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2012 Lead Management Optimization – Key Trends Analysis2012 Lead ManagementOptimization StudyKey Trends AnalysisCompliments of:

2012 Lead Management Optimization – Key Trends AnalysisCopyright 2012 CSO InsightsAll Rights Reserved.Terms and ConditionsPrinted in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976,no part of this publication may be produced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in adatabase or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For additional information,contact CSO Insights, 4524 Northfield Court, Boulder, CO 80301, Phone: (303) 530-6930, e-mail:jim.dickie@csoinsights.com.The reader understands that the information and data used in preparation of this report were as accurate aspossible at the time of preparation by the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility to update theinformation or publication. The publisher assumes that the readers will use the information contained in thispublication for the purpose of informing themselves on the matters that form the subject of this publication. Itis sold with the understanding that neither the authors nor those individuals interviewed are engaged inrendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal or other expert advice is required, theservices of a competent professional should be sought. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any useto which the purchaser puts this information.All views expressed in this report are those of the individuals interviewed and do not necessarily reflectthose of the companies or organizations they may be affiliated with, CSO Insights, Insight TechnologyGroup, or Sales Mastery. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective companies.

2012 Lead Management Optimization – Key Trends AnalysisTable of Contents2012 Lead Generation Optimization Study Introduction . 12012 Lead Generation Optimization Study Sales and Marketing Alignment . 2Top Strategic Marketing Objectives for 2012 . 52012 Marketing Budget Compared to 2011. 7Top Rated Lead Generation Programs . 9Customer and Prospect Data Accuracy Ratings . 11Ability to Deliver Highly Targeted/Relevant Messaging . 13Utilization of Lead Generation Management System . 15Lead Scoring Methods . 17Percentage of Leads Turned Over to Sales . 19Disposition of Non-sales Ready Leads. 21Metrics for Tracking Lead Generation ROI . 23Lead Management Optimization: Going Forward . 25

2012 Lead Management Optimization – Key Trends Analysis2012 Lead Management Optimization Study IntroductionFor the past eight years, CSO Insights has conducted our annual Lead ManagementOptimization (LMO) study focused on understanding how, and how effectively, marketing issupporting sales in their efforts to hit their revenue targets. As part of the 100 metrics wecollect each year, we acquire a detailed understanding of the challenges facing marketingteams, why those problems exist, and what some companies are doing to leverage people,process, technology, and knowledge to address those issues.We had over 400 firms participate in the 2012 Lead Management Optimization study.Professional services firms were the largest industry segment represented, followed bytechnology, manufacturing, advertising/media/PR/publishing, telecommunications, financialservices, distribution, and health care.In terms of geographic mix, 67.5% of the firms were based in the United States, and 32.5%were international companies.An analysis of the data by industry or company size is available to advisory services clients bycontacting their CSO Insights analyst. Anyone wishing to obtain these analyses or is interestedin benchmark information for their firm should email Laura Andrus. CSO Insights1No portion of this report may be reproduced or distributed in any form orby any means without the prior written permission of the authors.

2012 Lead Management Optimization – Key Trends Analysis2012 Lead Generation Optimization Sales and Marketing AlignmentMarketing has many different types of responsibilities, but for this study the one we are mostinterested in is how effectively they support sales in generating the right quality and quantity ofleads to fill the pipeline with legitimate sales opportunities. Our view has been that marketing isnot responsible for generating all the leads that sales reps need, as clearly some prospectingefforts need to be territory specific, but marketing should be creating a meaningful number ofquality leads.One of the first things we do when we gather the data from our annual Lead ManagementOptimization study is to compare certain responses we receive from marketing teams with theanswers we receive from our annual Sales Performance Optimization (SPO) study. Let us sharewith you a few metrics that show the level of alignment between these two functional groups.The first question we ask both sales and marketing professionals taking their respective studiesis: What percentage of all leads that sales pursue is generated by marketing? The percentagefigure from sales, as reported in 2012 Sales Performance Optimization study, was 27.1%, whilethe number reported by marketing in the 2012 Lead Management Optimization study wasnoticeably higher, at 36.9%. In analyzing the data from both studies, we found one factor thatmay explain the difference of opinions, and that is not all leads turned over to sales are activelyfollowed up, as shown in Figure 1.Percentage of Leads Turned Over to SalesActively Followed UpDo Not Know5.2% 25%9.4%25% - 50%10.8% 90%39.0%51% - 75%19.2%75% - 90%16.4%Figure 1Only 55% of the firms surveyed have a lead follow up rate of 75% or more.To help companies determine the true contribution of marketing’s lead generation efforts, theywill have to be able to track the disposition of all the leads that are turned over to sales. CSO Insights2No portion of this report may be reproduced or distributed in any form orby any means without the prior written permission of the authors.

2012 Lead Management Optimization – Key Trends AnalysisWe also looked at the ratings that marketing gave themselves in regards to how they thoughtsales graded their performance in three different areas. The first was the effectiveness of thecompany website to successfully engage prospects and customers. As shown below in Figure2, half of all the companies surveyed felt their web presence needed improvement. This was inline with the 53% figure reported from sales.Figure 2Marketing sees lots of room for improvement in meeting sales’ expectations.With regards to the assessment of the quantity and quality of leads, marketing was somewhatharder on themselves than sales. Above, we see 67% of marketing teams stated they needed toimprove lead quantity and 52% believed the same about lead quality. Sales’ ratings, whencompared with marketing’s, were 60% and 51%, respectively.In general, we believe that marketing and sales are fairly well aligned with “what” to do.However, the challenge, as presented in the Key Trends Analysis of this report, is around leadgeneration teams getting more effective at “how” to do deliver effective lead generationprograms. The study clearly shows that the number of options marketing can utilize to reachprospects and customers makes the task of selecting the right approaches and then effectivelyexecuting them much more complex than ever before.We trust the information presented in this analysis will help you more effectively optimize yourorganization’s lead generation efforts. While we believe the issues raised have broadapplicability, we encourage you to use this information only as the basis for brainstorming andgoal planning sessions for identifying and prioritizing your organization’s lead generationobjectives. Everyone can benefit from understanding the strategies and tactics other companiesare using, but in the end you must implement solutions that fit your specific business needs. CSO Insights3No portion of this report may be reproduced or distributed in any form orby any means without the prior written permission of the authors.

2012 Lead Management Optimization – Key Trends AnalysisAfter having had a chance to digest this analysis, research clients are encouraged to set up abriefing with their CSO Insights analyst to discuss the specific ways you can more effectivelyleverage people, process, technology, and knowledge to optimize your lead efforts.Anyone having questions or comments on the data presented in this report can be directed to:Jim DickieManaging PartnerCSO Insights(303) 521-4410jim.dickie@csoinsights.comBarry TrailerManaging PartnerCSO Insights(916) 712 9621barry.trailer@csoinsights.comFor a complete list of the survey questions, e-mail kim.cameron@csoinsights.com. CSO Insights4No portion of this report may be reproduced or distributed in any form orby any means without the prior written permission of the authors.

2012 Lead– KeyTrends2012ManagementLead ManagementOptimizationOptimization – KeyTrendsAnalysisAnalysisWhat are your organization’s top three strategic marketing objectives for 2012?Top Three Strategic Marketing Objectives for 201286.5%Increasing New Customer Acquisition47.1%Increasing Brand Awareness39.1%Optimizing Cross-selling and Up-sellingOptimizing New Product Introduction25.7%Improving Customer Loyalty24.2%Develop/Optimize Social Media Strategy20.2%Increasing Customer Renewals20.2%18.0%Enhancing the Customer Experience13.8%Migrating to a Customer-centric Strategy4.3%Other (please specify)0%20%40%60%80%100%Key FindingsCommentary Marketing’sobjectives alignwell with sales.After reflecting on the low lead generation ratings that sales gavemarketing, we were interested in how the goals of sales andmarketing aligned. Above is what marketing identified as their keyobjectives. Below is what sales focused on this year. (Reference:CSO Insights’ 2012 Sales Performance Optimization Study.) Disconnectseen betweenknowing whatmarketing wantsto do and theirability toexecute. Renewedinterest seen inbuilding brandawareness. CSO Insights5No portion of this report may be reproduced or distributed in any form orby any means without the prior written permission of the authors.

2012 Lead Management Optimization – Key Trends AnalysisWhen comparing the two sets of objectives, there are severalcommonalities, (e.g., focusing on new accounts, cross-selling andup-selling, improving customer loyalty, etc.). So the major issue isnot that the two functional areas are not on the same page, asthey are both very aware that the main objective is increasingrevenues.The issue between the two groups is marketing’s ability to executeon these goals. In this regard there are some major challenges.When we asked marketing to rate their effectiveness, they gavethemselves less than stellar marks as shown in the followingchart:One last item of note is marketing’s renewed interest in increasingbrand awareness. After the stock market tanked in 2008, thenumber of firms focusing on brand building dropped to the mid‘30s. Above, we see it has gained in importance, perhaps drivenby marketing’s new interest in social media.Notes: CSO Insights6No portion of this report may be reproduced or distributed in any form orby any means without the prior written permission of the authors.