How to plan your lead generation campaigns for the new year

Cisco Confidential 1© 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Top Lead Generation Tactics for 2012How to plan your lead generation campaigns for the New YearJen Doyle, Senior Research Manager, MECLABSMeghan Lockwood, Research Analyst, MECLABS

Accelerate!Your Marketing in Action

© 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 2

IntroductionsJen Doyle, Senior Research Manager, MECLABS

[email protected]

Meghan Lockwood, Research Analyst, MECLABS

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


MarketingSherpa is a research and publishing organization serving the marketing community

3

MarketingSherpa’s research cycle provides knowledge for continuous improvement of marketing performance


Today, we will discuss..

• Which lead generation tactics were rated as the most effective in 2011, and how you can use them to generate qualified leads

• How B2B marketers are allocating their marketing budgets, so attendees can stay on top of new trends and priorities

• How one company increased pipeline opportunities by 65%, despite a 40% budget cut

• 4 steps you can use to evaluate the performance of 2011 marketing activities, and make sound decisions for 2012 strategies


Research Background

• 1,745 organizations participated

• 157 charts and analytical commentary

• Key marketing insights on:

• Lead generation • Automation • Personas• Propositions• Content

• Key success stories


Key finding: Challenges on the rise

• B2B organizations rated the pertinence of several challenges including:

1. Lead quality2. Lead volume3. Conveying value4. Competing in multichannel lead

generation5. Generating PR buzz

• YEAR-OVER-YEAR, average indications of challenges continue to grow

2009 2010 201138%

39%

40%

41%

42%

43%

44%

45%

39%

44%

45%

Year of Response

Aver

age

Indi

catio

n of

Cha

lleng

es

Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded June 2011, N=1,745


CMOs Speak Out on Top Challenges“The greatest challenge would be limited resources; my role combines multiple functions as well as requires applying knowledge from multiple discipline areas.”

“My biggest challenge is generating quality leads. It’s pretty easy turning on a fire hose of leads for our Sales team, but targeting and generating pre-qualified leads is a nut we haven't been able to crack.”

“Demonstrating marketing's contribution to revenue. Attribution is always the toughest thing to achieve in trying to demonstrate alignment and attribution to revenue unless it’s an online portal with a click to purchase funnel metric in place.”


Poll – What are your top challenges?Q. Which of the following challenges are most pertinent to your organization?

a. Generating high-quality leads

b. Generating a high volume of leads

c. Generating perceived value in “cutting edge” product benefits

d. Competing in lead generation across multiple media, from podcasts to paid search to webinars to print ads

e. Generating public relations “buzz”

f. Marketing to a lengthening sales cycle

g. Marketing to a growing number of people involved in the buying process


Poll - Results

© 2011 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential 10Cisco Confidential 10© 2010 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

“How can we best address these challenges in

2012?”


Top of the funnel – Capture leads

• Build a foundation with personas, value propositions and content

• Select an optimal mix of lead generation tactics for multichannel engagement and generation

Capture


Audience Question

“Please address the use of CONTENT – especially whitepapers and case studies

and do not lump them in with social media.”


Top Lead Generation Tactics from 2011

• Website optimization, SEO and email are critical – these were top three tactics for 2010 and 2011

• The role of content

• Must achieve an optimal mix for YOUR audience

Print advertising

Social media

Direct mail

Public relations

Telemarketing

Paid search (PPC)

Virtual events / webinars

Trade shows

Content marketing

Email marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Website design, management and optimization

6%

6%

6%

13%

13%

16%

19%

20%

23%

26%

29%

31%

30%

40%

34%

47%

31%

34%

29%

43%

48%

56%

46%

53%

25%

29%

21%

17%

14%

17%

13%

15%

10%

6%

9%

10%

Very effective Somewhat effective Not effective



B2B organizations are prioritizing lead

conversion, but struggling to gain maturity


Greatest priority is generation, however greatest challenge is conversion

• The interdependence of lead generation and conversion

• Marketers prioritize conversion over more traditional marketing objectives like branding, reputation and awareness

• Lead conversion is not simply a “sales job”

Lead hand-off and management

Lead qualification and scoring

Lead nurturing

Branding, reputation and awareness

Converting qualified leads into paying customers

Lead generation

22%

37%

40%

38%

52%

48%

18%

36%

44%

45%

56%

60%

PriorityChallenge



Audience Question

“What tactics do you suggest to not just generate more leads, but generate

quality leads?”


Key finding: Funnel marketing strategies demonstrate proven ROI

35% The average lift organizations with a LEAD NURTURING strategy

experienced Organizations that SCREENED LEADS from Sales experienced

the same

77% The average lift for organizations with a LEAD

SCORING strategy

163% The average lift for organizations using

automationSource: ©2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded June 2011, N=1,745


Mid-funnel – Nurture leads• Consistent, relevant

communications that build relationships and engagement to progress leads through the funnel

• Provide your audience with the information they want / need, when they want / need it

Nurture


Audience Question

“Lead nurturing campaigns – how many is

too many?”


Bottom of the funnel: Convert leads• Enable Sales with

the information they need on prospects and opportunities

• Deliver conversion nurturing materials to late funnel prospects to support the sale

Convert


Summary• Consider the entire

funnel for optimal lead generation effectiveness

• A comprehensive, multichannel approach works best

• Partner with Sales

• Continually optimize

Capture

Nurture

Convert


“What trends do I need to know for 2012?”


Poll: Expected Changes to Marketing BudgetsQ. Which of the following tactics will you be increasing your marketing investment in for 2012? Check all that apply.

a. Social media

b. Website upgrades

c. Content

d. Search (SEO / PPC)

e. Landing page optimization

f. Online advertising

g. Email

h. Direct Mail

i. Print advertising

j. Telemarketing

k. Broadcast advertising


Poll: Results


Expected changes to marketing budgets

• Organizations increasing investments in social, website and content

• Inbound strategies continue to grow in popularity

Broadcast advertising

Telemarketing

Print advertising

Direct mail

Email

Online advertising

Landing page optimization

Search (SEO/PPC)

Content creation

Website upgrades

Social media

-40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

-16%

-17%

-30%

-26%

-5%

-8%

-1%

-4%

-3%

-6%

-2%

7%

10%

12%

14%

39%

41%

48%

51%

53%

55%

64%

Budget will decrease Budget will increase

Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Social Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded Feb ruary 2011, N=3,342


“How can I develop my optimal lead generation

mix for 2012?”


Case Study: Background

� Experiment ID: Application Security, Inc.Location: MarketingSherpa Case Study LibraryTest Protocol Number: #CS31636

Research Notes

Background: A B2B database security provider experienced 40% budget cut and staff reduction, and needed to optimize their marketing activities.

Goal: Evaluate the performance of their marketing activities and decide which activities were worthwhile given their limited marketing budget.

Approach: • Monitor, adjust and negotiate spend on various marketing

activities• Determine an optimal CPL – and cut programs that didn’t

deliver ROI • Test and optimize to increase lead volume and opportunities

delivered to Sales.


Campaign Tactics: Do More With Less1. Monitor Multiple Metrics

2. Adjust Marketing Plan

3. Negotiate New Contracts

4. Test New Tactics


• Cost-per-lead

•CPL ranged from $4 - $100

• Reduce overlap and maximize each channel’s output

•Determine the dollar value of the leads in each marketing channel

•High cost activities did not always produce high value conversions

• Optimize analysis

•Revisit these numbers regularly to see what works, and what needs further tweaking

Campaign Tactic: Monitor Multiple Metrics


Campaign Tactic: Adjust Marketing Plan

Expand the use of low-cost, high value activities

Dial Back on high-cost, low value activities

“I don’t think you can base everything on past results. We spend fair amount of time trying new stuff to see

what sticks.”-Thomas Vanhorn, CMO, Application Security


•Tradeshows produced the highest-cost leads, which also took the longest to become opportunities…..

•So they participated in smaller, local events to minimize cost



• Expand the use of informal email updates, email drip nurturing and thought-leadership oriented events.

• Deploy low-cost, creative campaigns

•“Online film mini-series” boost visibility and customer interaction.



• Using their CPL analysis, they determined optimum CPL for various programs

• This allowed them to set limits and get guarantees from vendors for sponsorships or other paid media

Campaign Tactic: Negotiate new contracts

“They made opportunities available to me that I otherwise wouldn’t have known about.”

-Thomas Vanhorn, CMO, Application Security


• For example: The team set CPL limit for a whitepaper hosting deal that was lower than the vendor’s offer, the vendor responded with new options to meet their goal.

Campaign Tactic: Negotiate new contracts

Estimate lead

generation

Determine target CPL

Negotiate with

vendor


• Online film series:

•The team created a six-episode miniseries and hosted them on a microsite

• User-generated video contest

•The team ran a contest which asked users to make their own videos

•Finalists received $500 in prizes

• After their initial analysis, the team reviewed performance on a weekly and monthly basis

Campaign Tactic: Test New Tactics


Campaign Results

12% Increase in lead volume65% increase in opportunity value

Significant reductions in CPL

Testing

Negotiating new

contracts

Adjusting

marketing plan


How to conduct your lead generation analysis in 4

steps


Step #1 – Review closed deals

• Begin with an analysis of the deals that have closed

• How did these closed deals enter the system?

• Record number of deals won, total revenue, average deal size, buyer persona traits etc. for each channel and specific campaign

How to Conduct your Lead Generation Analysis

Closed deals

New leads


Step #2 – Review New Leads

• Analyze by lead generation tactic first

•How many leads?

•How many qualified leads?

•How much did they cost?

• Total lead volume, qualified lead volume and percentage of qualified leads per marketing channel


New leads

Closed deals


Step #3 – Ask Sales

• Check in with Sales to gather feedback on performance of lead generation campaigns

Step #4 – Identify Opportunities

• Use this complimentary data to identify the most effective channels and campaigns

• Considerations:

•Lead volume

•Qualified lead volume

•Percentage of qualified leads per channel



Audience Question

“Metrics you use to determine ROI?”


• Total lead volume

• Qualified lead volume

• Percentage of qualified leads

• Closing rate

• Qualified closing rate

• Average deal size

• Time to close

• Total investment

• CPL (cost-per-lead)

• CPA (cost-per-acquisition)

• CLV (customer lifetime value)

• ROI (return on investment)

Marketing Analysis – Metrics that Matter


Worksheet: Evaluating Lead Generation Performance

Lead generation campaign

Total lead volume

Qualified lead volume

% of qualified leads

Closing rate

Average deal size

Time to close

Total investment

Total Revenue

CPL (Cost-per-lead)

CPA (Cost-per- acquisition)

ROI


Summary• Capture, nurture and

convert to maximize the performance of lead generation activities in 2012

• Conduct a marketing performance evaluation and then adjust marketing plans, negotiate new contracts, and test new initiatives

Capture

Nurture

Convert

Questions?

How to plan your lead generation campaigns for the new year

Technology

Transcript of How to plan your lead generation campaigns for the new year