Excerpt taken from MNG Guide to Lead Generation 2023

We know a number of companies that put the proverbial cart before the horse. They start lead generation campaigns without fully setting up a good foundation – either outlining the strategy or approach or even doing any systems integration or automation that is necessary once leads start coming in. Why does this matter?

Consider that, as part of any lead generation process, companies need to:

• • Specifically, identify an audience of prospects
  • Target promotions to make that particular audience aware of their products/services and/or create content relevant to a particular topic that makes them take notice.
  • Get individuals to voluntarily submit their name and other contact information
  • Set up the right systems integrations to ensure smart automation campaigns
  • Qualify the leads as being currently (or soon-to-be) in market
  • Nurture and close leads through a rigorous sales and marketing engagement process

As you can see, establishing a strategy/approach will come in at every stage of this process. Companies, after all, have to consider the following questions:

• • Who are your prospects?
  • What industries are they in?
  • What challenges do they have that you as a company can address?
  • What are the basics of the audience demographics?
  • For promotions, where can you find those target prospects?
  • What ad formats should you consider?
  • Where are you going advertise and what are the platform targeting and acquisition capabilities of each channel? (For example, many social and ad platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google Ads, have built-in lead generation forms that can allow someone to easily register, download an asset or provide their name, email and other basic information.)
  • Once a lead comes in, where are you are storing the different information you collect on that lead?
  • Once a lead comes in, what should be the messaging, the touches, or the process to move them over to the sales team (if that’s the case)? What information will you use to help you segment the messaging?
  • If a lead doesn’t close, what should be the ongoing engagement cadence or nurturing process until they do?
  • Once a lead closes, what should be the welcome/initiation process?

Every company is different and answers to each question are going to vary by your particular circumstances. If you have questions about how to think through any lead generation strategy, make sure to contact us and we’ll be happy to provide a free consultation to set you on the right path.

Systems Integration: The Basics

Once you have thought through the above questions and have your strategy set, it now helps to think about the systems integration you need. In particular, one of the most important in this regard is connecting your website and any forms you have to your CRM and your email/marketing automation system.

Why do you need to do this?

Because it allows you to automate both the collection of data (and store it in your CRM/MAS) as well as message individuals in a more segmented fashion based on: 

• • Who they are
  • Where they came in from (was it a “contact us” form, a content download, a webinar, etc.)
  • What their interests are, etc.

To get started, first think through the following questions:

Where do I want to store my customer data? There’s not a right or wrong answer here and much will depend on the type of company you are, your industry, and your internal structure. But you want to make sure to identify a “system of record” – the system that will store the most updated record of your leads/customers. In most cases, that’s a CRM platform (such as Salesforce) or other back-end database. It might also be a hybrid email/marketing automation system-CRM (such as Hubspot). Whatever the case, you’ll want to make sure this system connects with the website (that the data captured through form submissions is automatically sent to the CRM). You’ll also want to make sure that whatever data exists in the CRM can populate and be segmented by your email/marketing automation system so you can message most effectively to your leads.

What are the capabilities of my email/marketing automation platform? As mentioned, there are a number of email/marketing automation systems that are a hybrid – in other words, can function as a CRM as well. Many also allow for the ability to create custom forms that can either be embedded on a website (through an iFrame) or can be built on a separate subdomain from the website itself. In these cases, the information can go directly from a website into the marketing automation platform and then trigger any automated messages that can be set up. 

In addition, most email/marketing automation platforms also come equipped to automatically accept and store lead information from native website forms (typically through a connection from a third-party such as Zapier, an integration platform). In those cases, the leads pass from the website to Zapier to the marketing automation platform, from which automated messages can then be triggered.

Similar to the CRM question, there’s no right or wrong way to set this up but each method will have some drawbacks and benefits.

If I employ any AI-based utility bots, what type of integration is important? Many small-to-midsize companies might employ bots on the website to help encourage customers to ask questions or, in the case of a utility bot, move them to eventually have a conversation with a salesperson. According to recent research, 47% of shoppers are open to buying items directly from a bot on a website. Further, 71% of people have indicated a willingness to use messaging app bots to get customer assistance. Many do it because they want their problem solved fast. Whether you use bots on your website to generate leads or help current or prospective customers answer questions really depends on your focus.