Artificial Intelligence for Life

In a recent Lead Generation Strategy Survey, 59% of respondents said improving lead quality was the top objective for 2015.

The same survey also determined that 66% of companies were more likely to rate their lead generation strategy as not successful.

8 Steps in meeting the lead generation challenge:

1. Have well-defined goals. Many marketers start their lead generation campaigns with no specific goals in mind. They jump into the campaign without determining how many leads they want to bring in, or how cost-effective they need to be. When it’s over, they have no idea if their lead generation efforts have worked, or even if they’ve achieved a positive ROI for their company.
2. Understand target markets. The most successful marketers are strategic. They understand target markets and develop lead profiles. Establishing a lead profile involves determining exactly who fits into the ideal buyer image, and zeroing in on that target. The qualification criterion might include target industry, number of employees, revenue, location, and other information that is freely available about the lead.
3. Determine best channels for communication. There are a number of options for generating leads, but there is no one magic answer. Service providers must work with clients to determine the marketing channels that will work best for them based on campaign objectives.
4. Data Augmentation & Analysis. There are a number of successful service providers that offer database enhancement services to append missing information to customer databases. There are also a number of desktop, client-server, big data analytics, and Cloud solutions available that can help turn information into actionable business decisions and give you a competitive advantage.
5. Personalise the experience. Regardless of the communications channel, today’s technology means that you can help your customers personalize. The tools are available, and you can help marketers address prospects by name and offer a message that is designed to influence their specific buying needs and demographics.
6. Develop content for different stages in the buying process. As customers move through the buying cycle, opportunities exist to create value for the prospect. When you’re developing content and landing page strategies, workout and plan different designs based on the various stages of the customer buying process. Use personas that align to particular needs during each stage of that process, and develop the most appropriate offers and calls-to-action.
7. Measure, monitor, and adjust. Marketers can adjust the messaging to determine which headline, artwork, and promotional offer pulls the best results. With the right pre-planning, you can verify the success of every campaign and more easily ascertain the return on investment (ROI).
8. Continue engaging even after the sale is completed. Work with marketing to maintain the relationship after the sale. The most successful marketers focus on existing customers because they know that it’s less expensive to keep an existing customer than to acquire a new one.

Using integrated marketing automation with Dynamics CRM, marketers can effectively maintain customer loyalty and expand the relationship to the next milestone, such as renewals, upgrades, or new purchases.