What to consider about the lead management flow?
Many believe that good lead management ends with the first sales contact. But that's where the real challenge begins. Bitkom, the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media, identifies the problems in lead management flow and then presents solutions.
It has been preached long enough that lead management must be transparent: a potential customer must be identified, accompanied and "nurtured" at all interfaces of the customer journey. In other words, they must be nurtured. Everyone agrees on that.
Because in times when products are similar in quality, the one who offers the better service is ahead. And that doesn't just mean after sales, but above all pre-sales.
But what does lead management look like in ICT companies today?
Bitkom eV. identified the problem as follows in a current lead management guide:
The problem: Lack of transparency in the lead management flow!
The weak point, as is so often the case, is the interface between marketing and sales.
The two departments must remain in continuous dialog with each other. But today, this is how it looks in most (ICT) companies:
The marketing department "prepares" the lead and passes it on to sales.
But then the feedback loop in the lead management plan is missing:
The consequence:
Valuable leads painstakingly acquired with marketing automation tools end up as deadbeats in the CRM system. And no matter how great this CRM system is, if there is no history for a name, it might as well be deleted. No wonder that companies surveyed in a recent Bitkom survey report:
TRANSPARENCY IN PROCESS is one of the most important criteria for success!
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The solution: Success factors for a successful lead management flow (Bitkom Lead Management Guide)
1. lead management is a matter for management!
How many leads should marketing produce in a quarter?
The marketing department is thus involved in achieving the company's goals.
2. good lead management is good software!
Fundamental requirements in any good lead management plan - the proper handling of data:
-> Without these tools, a marketing department drowns in data chaos.
In addition, of course, there is interesting content that is precisely tailored to different target groups.
For this purpose, target groups must be analyzed in detail.
3. lead quality
What good is the best campaign if no one can tell if a lead is cold, lukewarm or hot?
Imagine you are on a date with a woman (or a man). You go out three times: Movie, candlelight dinner, and bowling. If after the third time you still can't tell if your dating partner is hot for you, you've wasted your money!
This so-called lead scoring must flow into the CRM system down to the last detail. The best way to do this is automatically. If you do this manually, you will soon lose track of everything.
4. reporting and transparency in the sales channel
And now comes the next step: lead distribution!
Assume the lead is hot. Who in indirect sales do you give it to? To the first person you see? No! So how?
Decide what criteria you want to use to distribute leads:
It would also be conceivable to let your partners decide.
There is no software like leadtributor, that allows you to offer leads on pick lists.
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The software reports this to the internal sales department. A warning light comes on in the company, so to speak. The partner is requested to become active. If they do not do so, they no longer receive new leads when certain thresholds are reached.
He can see that new leads are available, but he can only reserve them for himself (and thus see all the detailed information about the new lead) after he has given feedback on the previous leads.
The feedback flows directly into the CRM system, so that an adjustment of the lead scoring parameters is always possible.
Objective here:
A closed-loop process: from lead generation and scoring to lead distribution, lead tracking to closing - and back into the CRM system, ready to be "nurtured" further. Ideally, this happens in an endless loop for maximum and, above all, lasting success in lead management.
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