Would you like 50 new, promising customers? Great, so would we! But getting them is not that easy. If you want to win customers in today's digital world, sooner or later you have to get to grips with lead management. We'll tell you how lead management works and how to turn prospects into customers.
What is lead management?
Lead management is the process by which prospective customers are identified, further qualified and converted into paying customers. The lead management process comprises several phases, starting with the first (digital) marketing contact through to handover to sales in the desired quality.
Effective lead management helps companies to make better use of their marketing and sales resources and increase their conversion rates.
Phase 1: Lead generation
Lead generation is the first step in lead management. The aim is to make potential customers aware of the company and arouse their interest. But how do you generate a lead?
The best way to get contact data from new prospects is to offer something in exchange: Content with added value that can be downloaded, such as e-books, specialist articles, factsheets and checklists, as well as live webinars and the associated recordings, are ideal for this - provided the topics match the desired target customers.
Social media channels are ideal for sharing this content and engaging in conversation with potential customers. Targeted emailings, SEA or social ads can also help to increase the reach of your inbound content.
Would you like more ideas? Here are 4 best practices for lead generation.
Phase 2: Lead Nurturing
Once you have acquired the contact details of potential prospects, you need to develop them further until they are ready to buy. As a rule, some contacts fall by the wayside on the way through the sales funnel [BB1]. Only a small proportion of the prospects who originally left their contact details later become customers. Lead nurturing can help to further develop a lead in a targeted manner and consistently accompany them through their customer journey.
Lead nurturing is a strategic sequence of marketing activities that aims to gradually bring a lead closer to a purchase decision. Particularly in B2B marketing, where purchase decision processes often take a long time, it is important to introduce interested parties to your own topics and the specific offer in detail and to provide them with comprehensive information about them.
The central element of digital lead nurturing are so-called nurture flows[BB2] : multi-stage, usually automated campaigns that provide a lead with content along a suitable storyline that addresses their needs, problems and questions.
With the help of marketing automation software, this content is then sent out at regular intervals. The advantage of this is that if a nurture flow begins with inbound content (i.e. a download or registration), potential customers trigger this themselves at precisely the time when they are specifically interested in the topic - such a campaign is known as a pull campaign.
Nurture flows can also function as push campaigns that are sent to previously collected contact data. The small disadvantage of this is that it is unlikely that all contacts contacted will have an increased interest in the topic at the start of the campaign. Nevertheless, those who have at least a basic interest will react more actively to the content. It is precisely these contacts who can then be approached by sales.
Phase 3: Lead scoring
Not every lead that is generated is also a potential customer. With lead scoring, leads are therefore scored, to identify the most promising contacts in the lead funnel. They are evaluated according to criteria such as company size, industry, position, but also according to their behavior on the website, their interactions with the company and the content offered in lead nurturing.
Leads who work for a particularly interesting target customer, for example, receive a higher scoring than a lead from a less interesting company. Leads who have interacted more with the content on offer also receive more points than those who are passive. Once a certain, previously defined scoring value has been reached, the leads are considered sales-accepted and can be passed on to the sales team.
Phase 4: Handover to the sales department
Once a lead has been developed to the point where a concrete buying interest is recognizable or can at least be assumed, this is the final phase in the lead management process and the contact can be seamlessly handed over to the sales team. Ideally, the sales employees then have all the important information about a contact bundled in marketing automation or CRM software. This allows them to be optimally prepared to address the interests and any concerns of their leads in the further course of the contact.
Conclusion
In the increasingly digitalized customer journey in B2B, it is essential to identify potential customers as early as possible and get them interested in your company and offerings. Companies that want to successfully and efficiently acquire new customers today can hardly do without a consistent, well-structured lead management process.
What is the current status in your company? Are you looking for individual impulses and practical tips? Then arrange a free coaching session and discover new potential in your lead management.
