Conversations with the pre-customer
Pete Jakob
Response and Lead Nurturing Manager
IBM United Kingdom Ltd
pete_jakob@uk.ibm.com

The role of marketing is changing…
from marketing as selling to
marketing as education
from push-marketing to
prospects/targets
pull-marketing social networking
to guests/citizens
open
from monologue to from demand generation to
right time
response nurturing
dialogue
be where they are authentic
user-generated content
relevant content
less is more
from shouting to from demand generation to
honest
listening satisfying customer needs
data-centric marketing

October 2006, Best Practices “Improving B2B Lead Management”
Leaky Sales Funnel Increases Customer
Acquisition Costs

There are 9 key steps to increasing the yield from campaigns and
enhancing the pre-customer experience
9. Refine and 1. Align activity
keep learning with Sales
9 1
8. Measure key 2. Capture all
Indicators Responses
8 2
7. Integrate with 3. Plan
7 3
CRM structured
nurturing
dialogue
6 4
4. Align nurturing
6. Automate
offers to buying
5
where
cycle
appropriate
5. Score based
on Activity

1. Align Activity with Sales
Unless Sales are hungry for your leads, your campaign is
doomed
• Symptom: Great campaign -> lots of “leads” -> can’t get sales to engage
• 4 Management Questions:
1. Who is the key sales sponsor?
2. What is their capacity for leads, and what shape?
3. What did they agree to do with the leads you generate?
4. How will you review progress with them?
• Impact
– Fewer activities
– Greater accountability
– Increase focus on Enablement and Nurturing

2. Capture All Responses
• Define your policy
– What constitutes a response?
– How quickly will responses be loaded?
– How will responses be loaded?
• Points to consider
– All response types?
– Third Party data from Events, Hosted web content etc? Client-centric
view of
– Business partner?
Responses
– Opt Out?
– Should you record ALL responses?
• Develop picture of clients across multiple campaigns
– What is the optimum touch cadence?
– What governance rules should apply across different
campaigns in market?

3. Plan structured nurturing dialogue
• A systematic approach to campaign contact structure for each response type
– Events
– Web Contact Form
– Outbound Tele
– Inbound Response
• Blueprints are a startpoint for customisation for specific campaign needs
– Consider non-responders and responders
– Consider “transactional” offers and “dialogue” offers
• Benefits:
– Plug leaks in the marketing funnel (eg non-responders)
– Clarify Roles and Responsibilities within the team
– Clarify when/how to pass to sales
– Underpin alignment to tools

3. Plan Structured Nurturing Dialogue (contd)
Newsletter
1. Plug leaks in the funnel by re-engaging
with non-responders
2. Use “Dialogue” offers that permit ongoing
contact
3. Monitor activity to provide prioritisation
4. Nurture via Telephone and Digital
5. Leverage content aligned to buying cycle
to advance customer journey

4. Align Nurturing Offers to Buying Cycle
Scope Select
Learn
JOURNEY ISSUE RECOGNITION SCOPE SUPPLIER
STAGES REQUIREMENTS SELECTION
•Objective, up-to-date •Proof of capability •Clear “why me” from suppliers
WHAT THEY
information
WANT •Endorsement from 3rd parties
•Objective support, no sales
•Information at the right level pitch •Accesibility to the right people
•Tools to help them understand •Case studies who can take issue to technical
what the right level is (eg vs solution
•Explanation of different
maturity or vertical) solutions
•Guide/pointers to other •Ability to ask questions
information
•White papers – IBM & credible •Case studies •Why IBM
ASSETS and
others
OFFERS •Q&As •Demo
•Newsletters •Product specifications
•FAQs
•Interactive tools •Call me/Inbound call
•Solutions
•Supplements •Self Assessment
•PR
•Webinars
•Industry Events
•IT Press/Online
•Podcasts

5. Score based on Activity
• Can be Manual or
Automated
– Automation allows for
automatic routing of
contact details once a new
threshold reached

6. Automate where Appropriate
Attractor
Triggers
Events registration
Added-value
Pass to
Response
Web Forms Sales
Telemktg
Comms 2
Comms 1
•Customer’s
What’s YOUR Pain
Developme
What is the issue?
Why Should you care?
pain nt Rep
Outbound Tele
Nurture
Comms 3
•Engagement
Let’s Dig Deeper
Further
measure
Inbound Enquiries
Standardised digital
nurturing engine
Objective: Know more about the client at then end of the journey
than at the beginning

6. Example: Standardised video-lead framework for digital
nurturing
Comms 2
Comms 1
What’s YOUR Pain
What is the issue?
Why Should you care?
Comms 3
Let’s Dig Deeper

7. Integrate with CRM
• Significant Customer Insight
may have been developed via
– Automated Marketing System
– Other Marketing Processes (eg
external Telemarketing)
• Make this visible to the sales
team

8. Measure Key Indicators
1. Responses
– How many named named, valid responses did marketing generate?
2. Marketing Validated Leads (MVL)
– How many responses are nurtured to a level that has been mutually agreed
with sales
• Separate marketing “influenced” from marketing “sourced”
• Segment via Customer type (eg Core Clients, Investment Clients, New Clients etc)
3. Sales Acceptance
– Sales agreement (via SLA) to perform specific tasks with MVL
• Lead follow-up timeframe
• Feedback required
– SLA defines specific reasons for rejection
• Incorrect routing
• Incomplete record
• Doesn’t meet agreed threshold
– MVL-to-sales acceptance days
– Review on regular basis via Sales/Marketing “huddle”
4. Sales Qualified Lead
– Conversion rate of Sales Accepted lead to SQL
– (Plus conversion rate of Sales Accepted to Lost)
– Cumulative size of the opportunities now in pipeline
5. Closed Business
– Conversion rate of SQL to closed business
Source: Sirius Decisions

9. Refine and Keep Learning
Integrate with the Buying process
Not about the selling process
People, Process, Tools
Cultural aspects are the most challenging (Marketing and Sales)
Sell the vision
Tools alone won’t fix it
Timing
Be selective, but relate to the bigger vision
Stay Fresh – there’s a wealth of free insight
Blogs
Google Alerts
RSS Feeds
Network

Getting Started
9. Refine and 1. Align activity
keep learning with Sales
9 1
8. Measure key 2. Capture all
Where does it hurt Indicators Responses
8 2
most?
What can you 7 3
7. Integrate with 3. Plan
CRM structured
control? nurturing
dialogue
6 4
Appoint a leader 4. Align nurturing
6. Automate
5 offers to buying
where
cycle
appropriate
5. Score based
on Activity

Thank
You !
www.mpdailyfix.com
blog.startwithalead.com
B2B Marketing – Open for
Business
http://b2bnurture.blogspot.com/
blogs.forrester.com/marketing
www.mikemoran.com/biznology