Lead Liaison

WordPress Customer Tracking – What’s the Best Choice?

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Wordpress Customer TrackingThough there are many WordPress customer tracking options out there, you may find these options don’t give you the customer engagement and reporting flexibility you’re looking for. We all know WordPress is awesome. For those of us who don’t want to learn to code and don’t want to pay an expert for simple changes, WordPress page and post management is the answer.

With WordPress, coding can take a backseat. You can manage your own content, add and update images and multimedia and ensure your SEO on-site optimization is in order. You can also use many of the same tracking tools you’re used to using in flat HTML/CSS websites. Here’s a pros-and-cons snippet of some of the most popular WordPress customer tracking tools.

WordPress Customer Tracking with Google Analytics

There are several plugins out there that handle Google Analytics. Google Analytics for WordPress and Google Analyticator are a few you can consider.

Pros: These plugins are super easy to use and install.

Cons: You won’t get WordPress customer tracking metrics right in your WordPress dashboard.  Google Analytics plugins simply embed the tracking code for you. To see your metrics, you’ll need to go to your Google Analytics dashboard at Google.com. You also won’t get any extra levels of direct customer tracking as Google doesn’t allow you to log IPs – even though WordPress itself has this capability.

Wassup and WordPress Customer Tracking

Wassup is a real-time analytics tracking plugin for WordPress. Once installed, you can see customer hits to your site via logged IP address. You can edit customer information and source specific IPs to a specific customer.

Pros:  Free, logs IPs

Cons:  Wassup is a neat little plugin, but not really built to do in-depth customer logging and tracking. It’s not meant to be included in robust advertising campaign management, but rather as a small-scale watchdog solution for your site.

Many small business owners like you who are looking for WordPress customer tracking capabilities end up turning to marketing automation. Regardless of whether or not your site is built on a CRM, most marketing automation dashboards are built on the backend of your site and have their own login – meaning they can work with WordPress as well as a non-CMS built website. Marketing automation tools aren’t just a one-time plugin. They’re advanced cloud tools that allow you to link customers to specific companies, actions and to the efficacy of your overall marketing campaign.

If you haven’t tried out marketing automation, Lead Liaison is a great place to start! Talk to us about installing marketing automation tools and starting WordPress customer tracking today.

Lead Liaison

Overlooked Features of Marketing Automation

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Overlooked Features of Marketing AutomationMarketing automation is a complex strategy that has been proven to capture and convert more leads than traditional marketing. The main feature of using marketing automation software is greater lead conversion however there are countless other benefits that will come from using it. This article will discuss the many valuable features of marketing automation that are often overlooked.

Lead Tracking and Profiling

Website visitor tracking is one of the most valuable features of marketing automation because it provides a greater insight into each potential lead. The overlooked feature associated with website visitor tracking is lead profiling. Website visitor tracking develops a comprehensive profile of each leads’ behavioral characteristics. It also allows for demographic characteristics to be captured and retain using online registrations. Sales is inherently based on relationship building and lead profiling gives you a synopsis of how the lead thinks, what they are researching, where they are in their buying process, and ultimately, how interested they are in making a purchase. It is easier to connect and build a relationship with a lead once you are able to understand how they think and what they need.

Lead Segmenting and Nurturing

The information gathered in profiling creates two other overlooked feature of marketing automation; lead segmentation and lead nurturing. Marketing automation strategists will use this information to divide leads into groups based on similar characteristics. Once leads are grouped into segments, customized content can be created to address the needs of each lead segment. The ability to customize and personalize content based on the lead’s profile will strengthen the relationship by creating an even stronger connection. Consumers feel that someone real is listening and responding to their concerns when they receive relevant and informative content.

Lead Qualification and Quick Conversion

Another overlooked feature of marketing automation that also comes from lead profiling is lead qualification. Once a profile is established it can be instantly ranked and compared against profiles of existing clients to determine the likelihood of conversion. Although a higher conversion rate is the most known feature of marketing automation, the speed at which it can be accomplished is the last overlooked feature. Your sales staff will be notified the moment a lead is qualified and they can respond while the potential customers is actively researching your website. This will allow your sales team to catch customers before they move onto a competitor. Marketing automation has numerous features and benefits, but they all work towards the same goal; lead conversion. It provides the tools for understanding and nurturing your leads, and then notifies your sales team the moment that the lead is ready to make a purchase.

Lead Liaison

When Should Sales Contact Marketing Automation Leads?

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When Should Sales Contact Marketing Automation Leads?Automated marketing is making it easier to attract and nurture leads prior to a sales engagement. But when should a sales agent contact a lead from a marketing automation platform? Today’s B2B companies are adapting their marketing to the customer-is-in-control environment, and marketing automation platforms enable sales teams to monitor inbound behavior and nurture leads through the marketing funnel. So at what times should sales be in touch with marketing automation leads? We’ve got three that work.

Following Initial Inquiry

This may seem counterintuitive to the automated marketing paradigm, but early introduction of a dedicated sales agent can be effective as a method to deepen the relationship with a lead. A simple “Hello. How are you? Can I help answer a question?” with an agent’s contact details provides a lead with a human connection to your company.

Some MA vendors recommend repeated outbound calls following the initial inquiry. We don’t advise an aggressive policy but companies that ignore opportunities to introduce sales early in the engagement process may be missing out on potential conversions. Sending a simple introductory message via email when possible can provide assistance to your leads, an opportunity to accelerate the relationship, and a way to qualify leads early in the process.

(Chat plug-ins are effective but all too often we see chat pop-ups appearing within seconds of a page display. Timing is essential when setting chat enablement. Page visitors should be allowed to digest content before a chat is offered.)

Following a Specific Inquiry

Once you’ve discovered that a lead has engaged with your brand through a specific marketing asset, there is an opportunity to address needs, questions, etc. A robust marketing automation platform will allow you to deliver a message that is specific to a lead’s interest at the moment. This provides a great opportunity to provide value to the relationship.

For example, when a lead arrives on a landing page through an organic search for ‘marketing automation prices’ your MA platform should send an alert to the sales rep who “owns” the account. The rep will know that the lead is focused on pricing and can take the opportunity to engage by following up on the message that was delivered.

At a Lead Score Benchmark

Your MA platform should have a lead scoring feature that allows you to define scoring parameters. Determine a scoring threshold that will be used to deliver the lead record to your CRM and use that threshold as an opportunity to immediately send an automated message.

Once a lead has achieved a score, which is a combination of explicit (attributes) and implicit (behavioral) data, a message with a time-sensitive offer can be effective. At this point, the lead will be marketing-qualified and ready for sales engagement. Your sales rep can then follow up on the message to try to convert early in the sales pipeline.

Automated marketing is recognized as being a powerful B2B sales tool. To make it even more effective, deploy sales engagements at times that will be recognized as helpful but not intrusive. For more thoughts on using marketing automation effectively, visit our blog.

Lead Liaison

Lead Scoring: When a 100 Is Not Enough

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Lead scoring is among the top three strengths of B2B lead management/marketing automation platforms. Yet early adopters of marketing automation are still struggling with the nuances and changing buying habits of the digital buyer. Predefined lead scoring models make marketing automation setup easier and provideUnique Lead Scoring Model an architecture for ranking and prioritizing leads. However, we recommend establishing a unique scoring model (based upon a customer persona) that more accurately defines the quality of your leads.

It’s important to recognize that lead conversion, and ultimately close rates, are by their very nature challenging to forecast. Even within a lead management/marketing automation platform, the lead scoring functionality is only as effective as the model that has been built. Lead scoring defines the quality of a lead by its attributes and digital footprints. But even the most finely honed scoring models can leak unprepared and/or unqualified leads into your CRM.

That’s because using the total score (which is typically used to determine lead migration to a CRM) doesn’t tell the whole story. Hidden challenges can be hiding behind any automatically nurtured lead score.

Even a lead that is migrated to a CRM with a score of 100 may not be fully sales-qualified. Look at this example:

A lead enters your CRM with a overall score of 95 (out of a maximum 100). The lead achieved a A grade for intrinsic qualities like company size, revenues, and # of employees. For the behavioral scoring, the lead achieved a 98 score. This lead looks like a sure conversion based upon its overall score. But missing in that terrific score is a factor that wasn’t scored: the contact is finishing a month-long resignation and the purchasing decisions will be transferred to another position. The lead owner does not recognize this transition until first touch after migrating to the CRM.

How did the lead achieve that score? Was it primarily due to lead attributes (industry, contact title, etc.) or due to online behavior? Sales agents using integrated marketing automation platforms now have the capability to review leads as they move through the marketing funnel. Your sales reps should be advised to review the details of the lead’s score early in the engagement process. This will allow them to understand clearly how the lead got to their prospect pools, discover selling opportunities, and uncover deficiencies that may need to be overcome to convert that lead.

One tactic that helps to sharpen your scoring model is to mix in minor sales engagements along the nurturing path. Information gathered through preliminary qualification calls can provide guidance when it comes to adjusting weights or adding variables to your lead scoring model.

Sure, you can’t account for every circumstance and situation but developing an accurate, rigid yet adaptable scoring model – with as many parameters included as possible and appropriate weighting of each parameter – will help prevent ineffective measurement of the quality and interest of your B2B leads.

Lead Liaison

Three Campaign Ideas For Lead Nurturing Success

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Three Campaign Ideas For Lead Nurturing SuccessAre you stuck for lead nurturing ideas? Here are a few ideas for lead nurturing success.

Introduce a sales agent

If your company has a round-robin lead distribution policy, introduce the next sales agent in line through a series of introductory messages. Connecting a brand to a human being is a consistent theme in today’s digital marketing space and you can be effective when a person is introduced early in the nurturing process.

When a lead comes into your marketing automation system, send a message that describes the sales rep – include a picture, a few personal details, and, of course, contact information (don’t forget to include a reason for the email response – i.e. the lead’s webinar registration).

The first message should ask permission to contact the lead in the future. Then each subsequent message can deepen the engagement cycle by sharing stories about some of the sales rep’s previous positive client experiences or, depending on your enterprise policies, a personal story not related to your solutions.

Bringing a sales rep in early in the marketing cycle develops trust while the lead is moving through his buying process. Early engagement also provides opportunities to respond to questions or provide unique information.

Offer a free trial

What works especially well for SaaS and software providers is the free trial. For whatever length of time you offer for a trial period, use that time to provide support. Offer helpful hints about using the product or tips about the process a lead is using your solution for (like lead nurturing!). The level of engagement may depend on how complex your solution is to learn. For more complex solutions, engage frequently. Your trial leads will thank you.

Make sure to enhance the user experience during the trial period. Clearly explain features and functions, hold the lead’s hands throughout the trial experience. As the trial period comes to a close, ask if there are questions or specific features he would like to explore. In the final message before the period expires, make sure to indicate that the trial period will be ending and provide a valuable opportunity to buy now.

After the trial ends, send out a hard-sell email with a one-time, limited offer. Review all the features that were used during the trial, refresh his memory about the experience. Make sure to send this message within at most a week from the trial expiration.

Launch a community or forum

Gathering people under a common theme is a tried-and-true method of engaging with your market. Although this type of campaign requires some set up and management to execute properly, it can pay dividends down the road.

Invite leads to join a forum or social community that discusses relevant issues in their industries or professions. This is a great way to connect, nurture, develop trust, and deepen your understanding of your market(s). Use email messaging to introduce a recent topic, announce notable forum attendees/industry leaders, or update on a past topic. Ask leads to contribute an issue as a forum “presenter”.

While there will be times that your community/forum will require your marketing team to facilitate discussions and introduce topics, the community will often engage leads on its own. One tricky situation arises when participants are discussing competitors’ solutions. Make sure the moderator handles comments about competitive advantages (and disadvantages) quickly and professionally.

Through the use of lead nurturing assets, you can inform, educate, and remind leads about the community while mixing in relevant messages about your solutions and how they can solve issues being discussed in the forum.

Have you got a winning lead nurturing tactic? Share your knowledge and receive 10% off your first year of using our robust Lead Management Automation™ platform.

Lead Liaison

Lead Liaison Provides a Marketing Spark in its Marketing Automation Platform

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Allen, TX (PRWEB) September 1, 2013 – Lead Liaison announced the release of another upgrade to its Lead Management Automation™ (LMA) platform. A new feature, called Sparks, is the latest in a series of upgrades released throughout 2013 in their marketing automation platform.

Sparks function as an automated response mechanism that triggers a series of actions following certain types of engagements. Examples of activities that can be assigned as triggers include an email click-through by a prospect, a website visit following an organic search, and a response to a Send and Track email.

Once a lead has initiated an engagement, Sparks can deliver an email or other marketing asset and immediately assign the lead to an owner based upon the style of lead distribution deployed by the Lead Liaison customer. The platform enhancement allows sales teams to quickly absorb the lead and respond immediately to the inquiry.

“Our research has shown that real-time user-based triggering events ‘spark’ B2B relationships more effectively and relieve marketers and sales teams from having to manually respond and update their CRM systems,” said Alex Brown, Lead Liaison’s VP of communications. “Users are also able to sharply focus the messaging to specific inquiries such as completing a web form or requesting a data sheet.”

B2B marketers using the LMA can easily define what actions will trigger a spark, which activities will be automatically deployed, and schedule delivery of marketing messages in a few easy steps. The system allows multiple actions based upon only one trigger, and users can deploy assets from existing marketing campaigns or assign specific assets to be delivered based a lead’s digital activity.

For a preview Lead Liaison’s new Sparks feature or any of the 50+ integrated marketing automation and lead management functions, request a 10-minute demonstration of the Lead Management Automation platform.

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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

Customer Relationship Management: Not Just an App

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Customer Relationship Management: Not Just an AppCustomer Relationship Management (CRM) refers to a type of software or application you can use to manage your interactions with customers, keep a customer’s contact information secure and manage deals and sales. Right?

Well, sort of. A good CRM will do those things for you, but apps can’t do it all. Customer relationship management should actually be about proficiently managing your relationships with your customers – meaning, putting the right tools in place to make sure you offer consistently great customer service. With all the lingo and the acronyms and the must-haves in the app world, we can forget that a solid CRM won’t help if there is no plan for actually managing customers.

Solidifying Your Strategy

Marketing automation can be helpful because the right platform gives you much more information than standard analytics tools ever will. If you are able to use marketing automation data to determine specific consecutive days that a certain visitor has spent on your site, it makes sense to contact that visitor personally, strategically discuss some of the areas of your site they spent the most time on, and determine how your offering suits their needs. Without marketing automation tools, you simply can’t give this level of service to your clients. In fact, you won’t even know what specific users are visiting your website. All Google Analytics and other services will give you is a lump of customer data that doesn’t single out specific IPs.

Take a look at your web visitor data over the past 90 days. If you don’t know who’s visiting, it might be time to consider a marketing automation tool that can help you log specific visitors and tie their needs to your services. If you do know who your visitors are, develop a lead flow strategy for using your customer relationship management tools to pinpoint them, then contact and pitch to them.

Customer Relationship Management Strategy

For instance, does a potential client continue to hover around price points for a certain service you provide? If so, it makes sense to call that person or email them with a special promotional deal. Does a specific client keep coming back to your website to look over terms of service or specific offering points on a package? If that’s the case you might experience future problems from that customer or need to answer a question.  A simple call to check in might remedy a complaint that’s about to surface.

With marketing automation tools, you can better manage the relationships you have with current customers and put systems in place to give them better service. For more information and to take advantage of what marketing automation has to offer for your customers, visit leadliaison.com.

Lead Liaison

How to Successfully Generate B2B Leads Using Twitter

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How to Successfully Generate B2B Leads Using TwitterWe were talking about lead generation at lunch the other day. The subject of Twitter use for B2B lead gen came up. We started sharing stories of customers’ Twitter experiences when it occurred to us that some marketers are not using Twitter effectively because of a their approach to leveraging the channel properly among other marketing assets.

Those of you deploying marketing automation for lead generation practices understand that Twitter can be embedded easily within a campaign without consuming a lot of time and energy. In fact, Twitter works great as a lead generator when tweets are folded into an automated campaign. The following four steps can lead you to B2B lead generation success through Twitter using a marketing automation platform in our article on how to successfully generate B2B leads using Twitter.

1) Provide a survey

Survey your Twitter followers with a brief, five-question survey to uncover a common unfulfilled need or desire. Tweet out the link to a landing page with a short explanation. The follower should land on a squeeze page with a web form (created in your MA platform!) including email address with 1 or 2 qualifying questions. Below the form, the survey should be clear to understand and easy to complete. (P.S. Offer a bonus for completing the survey.)

2) Send a thank you email

Distribute an email thanking followers for their participation in the survey. In the message, tell them that a solution will be tweeted in the near future and ask/encourage them to share the upcoming announcement with their followers.

3) Announce a solution

Once you’ve determined you can provide a solution to respondents’ needs or desires, tweet out an announcement about the solution with a link to a video, product page, or other asset where interested followers can learn more. Link tracking will reveal behavior that can escalate a follower further into the marketing funnel.

4) Send an autoresponse email to click-through followers

Express thanks for learning more, offer additional value by providing more information, and provide a link to a tweet announcing a promotional offer that can be found on a dedicated landing page. (If the promo tweet is retweeted or shared, extend an additional offer to those followers who act as a brand ambassador.

At this point the leads generated through this process are beyond top-of-funnel and can be entered into a nurturing program. There are many other ways Twitter can be used to successfully generate leads. Stay on top of Lead Liaison’s revenue generation blog for more social media and marketing automation ideas.