gartner digital markets lead management guide

Lead Management Guide 1

Lead Management Guide

Gartner Digital Markets

© 2021 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliated. All rights reserved.

Optimize your B2B lead nurture strategy to engage and convert leads more effectively.


Introduction

The Challenge

Part One

How to Get Started

Part Two

When, Where and How: Sales and Marketing Outreach

Part Three

Establish Metrics to Measure Success

Bonus

Example Outreach Schedules and Email Templates

3

5

6

10

12

Table of Contents

What’s Inside?


Benefits of a lead nurture program include: 01 Improved lead engagement, brand awareness and lifetime customer value.

02 Recognition of your product as a solution to common buyer or industry challenges.

03 Ready resources covering information buyers seek when researching solutions and making purchase decisions.

A software purchase can make or break a business. Often, software requires a significant financial investment, along with copious amounts of time spent on research, securing team buy-in and implementation. A buyer’s software purchase journey can vary and depends on many factors, including industry and level of purchase authority.

Software and SaaS providers need to ensure their sales and marketing strategies can effectively reach buyers across all stages of those diverse purchase journeys, with relevant messages in support of buyers’ specific needs.

What does it mean to nurture a lead?

It’s essential to nurture leads to develop customer relationships and mutual trust at every stage of the buyer purchase journey, and your sales cycle or funnel.

Introduction

The Challenge


As sales cycles continue to grow and evolve, software and SaaS providers must adjust their lead nurture strategies. Bear in mind that B2B buyers conduct large parts of their product research and purchase processes independently of supplier sales calls or in-person meetings. An effective lead nurture strategy takes shifts in buyer behavior into account, helps buyers tackle hurdles encountered throughout the purchase and aligns tightly with business objectives.

This guide details how to craft or update a lead nurture strategy that boosts B2B buyers’ confidence in their software and SaaS purchase decisions and accelerates long-term account growth. This resource will follow and expand on the three parts of an effective lead nurture program, identified by Gartner (below), to optimize an approach through defined objectives, a strategic sales and marketing mix, and meaningful success metrics.

Three Steps to Improve Lead Nurture Programs

Focus on nurture program objectives targeted at qualifying and accelerating discrete groups of buyers through the buyer journey.

Contextualize CTAs, content and expanded sales and marketing channels to where buyers are in the buyer journey.

CTA= call to action; MQL = marketing-qualified lead

Solicit feedback from sales on lead quality to help improve MQL scoring and optimize targeting.

Objectives Sales and Marketing Mix Success Metrics

https://www.gartner.com/doc/3987770


Define Your GoalsStart by defining your goals and collecting information about your target audiences’ needs, challenges, and hurdles at every stage of their purchase journey, including post-purchase implementation and onboarding.

Use the information you collect to narrow nurture program objectives. Do you want to increase close rates on free trial subscribers? Perhaps you have access to warm lead data but aren’t sure whether those leads are ready to purchase. Define goals to address that, and more: Be precise and specific about what you want to accomplish, set deadlines and outline expectations for success.

Define Your Target Audience and Their Purchase JourneyDemand generation can produce a wide range in lead quality. Naturally weed out lower-quality leads through a nurture strategy that addresses target buyers’ specific needs, challenges, goals and purchase behaviors.

Track your ideal buyer through their interactions with your brand and their motivations at each point in the purchase journey. Map those findings against your current touchpoints and content to “identify gaps in the program or misalignment of targeting, messaging, content assets, CTAs and/or marketing channels,” Gartner.

Part One

How to Get Started


Nurture programs fail when goals are too generic or the strategy is left to a “set it and forget it” approach. Continue to revisit objectives and approaches based on input from sales on the quality of MQLs.



Know Precisely When, and How Often, to Reach OutNot all goals, industries or buyers require the same follow-up strategy. Outline current touchpoints and the stages in your target audience’s journey where each one falls. Make a list of areas where your current strategy misses a touchpoint, and use that information to build an ideal outreach schedule filled with effective calls to action (CTAs).

Establish Multichannel Outreach The B2B purchase journey is no longer linear, and sees “buyers shift back and forth from digital to in-person information channels,” according to Gartner. Combine the information you collect on your target audience and their behaviors and your touchpoint gap analysis to strategically choose outreach channels. Consider how your target audience interacts with each channel, and where they are in their purchase journey during those interactions.

Plan an appropriate multichannel mix, and get creative with how you reach and engage leads to match modern, and evolving, information-gathering styles. For example, does your target buyer audience use social media as a way to casually collect high-level information? That behavior is typically classified as high funnel and benefits from marketing campaigns focused on brand building, product promotion and retargeting. For sales, that behavior may make social media platforms valuable prospecting channels.

Part Two

When, Where and How: Sales and Marketing Outreach


Reduce buyer fatigue and diversify tactics to include a mix of marketing automation, email campaigns, social media, website content and direct sales conversations.



Perfect Outreach Timing The average buyer expresses interest in at least four to five companies or products while researching software solutions. The key to successful outreach is timing and persistence. Boost initial lead engagement with a follow-up phone call within five minutes of receiving the lead. If you don’t reach the lead on the first try, keep trying. Refer to the multichannel mix and continue to test outreach channels, methods and timing to reach buyers at the optimal times.

Automate CampaignsMarketing automation systems can be useful when developing lead nurture tracks based on buyer engagement and content interactions. Think of automation as a backup outreach method rather than a “set it and forget it” lead nurture strategy.

Use automated campaigns to improve global lead engagement and ensure timely outreach. Establish outreach triggers for times when prospects located in different time zones complete an action such as downloading content gated behind a lead gen form, visiting specific website pages or clicking on links or CTAs within an email or website. Then, follow up personally via phone call and email when your team is back in the office or working “normal” business hours.


Follow up with leads within five minutes and you will be 9x more likely to convert.


Craft Compelling ContentCreate content that provides actionable value to increase the effectiveness of multichannel outreach. Develop or curate content that your target audience can relate to and improve content resonance through segmentation. Use segment-specific information to craft content and CTAs that seamlessly guide buyers through the sales cycle and address primary buyer considerations. Include messaging that solves for hurdles from awareness to decision making, and focuses on the primary reasons buyers consider a product or software provider during their purchase cycle.


Top content themes buyers cite when considering software products or solutions:01 Content differentiates its product features from competitors

02 Content message is relevant to them and focuses on business issues

03 Content message triggers thinking around a business issue not previously considered

04 Content shares a compelling story of a company that had purchased a similar solution

Reach Buyers Effectively Combine a strong channel mix with relevant and engaging content to effectively reach buyers with the right message at the right time. Remember, some content types and channels are more effective at certain stages of the B2B purchase journey.

Content should grow more specific in value and distribution should become increasingly personalized as the buyer progresses through their purchase journey, for example, distribution channels and content that reach a wider audience and provide more generalized value fit in the research or awareness stage of a buyer’s purchase journey.

Personalize content wherever and whenever possible, to speak directly to buyers’ — or common industry — challenges that your product solves.


AwarenessBlog Posts Be a trusted source for buyers to find educational content. Include relevant CTAs that lead to next stage content.

Social PostsUse socal media to build brand awareness, retarget buyers and as an alternative for prospecting outreach.

VideosEmbed videos into blog posts or landing pages to capture buyer attention and create a more engaging experience.

Align Content Types and Tactics to the Purchase Journey Use this reference to quickly align content types within each stage of the sales funnel.


ConsiderationPaid Advertising Campaigns (e.g., display, native, PPC, event sponsorships)Reach buyers through appropriate channels as they move from awareness to product research.

Free TrialAllow buyers to test your product as they narrow their options and parse features to suit their needs.

Landing PagesLead buyers who engage with awareness content to landing pages that highlight product features that resolve related challenges.

E-Books/White Papers/WebinarsProvide value with in-depth content, including solutions to common buyer or industry challenges.

DecisionFree DemoOffer demos to buyers who have narrowed their options and are ready to decide if your product will work within their organization.

Case StudiesCoax decision makers and highlight product effectiveness through social proof.


Lead Scoring and Sales Follow-UpA lead score can be thought of as a quality metric for leads acquired by your business and can be set by assigning value to characteristics or actions taken by the lead. Lead scoring streamlines the lead nurture process by assigning priority and strategy to lead follow-up.

When you have capacity to follow up with every lead, lead scoring isn’t a priority. But when sales teams are overwhelmed by lead volume, and have the ability to attribute value on lead actions — propensity to complete a purchase, for instance — lead scoring is essential to prioritize MQLs.

Part Three

Establish Metrics to Measure Success


“Leveraging lead scoring can help marketing and sales close gaps in what they perceive to be ‘good leads’ and help ensure a smooth transition from a marketing-qualified lead to a sales-accepted lead.” — Gartner



Schedule, Test, RepeatContinue to improve your lead nurture and outreach program based on your target market’s evolving buyer behaviors and lead quality feedback. Track performance results and outreach patterns, including channel and content mix.

Lead nurturing doesn’t end after buyers purchase your product. Use these methods to encourage customer growth and collect valuable repurchase behavior data. The lead nurture strategies we’ve covered in this guide can also be applied to upsell and cross-sell existing customers. Identify growth patterns and common objections, then reassemble or create content to fit along each step of that new journey.

Three Steps to Improve Lead Nurture Programs

Focus on nurture program objectives targeted at qualifying and accelerating discrete groups of buyers through the buyer journey.

Contextualize CTAs, content and expanded sales and marketing channels to where buyers are in the buyer journey.

CTA= call to action; MQL = marketing-qualified lead

Solicit feedback from sales on lead quality to help improve MQL scoring and optimize targeting.



Bonus

Example Email Nurture Tracks and Templates

Email 1: Welcome email. If contact is not obtained by free trial form fill, include a link to a free trial offer.

Email 2: Introduce the product, highlight benefits and differentiators over features.

Email 3-5: Continue to follow up with supporting content, blog posts, case studies and customer testimonials to build interest and trust.

Email 6: Request trial and product feedback and include additional content and valuable educational resources that cover common barriers to purchase.

Email 7: Schedule follow-up with sales rep and/or extend demo offer.

TIP: If lead completes the nurture track goal, send to “Free Demo” workflow; if not, then add to re-engagement nurture list.

Free Trial Nurture Track

Email 1: Welcome email, include a link to a self-service demo scheduler.

Email 2: Highlight product benefits and differentiators, include supporting content, blog posts, case studies and customer testimonials to build interest and trust.

Email 3: Encourage demo and product feedback to continue sales conversation.

Email 4: Share additional content and valuable educational resources that cover the buyer’s specific challenges or needs identified from email 3.

Email 5: Extend final offer and/or additional trial period with demo.

TIP: If sale is closed, add to onboarding nurture track; if not, then add to re-engagement nurture list.

Free Demo Nurture Track


Hi [name],

Thanks for your interest in [product]. I’m available to talk about how we might help you achieve your business goals and overcome current challenges you face.

If you would like to learn how other companies are dealing with challenges like yours, I’d be happy to schedule a call and determine whether or not I might be able to offer some help.

If you would like to talk some more, use the convenient link below to directly schedule a time on the calendar for us to speak.

[Link to calendar]

Best,

[Rep name]

Hi [name],

I’m following up because [one sentence reason for your call].

In my voicemail, I mentioned that I will call you back on [date] at [time], and of course you can always reach me before then at [your phone number].

I look forward to connecting.

Thanks,

[Rep name]

Welcome Email Template Call Follow-Up Email Template


Hi [name],

I noticed you recently read several of our [content type: blog posts, whitepapers, etc] on [topic of interest]. I thought I’d help you continue your research by sharing a few other articles [or other content type]:

[content link 1]

[content link 2]

[content link 3]

If you have any questions, or need more [content type] on the subject, I’d be happy to help.

Regards,

[Rep name]

Hi [name],

Sorry we weren’t able to connect at [planned time]. I was planning to cover [topic 1] and [topic 2]. To catch you up, here are some helpful resources:

[content link 1]

[content link 2]

If you’d like to try again, here’s a link to my calendar: [link].

Best,

[Rep name]

Content Follow-Up Email Template Missed Connection Follow-Up Email Template


Additional ResourcesContinue to enhance your sales and marketing strategy with the following content.

01 Customer Engagement Evolves White Paper

02 Engage Customers Through The Sales Funnel Blog Post

03 3 Tips in 3 Minutes: Increase International Sales Video

04 How to Personalize B2B Marketing Through Evolving Business Cycles Blog Post

Connect, Convert and Thrive with Gartner Digital MarketsNow that you’re a lead management expert, it’s time to apply that expertise to your leads and sales funnel. Gartner Digital Markets offers several tools and services to help you fill your sales pipeline with in-market software buyers from our global network of sites.

Demand Generation Use your lead nurture skills to connect with in-market software buyers sent directly to your website through your Gartner Digital Markets listing.

Translation Services Leverage our translation services to thrive in global markets with optimized, in-language versions of your listing and profile.

https://www.gartner.com/ngw/globalassets/en/digital-markets/documents/white-paper-customer-engagement.pdf

https://www.gartner.com/en/digital-markets/insights/why-customer-engagement-is-important

http://vid.gartner.com/watch/aph8G2YJDNp3GohFzgvsqg?

https://www.gartner.com/en/digital-markets/insights/how-to-personalize-b2b-marketing-through-evolving-business-cycle


© 2021 Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliated. All rights reserved.

Gartner Digital Markets is the world’s premier source for software vendors to connect with in-market buyers, through research, reviews and lead generation. Digital Markets comprises the three leading B2B software search websites — Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice — serving more than 9 million monthly visitors from around the globe.

We’re proud to partner as a quality, high-volume lead source for more than 40,000 software products. Discover what we can do for your business.

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gartner digital markets lead management guide

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