Lead scoring - when can a lead become a loyal customer?
Consumers interested in a given product or service first perform research on the web: they compare prices, check competitive offers, sign up to the subscriber base, download interesting materials from the website, and much more. In this way, they launch a whole machine of marketing activities that are supposed to encourage them to make a purchase. However, how to distinguish the most valuable customers who are most interested in the company’s offer? The answer is lead scoring. What should you know about this in order to use it in an effective way?
Lead scoring – how to assess the lead quality?
A lead is a sales opportunity. When properly used, it can bring results in the form of acquisition of an active customer. However, a valuable lead does not mean every correctly completed contact form in which the user submits their contact details. To achieve the assumed sales goals, it is necessary to evaluate potential customers, i.e. use lead scoring. This process gives you the opportunity to segment your audience based on the readiness to buy. How does lead scoring really work? Leads are assigned a certain number of points – the higher it is, the more ready the potential customer is to use the company’s offer.
There are at least a few ways to give leads scores. One of the easiest solutions is to use a 1 to 20 scale. Points should be granted on the basis of the actions taken by users that they have performed in the sales funnel. The rules are simple – a lead who is closer to the end of the buying funnel gets more points. By using lead scoring, you can determine the moment reached by the recipient and the conversion at a specific stage. Points are added up on the basis of specific actions, e.g. as a result of advertising campaigns, the user can enter the website – then they can be assigned 2 points. In the event of more valuable activities, e.g. signing up to the subscriber base, it is worth awarding the user 5 points. The values assigned to the audience depend on the actions taken and the stages that the potential customer goes through.
Assigning scoring points for specific activities in the PushAd Marketing Automation panel
How to conduct lead scoring with the PushAd system?
Manual selection and evaluation of the value of customers would be very time-consuming, and for a large audience base – almost impossible. Therefore, automated marketing tools have been created to facilitate this task, while providing more comprehensive information in this respect.
PushAd is a dedicated marketing automation platform, thanks to which you can track user behaviour at every stage of the sales funnel. In the PushAd panel, we award a certain number of points for the implementation of specific actions, e.g. for opting in for a subscription, for clicking on a notification, for conversion. The number of points granted should reflect the degree of interaction and the importance of user engagement.
Scoring in the PushAd panel is a method that allows you to isolate the most active users / users interested in a given content or product.
Importantly, it is possible to monitor changes in the scoring value and their increase in the selected time range. This allows you to precisely reach the most active users (performing particular, scored actions), in a narrowed segment, in a specific unit of time.
Preview of users’ scoring activity in the PushAd Marketing Automation panel
Based on the selected scoring method, the system automatically adds up the score assigned to the lead. After reaching a given result, the tool adds a given lead to a specific automation scenario.
Sample scenario for the consumer electronics industry:
- Users visiting the subpage dedicated to TVs fall into the segment of led-lcd-plasma-TVs
- We configure the automation scenario: the increment of scoring on this segment in the last 30 days is set to above 0. This will allow for isolating users who have been performing any activity on this segment for the last month (e.g. visiting the subpage dedicated to TVs twice), which gives a high probability of being interested in the product.
- The higher the value of the scoring increment, the more intense users’ interactions in a given segment. If, for example, we increase the increment from above 0 to more than 20 points, then at this point the target group will narrow down significantly, but we will reach with a message to users who have shown much higher interest in a given segment within a month (e.g. visiting the website not twice, but several times).
- In addition, for fulfilling this scenario we can also award extra scoring points.
An example of an automation scenario using scoring on a specific segment in the PushAd Marketing Automation system.
PushAd enables efficient analysis of the results of marketing campaigns, creating reports and better understanding of the behaviour and preferences of potential customers. This, in turn, allows you to create further scenarios that generate leads and support sales. The implementation of lead scoring with the use of a marketing automation tool helps to constantly improve marketing strategies focused on the audience with the greatest purchasing potential.
Different methods of qualifying leads
Accurate assessment of leads will save time and money spent on advertising campaigns. Also, the marketing process can be much faster and more effective when the proper qualification of “prospects” is carried out at the initial sales stage. There are several methods of qualifying sales opportunities, with BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Time frame) being one of the most popular. It consists of the following criteria:
- Budget – does a potential customer have a budget for the purchase?
The willingness to spend money on the purchase of a product or service is a key factor when qualifying leads. By answering the question, we will find out not only whether a potential customer can afford a given product or service, but we will also be able to determine what price-related objections they might have to the purchase (e.g. quality inadequate to the price).
- Authority – is the recipient responsible for purchasing decisions?
If we do not direct the advertising message to the right recipients, the offer attractiveness will be completely meaningless.
- Need – does a potential customer need a given product or service?
The worst thing that can happen to a seller in the sales process is to offer products or services that a potential customer does not need. Thanks to a properly planned content marketing strategy, customised content and marketing tools, you can discover the real needs of your audience. Knowledge of the needs of potential customers also means that marketing activities can be effectively continued or optimised.
- Time frame – when will the purchase take place? Does the recipient have an urgent need to use the offer?
Questions about time will help define urgency – some potential customers may want to take advantage of the offer immediately, others need more time to think. In the latter case, it is worth meticulously implementing a long-term lead nurturing campaign and nurturing leads, preparing users to take advantage of the offer.
The methodology allows you to better understand the sales potential, status of a given lead and their value. However, asking the right questions gives you a chance to get more useful information that can be used to improve the effects. BANT is the oldest and most common method of qualifying leads. Now, a slightly more modern approaches are also suggested, such as:
FAINT (Funds, Authority, Interest, Need, Timing) – this is a method of qualifying sales opportunities for potential customers who do not plan to buy, but if a satisfactory offer occurs, they will become more willing to make a purchase.
CHAMP (Changes, Authority, Money, Prioritisation) – this method assumes that problems and challenges are to be discussed first before talking about the budget. When listening to the customer’s objections, we will be able to determine whether we have the chance to offer our product.
MEDDIC (Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, Champion) – an approach was developed to increase the accuracy of sales opportunity forecasts. In other words, it emphasises better qualification of the lead.
How to use the PushAd tool skipping critical points in the shopping funnel?
In order to maintain the correct shape of the sales funnel, increase the quality of leads and prepare potential customers for an informed purchase, a well-planned lead nurturing should be implemented. In this case, the key is to use modern technologies that will automate the entire process. The PushAd tool offers a number of functions to maintain the engagement of potential customers at the right level. First of all, it enables precise and effective segmentation of the audience and lead scoring. Lead nurturing includes, among others, web push notifications, which provide the audience with information about the promoted company offer or encourage them to buy, communicating current promotions, discounts or news.
How to use PushAd in practice? First of all, you should start by building customer awareness, i.e. conduct activities that will interest and intrigue the audience, but at the same time will be consistent with their needs and preferences. A user initially interested in the activities of an online store or blog, after entering the website, will see a window asking about the willingness to join the subscriber base. If they agree, we will be able to provide them with targeted communications. However, before we present a potential customer with a tailored offer, it is necessary to segment the subscriber base relying on various criteria. All the collected data can be valuable in the sales process.
The next stage, immediately after building awareness, involves building the audience interest. This is an extremely important, although often overlooked stage, which can lead to “clogging” of the sales funnel. Marketers sometimes go straight to the selection of leads, instead of analysing their behaviour. At the stage of building the interest of the target group, it is crucial to know the interests, needs, and preferences of users as accurately as possible, in order to be able to provide personalised content, e.g. self-help, educational or informational content. Only at the next stage can you proceed with the selection of leads, i.e. the selection of customers potentially interested in the offer. We can send them push notifications regarding the possibility of using the free delivery option or discounts, or use strictly promotional content. If the customer is interested in the benefits, there is a good chance that they will make a purchase.
How to integrate sales and marketing activities by means of PushAd?
The basis for the work of sales and marketing departments is access to the customer base – it is worth using a dedicated CRM and a dedicated marketing automation tool. Thanks to this, you can easily plan and implement contact with the audience at many sales levels without any fear that the activities will duplicate. For specific website behaviours users are assigned a certain number of scoring points. By analysing their growth and change in their value on a specific segment, we are able to run an automated scenario directing a specific message to a selected target group. For faster and more satisfactory results, most tasks should be automated. The PushAd tool implements marketing activities based on automation, giving the possibility of smooth cooperation between marketing and sales, as well as more efficient and effective contact with potential customers.
Generating demand – the first step to lead acquisition
Demand generation refers to any activities that increase interest in a given product or service and build brand awareness among the target group. The approach focuses on engaging audiences in brand activities and maintaining personalised relationships with potential and existing customers. Demand generation is a comprehensive, incremental activity that includes several key elements:
- defining campaign objectives,
- defining the target group,
- creation and distribution of advertising messages,
- efficiency measurement.
All the indicated elements lead to the transaction finalisation by the recipient. Demand generation, on the other hand, can be divided into
- lead generation, i.e. gaining potential customers’ interest,
- lead nurturing, i.e. directing a series of automatic, predefined marketing messages to the target group.
In order for the seller to efficiently guide a potential customer through the entire sales funnel, he or she must be equipped with the necessary knowledge of the product or service in advance.
How to generate demand with PushAd?
The PushAd marketing automation system automates all marketing processes – from lead generation to typical sales activities. It allows you to implement the best strategies for generating demand, enabling:
- subscriber acquisition and appropriate segmentation,
- provision of content aimed at raising brand awareness among the target group,
- development of strictly sales campaigns,
- lead scoring to determine the level of customer’s readiness to buy,
- undertaking actions to close the sale.
Generating demand is primarily preparing the ground for further sales activities. PushAd as a dedicated marketing automation platform allows you to distribute popular types of content, such as self-help articles, industry news, e-books or webinars, which provide users with knowledge on a product or service. Based on that, it is possible not only to carry out efficient and effective action in this area, but also to optimise the processes already in place, so that they are as effective as possible.
