Marketing automation was specifically built for B2B marketers. Its primary focus is lead generation and customer engagement, and it does this through the use of automated marketing programs that manage prospect interactions in order to improve lead conversions. The ultimate goal is for higher lead quality, increased volume of prospects, and faster sales cycles.
B2B Automation and Lead Grading
One of the primary ways that B2B automation helps marketers to develop quality leads is through lead grading. Automatically qualifying leads with grading can help you to save resources and time while improving marketing and sales alignment and increasing close rates. Grading inbound leads will ensure that the leads that are moving from marketing to sales will match the ideal customer profile.
With lead grading, leads will automatically be evaluated based on several factors and will be assigned a letter grade from A to F. Some of these criteria that are examined include:
- Company size. By determining your target company size throughout your marketing automation, you won’t waste time pursuing leads with companies that are too small or large to use your product.
- Engagement. A lack of activity on the part of the lead can indicate different needs, loss of interest, or the fact that they have found a different provider.
- Industry. You’ll ensure that you are marketing your product or services to companies that are within your list of targeted industries.
- Location. You’ll be able to prioritize leads based on geography, so you can score each lead based on where the business is located.
- Pages visited. You will be able to see which pages a lead visits on your website, which can tell you if they are interested in a specific product or solution.
- Title. In B2B automation, it is important that you are selling to the right person. These criteria will ensure that you are working with someone who is in a position to make a purchasing decision.
B2B Marketing Automation and Lead Scoring
Lead scoring is often used along with lead grading, and it helps to ensure that only highly-qualified leads make it from marketing to sales. A lead score will be displayed as a numerical value and can indicate just how interested a lead is in your service or product. There are several actions that can affect the score of a lead:
- Downloads. Certain downloads can be a good indication of where a potential customer is in the buying cycle.
- Email CTR. Click-throughs in your emails can be a good indication of lead interest, as it shows potential customers are viewing your website.
- Views. Viewing your website pages can show how interested potential leads are in your website and what you have to offer.
- Searches. Site searches will tell you about the interests and priorities of potential leads.
Conclusion
B2B marketing automation is one of the best ways to get high-quality leads that can lead to future sales. By utilizing lead scoring and grading as part of your marketing automation process, you’ll increase your qualified prospect volume, leading to more revenue.
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