounce – an undeliverable address can be easily segmented into a cold lead list.

Do Not Call – often b2b sales require a phone engagement, leads that have indicated ‘do not call’ during previous engagements can segmented for digital communications only.

Do Not Email – whether a lead indicates ‘do not email’ through an opt-out request or on a form, that lead can be bucketed for phone or direct mail contact only.

In addition, you can use explicit (physical) criteria to segment leads that should be avoided. For example, companies with revenues below your target profile can be grouped as third-tier or lower prospects.

Our Lead Management Automation™ platform provides segmentation that can make marketers more effective at creating and delivering messages and make salespeople more efficient by routing the most appropriate and sales-ready leads to your sales team.

Lead Liaison

10 Email Drip Campaigns That Work

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10 Email Drip Campaigns That WorkLooking for lead nurturing help? Here are ten ideas you can use to boost your email drip campaigns.

Create a story

Develop a storyline that is relevant to your solution(s), such as the life and times of your typical customer. Make sure the content is well-written and constructed like an old movie serials about crime fighters, where readers are anticipating a new chapter.

Run a campaign

Start a campaign to reduce waste or to create a movement. This is a variation to cause marketing and can be effective at generating followers.

Host a contest

Design a contest for customers and prospects alike. Leverage social media by having participants follow you. Make it simple to join. Post updates, new information, or other fresh content on social accounts.

Announce an event

Tell your list about an upcoming event that your enterprise is participating in. Use reminder messaging to update readers. Add to previous emails by providing fresh information about the events or its participants. Make sure to include a reference to the new information in your Subject header. It can be an event your enterprise is sponsoring or a third-party event that you’re connected to or attending.

Promote a new product

Introduce a new product with a time-sensitive promotion. Use each message to introduce a new benefit/feature. Update the Subject header to announce the new benefit/feature.

Announce partnerships then drip the benefits

Send an announcement about a new partnership or organization change then follow up with messages about how the move will be beneficial. Be sure to link to websites associated with the change to generate traffic.

Host a charity fund drive

Announce a charity fund drive and follow up with milestone achievements, uses for funds, thank donors, etc. Follow up with goal attainment, notable donors, and other information.

“Did you see this?”

Provide third-party content that can be helpful to your leads. For B2B companies, this can include a wide variety of information such as financial, operational, small biz, legal and regulatory, trends, whatever.

Create a conversation (like with social media)

Use a drip campaign to start a conversation about a topic that is close to your lead’s heart or work responsibility. Send follow up messages that include comments made other participants.  Remember to use bcc:!

Send video links

Provide links to helpful and/or informative videos that can benefit your list. After several messages, take a poll on which videos were beneficial or suggestions for future videos.

Get your marketing and sales people together for brainstorming and input on what interests prospects and customers.

Lead Liaison

Small Business Marketing Automation and Why You Should Get Involved

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Small Business Marketing AutomationDoing small business marketing isn’t easy, and for businesses on a budget it might never seem like the right time to invest in marketing automation tools. The truth is, a user-friendly and fully managed automated marketing platform can make a huge difference in the way small businesses operate from top to bottom.

Small Business Marketing and Marketing Automation

There are so many reasons to integrate your marketing efforts. Many small business owners feel like this type of integration is mostly reserved for medium-sized to large businesses because they don’t truly understand the time management/time saving techniques that are a part of a good marketing automation dashboard.

Time management is absolutely critical for small businesses. Business owners who can’t spend a lot of money on resources may find that using their marketing automation dashboard in the right way will give them the same kind of insight a part-time marketing expert would. Marketing automation tools empower small businesses to use their marketing in the most effective way.

Direct management of leads, cost data across all marketing platforms, and key insight that can result in more accurate marketing plans are all small business marketing goals that can be realized with a good marketing automation dashboard. Rather than calling in a marketing expert to do the work and report, small business CEOs can send tasks to their sales teams and beef up marketing efforts based on the reporting data they’re seeing from marketing automation.

Cost Savings

Small business marketing requires an investment. The right marketing automation tools actually cut down on that investment for small business owners because they have all their data tools in one place. Marketing efforts and ROI data come seamlessly without the need to hire a specialist for analysis and reporting. Many marketing automation dashboards also include email marketing tools that may cost extra if you use a service outside the dashboard.

Getting the intelligence data that shows how potential customers are using your marketing materials can result in more sales over time. Marketing automation can change the way a business executes marketing efforts, resulting in more sales – particularly for business owners interested in small business marketing who don’t’ have an advertising background. With the right marketing automation tools, small business marketing can be a snap for cost and time-conscious CEOs.

Lead Liaison’s suite of marketing automation tools can help your business rise to new heights with your small business marketing. For more information, contact us today!

Lead Liaison

How to use Lead Nurturing Content to Convert More B2B Customers

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How to use Lead Nurturing Content to Convert More B2B Customers While researching the latest lead nurturing techniques, I came across an informative article on B2B Content Marketing for Lead Nurturing and Retention by Caroline Watts. It discusses the impressive ways content can be used to convert more B2B customers, which inspired my own take on the subject matter.

I have always stressed how important quality content is to the marketing automation process. Any content you post must be relevant and informative if you expect it to sway an undecided consumer. It should be catered to their specific needs and provide them with answers that will help them make an informed purchasing decision. Learn nurturing content is critical for converting B2B customers.

Content is King

Content is probably the most critical aspect of a marketing automation program, since it is a company’s chance to communicate directly with potential leads. It can be used to build interest in a particular product or service while guiding them towards final conversion.

Great content is not only essential for marketing automation; it is also incredibly beneficial to your SEO efforts. Well-written content will improve your search engine ranking, which will inevitably drive more traffic to your website.

Lead Nurturing Techniques

The success of the content will depend on how the content is developed and promoted. You will successfully convert more B2B customers by ensuring that the right message is being sent to the right people at the right time. This will require lead profiling, lead segmenting, and a strong social media presence.

Lead Profiling Software

Understanding a lead’s needs and interests will make it easier to create relevant and useful content. Marketing automation software programs will track website visitors, monitor their behavior, and extract demographic details about each specific lead. Using this information to customize content is an essential lead nurturing technique.

Segmenting Leads into Groups

Instead of developing unique content for each lead, B2B buyers should be segmented in groups based on similar needs and profiles. Marketers will be able to convert more B2B customers by creating lead nurturing content that addresses groups of buyers. They will appreciate that the content has still be personalized to their needs.

Strong Social Media Presence

Another lead nurturing technique is to promote the new content using various social media sites. The leads that are captured by marketing automation software may not be same leads that are your followers on Facebook and Twitter. Cross promotion between mediums will increase awareness of the content and inspire more potential leads to click on the articles. This will also help your SEO efforts and increase traffic to your site.

Quality content is essential for marketing your business online. It is the most influential part of your website for both leads and search engine crawlers. It can also convert more B2B customers when it is used with a comprehensive marketing automation strategy.

Lead Liaison

Forrester Research is Telling B2B to Go Social: We Agree

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Forrester Research is Telling B2B to Go Social – We AgreeForrester Research is telling B2B to go social. They released its results of the company’s most recent Technographics® survey, one which polled 382 North American and European decision-makers at companies with 100 or more employees.

Forrester’s report uncovered some incredibly high social media usage statistics. The study revealed that 100% – yes 100% – of respondents use social media in some capacity for work-related purposes.  In addition, 98% of business decision-makers are “spectators”; they read blogs, watch videos, listen to podcasts, etc. for work-related purposes.

To a lesser extent, nearly 80% are “joiners” who maintain a profile on networking sites for business purposes. The study also found that 75% of business decision-makers are “critics”. They comment on blogs or post ratings and reviews for products and services.

This confirms what many CMOs and marketing strategists already know:  businesses should be investing in social media. Interestingly, however, the social sites that most may think of may not be the best channels for B2B engagement. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have their advantages, such as huge mature communities. For outreach, those sites are effective at building audiences.

For marketing engagement purposes, the Forrester study suggests that niche communities are more often for specific purposes, such as to solve a technical problem or ask a community for recommendations. Forrester blogger Zachary Reiss-Davis writes, “for example, business technology buyers might visit IT Central Station or Spiceworks to learn more about multiple competing technologies at once; alternatively, they might visit a community managed by a single brand, such as the Cisco Communities or SAP Community Network.”

We have believed what Forrester uncovered. Social engagement is a vital new toolbox in the war for buyers. This belief led to the release of our social posting automation interface. Some may argue that automation takes the sociability out of the equation but we disagree: as Forrester has shown, B2B decision-makers expect SM to be a channel for marketing – and they’re all in communities out there.

Get a 10-minute demo on how social post automation can boost your campaign effectiveness.

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Lead Liaison

Lead Liaison Expands Product Development Staff to Provide Greater Innovation and Enhanced Customer Experience

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Allen, TX (PRWEB) July 15, 2013 – Lead Liaison expands product development and is continuing its push to become the most innovative vendor in the marketing automation space by investing heavily in its cloud-based lead management platform. The company announced recently it had hired additional web programmers as a result of increased demand for product innovation.

Lead Liaison provides cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products for the SMB market. Its focus on product innovation has led the company to expand by more than 400% since September 2012. Its customers include mid-size firms in telecommunications, financial services, high tech, and B2B and B2C services among others.

“We see Lead Liaison as a significant player in the small to mid-size B2B market in the years to come because of our attention to developing an ultra-intuitive user experience and a focus on providing as much customization as possible,” said vice president of corporate communications Alex Brown on a recent conference call with potential investment partners.

The expansion follows a recent product release in which the company’s flagship product, the Lead Management Automation™ platform, was upgraded and a social posting function was bundled into its architecture.

Since launching in 2008, Lead Liaison has joined Eloqua, Marketo, Hubspot, ExactTarget, and other marketing automation vendors in seeing significant growth in the business-to-business services sector.

Find out why Lead Liaison is growing rapidly. For more information about any of Lead Liaison’s marketing automation products or its support services contact Lead Liaison.

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Lead Liaison is an application development company that designs, develops, and sells cloud-based marketing and sales automation software. The company markets to small and medium-sized businesses worldwide, and focuses on creating the broadest and most user-friendly revenue generation software platform. Applications cover all phases of lead management automation including sales prospecting, lead generation, and marketing automation functions that directly influence revenue generation. It’s innovative and robust lead management platform combines unparalleled sales prospecting, lead capture, real-time lead tracking, lead qualification, lead distribution, database segmentation, lead nurturing and ROI reporting. The Software as a Service (SaaS) model delivers an effective user experience and integrated cloud computing capabilities.

For More Information:

Alex Brown
VP, Corporate Communications
abrown(at)leadliaison(dot)com
888.895.3237 (888 89 LEADS)

Lead Liaison

Why Marketing Automation is an Advantage

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Why Marketing Automation is Actually an AdvantageThere has been considerable debate whether or not marketing automation is actually a disadvantage, since it automates such a crucial part of the customer experience. Many old-school marketers question the ability to really connect with customers using an automated computer software program. What these uninformed marketers don’t realize is that it takes a real person to make marketing automation successful. Here’s why marketing automation is an advantage.

Marketing Automation Success Requires Real People

Investing in marketing automation does not mean that you are putting the success of your future sales in the hands of a machine. It takes a skilled marketer with extensive business experience to run the software program effectively. They need to understand the typical consumer and know how to convince them to believe in your brand.

Marketing Automation is Run by Marketing Specialists

A real person (or a team of marketing professionals) will be necessary to establish the behavioral and demographic criteria that will be used for ranking and qualifying leads that are captured by the software. Businesses will also need to invest in a talented creative writer that is able to produce compelling lead nurturing content. A computer program cannot generate content worthy enough for your leads.

The Final Sale still relies on Your Sales Team

The final sales conversion is also done by a real person. Once a lead has shown significant potential, the sales staff will be notified by text or email, so they can contact the lead and complete the transaction. This is an incredible advantage of marketing automation, since your sales team will only be pursuing pre-qualified leads and customers will still have the advantage of dealing with a live person when they are ready to make their purchase.

Other Advantages of Marketing Automation

The automated aspect of marketing automation has its own merits. It does streamline the lead profiling process and make it significantly easier to gather new leads. In my opinion, it has the perfect combination of personalization and automation.

Marketing automation is actually an advantage that can strengthen customer relations because it is controlled by real people. Although an automated program simplifies the lead gathering and visitor tracking portion, it still takes real people to make it successful. You can find further of evidence of the actually advantages behind marketing automation by reading this great article I found on Marketing Automation.

Get a 10-minute demo on how social post automation can boost your campaign effectiveness.

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Lead Liaison

Your Personal Brand: What Does The Internet Say About You?

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Your Personal Brand: What Does The Internet Say About You?This guest blog has been provided by Jasmine Sandler.

Do you work in a position where you sell or do business development, either for your own business or for an employer? Do you need to re-invent yourself or heighten your credibility for your next promotion or career move?

Then you need to nurture your online personal brand. In today’s world, where websites and social media activity are leading news and information resources, you need a strong online presence. An online personal branding program will cultivate your personal brand image in the minds of prospects, customers and other decision makers.

Think of your favorite brands for a moment: automobile, beer, computer tablet, fast food, soap, whatever. You like them for what they represent to you, which is the result of how their companies have differentiated them from the competition. You need to do the same thing: differentiate yourself from all the other choices out there.

The process by which you establish your personal brand is very much like it is for a product. You need to understand the competition and create a value proposition that tells people why they should prefer you.

Establishing the blueprint for your personal branding initiative takes analysis and reflection. It starts with a basic personal brand assessment where you:

1.   Clarify your vision and purpose.
2.   Determine your personal and professional goals.
3.   Understand your target audience. They may describe what they need in different ways; you need to speak their language.
4.   Decide on your personal brand strengths. These are your top three skills—the things you want to be known for.
5.   Develop your personal brand keywords. Start building a list of keyword phrases that support your positioning.

These are five of the 10 steps I use to create a personal brand assessment—an exercise that can be done individually or in a group.

You can learn more about the 10-step program for personal branding on social media on JasmineSandler.com.