“To accelerate growth, you need to be pushing new opportunities into the pipeline faster than those that will naturally fall out.” – Tim Woda, CEO, White Peak
As marketing efforts shift towards the digital space, it‘s essential organizations can see a clear return of investment (ROI). However, proving this all-important ROI can be challenging. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) have always, inevitably, been the responsibility of the marketing department. But, to truly optimize and secure the ROI from your strategy, MQLs must work their way through the pipeline and generate genuine business revenue.
It is important to recognize that not all leads are the same. While, in an ideal world, every visitor to your site or recipient of your content knows who you are, what you sell, and are already keen to buy – this is far from the case. It’s more than likely that most of your leads need to be nurtured, which in turn can lead to as many as 20% more sales opportunities.
If these are the types of leads that are landing on your site, it’s safe to assume they have searched your competitors’ sites too. So, how can tech and SaaS marketers turn MQLs, who need a little more of a push, into hot leads and, eventually, customers?
Pipeline Conversions
From the moment your business acquires a potential buyer’s contact details, every step thereon should focus on building a relationship with that prospect. You may not close the sale within the first month, six months, or even the first year of nurturing; in fact, only 5-15% of leads are sales-ready at the time of conversion. Buyers may need time to obtain a budget, speak to competitors, or even identify the real need for your product within their organization first.
When the time comes for your MQL to continue its pipeline journey towards revenue, both marketing and sales teams should work in harmony to convert them into customers. Remember, your pipeline conversion-rates don’t just reflect your sales team’s effectiveness— but the quality of leads in the first instance.
Nurture with personalized content
“Does your content lead your readers on a journey, or does it merely stuff them as leads into a pipeline?” – Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
Suppose a potential buyer is sat on the fence, contemplating conversations with your competitors. This is where your nurture strategy comes into effect. Present the perfect opportunity using super-smart content to identify and alleviate their challenges and pain-points, demonstrate how your solution can deliver the results they need, turn awareness into interest and then showcase your product or service’s value.
Tailored communications and personalized messages delivered to those who are undecided will help develop trust and hone in on their individual needs while building brand identity and, in turn, loyalty. Marketers have seen an increase of 56% in sales when using personalized messaging, so consider harnessing the power of intent data and on-site behavior to fuel campaigns and effectively convert prospects. The right message, delivered to the right person, at the right time is the utopia when it comes to moving your prospects through the pipeline and building a long-lasting relationship and retention.
Real-time engagement is crucial
The chances are if a prospect has visited your website, they would have seen your competitor’s website, too — this is where real-time engagement is crucial. By simply capturing your web visitor data, you can send personalized automated responses even while they are still browsing, through super-smart technology, allowing you to convert an engaged web visitors into sat demonstration instantly. As many as 78% of buyers purchase from the first business that responds to their query. You want to be that business, every time.
You may be thinking that your sales and marketing teams are ‘quick’ – but always aim for instant communication through powerful automation. 80% of marketers believe that marketing automation generates more leads, and in turn — more conversions.
Web Insights cuts out the noise to deliver insight to B2B organizations, precisely where and when it’s required. Our high-end software solution is a world-class business growth enabler, assisting brands to become more efficient and effective, capitalizing on every website opportunity in real-time.
The technology instantly recognizes website visitors and automatically routes them to the relevant person within your business — the ultimate solution for marketers looking to optimize lead generation, embrace automation, and do so without disrupting busy, high-performing enterprise teams. Automated, intelligent lead generation, immediate website visitor insight and seamless integration — every time.
Meet the author
Rachel Dettmer
Content Marketing Manager
Rachel has over seven years of corporate and award-winning agency experience in marketing and content creation across multiple sectors.