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MAXIMIZINGLEAD GENERATIONThe Complete Guidefor B2B MarketersRuth P. Stevens800 East 96th StreetIndianapolis, Indiana 46240 USA
Maximizing Lead GenerationCopyright 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc.All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission fromthe publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use ofthe information contained herein. Although every precaution has beentaken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assumeno responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed fordamages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4114-1ISBN-10: 0-7897-4114-8Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:Stevens, Ruth P. (Ruth Palmer)Maximizing lead generation : the complete guide for B2B marketers /Ruth P. Stevens.p. cm.ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4114-1ISBN-10: 0-7897-4114-81. Internet marketing. 2. Industrial marketing—Data processing.3. Advertising, Industrial—Data processing. 4. Advertisingcampaigns—Data processing. I. Title.HF5415.1265.S745 201658.8'04—dc232011020686Printed in the United States of AmericaSecond Printing: December 2011TrademarksAll terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks orservice marks have been appropriately capitalized. Que Publishingcannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in thisbook should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademarkor service mark.Warning and DisclaimerEvery effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The informationprovided is on an “as is” basis. The author and the publisher shall haveneither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respectto any loss or damages arising from the information contained in thisbook or from the use of the CD or programs accompanying it.Bulk SalesQue Publishing offers excellent discounts on this book when orderedin quantity for bulk purchases or special sales. For more information,please contactU.S. Corporate and Government or sales outside of the U.S., please contactInternational Salesinternational@pearson.comEditor-in-ChiefGreg WiegandSr. Acquisitions EditorKatherine BullDevelopment EditorGinny Bess MunroeManaging EditorKristy HartProject EditorAnne GoebelIndexerErika MillenProofreaderSheri CainPublishing CoordinatorCindy TeetersCover DesignerAnne JonesCompositorNonie RatcliffQue Biz-Tech Editorial BoardMichael BritoJason FallsRebecca LiebSimon SaltPeter Shankman
CONTENTS AT A GLANCE1 The Case for Lead Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Campaign Planning: You Can’t Leave It to Luck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193 The Marketing Database: Not Sexy, But Essential to Success4 Campaign Development Best Practices. . . . .33. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .595Campaign Media Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .756Campaign Execution7Response Planning and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1238Lead Qualification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1399Lead Nurturing10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157Metrics and Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17511 The Fast-Evolving Future of Lead Generation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
TABLE OF CONTENTSAbout the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiAcknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiWe Want to Hear from You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii1The Case for Lead Generation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Defining Terms: What a Lead Is and What It Is Not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2How Lead-Generation Campaigns Differ from Other Typesof Marketing Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4The Lead-Generation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Market Research for Lead Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Organizational Roles and Responsibilities for Lead Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Case Study in Lead-Generation Excellence: How AnritsuReached Key Decision Makers with a Three-Touch Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Campaign Planning: You Can’t Leave It to Luck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Who? What? When? Where? Breaking Down the Buying Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20May I Have This Dance? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23How Will You Know When You’re There? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24The Goldilocks School of Lead Flow Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Planning for Your Campaign Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283The Marketing Database: Not Sexy, But Essential to Success. . . . . . . . . . . 33Data Sources and Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Data Fields You Need for Lead Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Data Hygiene Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Database Analysis, Segmentation, and Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544Campaign Development Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Best Practice I: Research and Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Best Practice II: The New Importance of Content Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Best Practice III: Marketing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Case Study: When the Chips Were Down, Marketing Got Automated . . . . . . . . . 73
Contents5VCampaign Media Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75B-to-B Lead Generation Media: The Top Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Set the Stage for Lead Generation with PR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84B-to-B Lead Generation Media: Three to Avoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Using Web 2.0 for Lead Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88How to Select the Right Media Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Mixing It Up: Multiple Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 936Campaign Execution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101Campaign Target Selection: Finding the Winning Combination . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102Seven Steps to Successful Lead-Generation Creative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106How to Develop Offers They Can’t Refuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Getting the Best Work from an Agency or Creative Freelancers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1187Response Planning and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123Response Management Step-by-Step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Six Strategies to Capture the Response Data You Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124The All-Important Landing Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126Why Responses Are Often Mishandled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131Inquiry Fulfillment: The Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132Six Rules of Fullfillment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1348Lead Qualification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Setting Qualification Criteria: Can’t Beat BANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140What to Ask and When to Ask It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Need for Speed: Moving Qualified Leads into the Pipeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142Lead-Ranking Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Qualifying Leads at a Trade Show or Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Marketing Checkup for Telephone-Based Lead Generationand Qualification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151The Whos and Hows of the Handoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
VI9Maximizing Lead GenerationLead Nurturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157A Marketing Function with a Big Sales Benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158The Lead-Nurturing Process, Step by Step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Nurturing Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Case Study: How a Comprehensive Rethinking of Lead Generationand Management Strategy Improved Lead-Nurturing ResponseRates and Lowered Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16710Metrics and Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175Response Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176Cost Per Lead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179Inquiry-to-Lead Conversion Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Lead-to-Sales Conversion Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Expense-to-Revenue Ratio (E:R) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183Seven Techniques for Tracking Leads to Closure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185When a Lead Doesn’t Close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19011The Fast-Evolving Future of Lead Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1911. More and Better Marketing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1922. Sales and Marketing Will Finally Get on the Same Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1923. New Data Sources for Prospecting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1934. Social Media Will Get Real for Lead Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1935. Affinity Marketing Will Come to B-to-B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1946. Face-to-Face Events Will Resume Their Importance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1947. New Ways to Nurture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1958. Ever-Evolving Customer Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1969. More and Better Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19610. Mobile Will Happen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
About the AuthorRuth P. Stevens consults on customer acquisition and retention, and she teachesmarketing at Columbia Business School. She is past chair of the DMA Business-toBusiness Council, and past president of the Direct Marketing Club of New York.Crain’s BtoB magazine named Ruth one of the 100 Most Influential People inBusiness Marketing, and the Sales Lead Management Association listed her as oneof 20 Women to Watch in lead management. She is the author of Trade Show andEvent Marketing, and she has been a columnist and feature writer for DMNews,DIRECT, and EXPO magazines. Ruth serves as a director of Edmund Optics, Inc.She has held senior marketing positions at Time Warner, Ziff-Davis, and IBM andholds an MBA from Columbia University. Reach her at ruth@ruthstevens.com.AcknowledgmentsMy sincere thanks go to the many people and companies who supported this bookwith ideas, interviews, statistics, and general good will. Among the individuals areAndrew Drefahl, Ann Fatino, Ardath Albee, Bernice Grossman, Bill Flatley, BillHebel, Bill Vorias, Bob Bly, Bob Burk, Bob Hacker, Cesar Correia, Cyndi Greenglass,Dave Laverty, David Azulay, David Gaudreau, Denise Olivares, Gottfried Sehringer,Hugh McFarlane, Jan Wallen, Jim Lenskold, Jim Obermayer, Joe Pulizzi,
Lead generation involves identifying prospective cus-tomers and qualifying their likelihood to buy in advance of making a sales call. In short, it’s about motivating prospects to raise their hands. Lead generation is the single most important objective of any business-to-business (B-to-B) marketing department. Other objectives, such as brand building, brand steward-ship, public relations .
