When implementing an inbound marketing strategy for the first time, the first steps are to generate traffic to your website and get visitors to leave your data to become leads.
But once they get there, it is essential to know that not all leads are equal.
There are contacts who are really interested in your product, while others are only curious about the theme of your ebook or need to go a long way before buying.
How can we know who is who? This is where lead scoring comes into play.
Lead scoring is the process of assigning a value (usually in the form of numerical points) to each lead generated.
This score can depend on multiple factors, including the demographic information they have provided through a form, the actions they have taken on your website or their interactions with your brand on other websites.
Lead scoring helps digital marketing companies in India and sales teams to prioritize leads, interact with them properly and improve the conversion ratio.
Each company has a different model for assigning points to leads, but one of the most common is to use past data to create an allocation system.
What is done is to examine the leads that have become customers and those that have not, identify what aspects each type has in common and from there see what are the characteristics that indicate that a lead has a good chance of becoming a customer.
There are many ways to assess the interest of a lead, but we generally distinguish between two types of leads of interest: qualified leads for marketing and qualified leads for sales.
Lead scoring brings multiple benefits to your inbound marketing strategy, for example:
If our database has been growing organically from different campaigns, we will most likely have a lot of contacts that we don't know how to deal with. Thanks to lead scoring, we can classify all these contacts in different user-profiles and stages, which will help us identify the following steps for each of them.
"Raw" data does not add much value to the company; it is necessary to organize them systematically in order to obtain valuable conclusions from them. Well, lead scoring allows us to carry out this process objectively and identify the types of users we are trying to attract.
Without an established lead scoring system, the only thing we can know for sure is the number of contacts in the database. But with lead scoring, we can know what state they are in and how they are advancing over time. In this way, we can know if our lead maturation tactics are working or if there are any points where they are getting stuck.
If we manage to divide our contact base into segments and establish the best communication strategy with each of them, we can establish a series of automated communication flows, thus saving time for the team. And by having more information about the segment to which each user belongs, we can customize the messages to more easily match their interests.
There is no single recipe for lead scoring: each company will have to decide which formula makes the most sense based on its characteristics and objectives. The lead scoring algorithm can be developed manually or automated with artificial intelligence solutions.
One-dimensional lead scoring gives leads a single score, usually from 0 to 100. The higher this score, the closer the lead of the conversion objective will be and the greater its interest for the company.
The one-dimensional lead scoring can be:
Multidimensional lead scoring does not only assign a score to each lead but operates with several different variables. For example, we can take into account the extent to which a user's profile corresponds to our ideal client, what is their level of brand awareness and at what stage of the sales process they are.
Although logically it is more complex, this type of lead scoring allows us to have more precision in determining the steps to be taken with each lead.
Lead scoring makes it possible to move from a database of leads without ordering a classification that allows you to work on them systematically. Let's see how this process works.
To create a lead scoring system, the first important decision to make is the parameters that we are going to take into account to assign points to a lead. Choosing one or the other will depend on our objective. Next, we will see the main types of data that we can collect.
Demographic information is very important for brands that target a specific sector, for example, parents of young children. If you ask related questions on the forms of your landing pages, you can use the users' responses to see if they fit your ideal audience. In the same way, you can also discard leads that do not fit or assign negative points.
B2B companies need to know data such as the sector or the size of the lead company, to know if their solution suits them or not. As in the previous case, we can ask these questions in the form to add or subtract points based on the answers. We can also detect business users through their email; If we are a B2B company and the contact has only left us a Gmail, that contact may not interest us.
A user's interactions with your website provide a wealth of information about their level of interest in your product. Try to analyze what the leads that finally became customers have done: what content was downloaded? How many forms did they fill out? What pages did they visit before closing the conversion?
Normally we will value both quantity and quality positively. Users who visit pages of great interest (such as pricing) or fill out high-value forms (such as a free trial application), will get more points. In the same way, leads that have visited 30 pages of the site will have more points than those that have seen 3.
Another issue that should be evaluated changes in the behavior of leads over time. If a lead has stopped visiting your page or downloading your content, it may be a sign that you are no longer interested. You can include this factor in your system by subtracting points from leads that have been inactive for some time.
By itself, the fact that a person has subscribed to your emails does not mean that they are interested in buying. But the opening and clicking ratios can help you get an idea of your level of interest.
If a user has read all the emails in a series or always clicks on promotions, it is likely to be interesting for your sales team. You can also set a special score for some high-value interactions, for example, interact with emails that offer a free trial.
A user's level of interaction with your brand's social media channels can also give you a good idea of their level of interest. Clicking on posts, sharing or commenting are examples of behaviors to which we can attribute points.
Another way to incorporate social networks into your lead scoring strategy is to reward the most influential users because if you get them to share your content, they will have more reach.
Finally, it is essential that you can identify spam and remove it from your database. Forms filled only in uppercase or lowercase, or with random letters, are an indication that we are not facing a real lead.
The result of the lead scoring will depend on which elements we choose to evaluate and on which score we assign to each one. To decide, Hubspot recommends taking into account three different factors:
The sense of carrying out a lead scoring strategy is to treat each lead in an optimized way to maximize the conversion possibilities.
Once a lead has an assigned score, it will enter one of our lead nurturing flows. The idea is that each of these flows is optimized for users with a different score, with different profiles or at different stages of the conversion funnel. Thus, each user receives the sequence of messages they are most likely to get converted.
When you have an optimized and automated lead scoring and lead nurturing system, the entire lead generation and feeding process are carried out automatically, so you get optimized communication with customers and multiply the leads that end up generating a sale.
But once they get there, it is essential to know that not all leads are equal.
There are contacts who are really interested in your product, while others are only curious about the theme of your ebook or need to go a long way before buying.
How can we know who is who? This is where lead scoring comes into play.
What is lead scoring?
Lead scoring is the process of assigning a value (usually in the form of numerical points) to each lead generated.
This score can depend on multiple factors, including the demographic information they have provided through a form, the actions they have taken on your website or their interactions with your brand on other websites.
Lead scoring helps digital marketing companies in India and sales teams to prioritize leads, interact with them properly and improve the conversion ratio.
Each company has a different model for assigning points to leads, but one of the most common is to use past data to create an allocation system.
What is done is to examine the leads that have become customers and those that have not, identify what aspects each type has in common and from there see what are the characteristics that indicate that a lead has a good chance of becoming a customer.
There are many ways to assess the interest of a lead, but we generally distinguish between two types of leads of interest: qualified leads for marketing and qualified leads for sales.
- The leads qualified for marketing (also called "MQL") are in an intermediate stage of the funnel. They are interested in the solution we offer but are not yet ready to buy. These types of leads, therefore, become the responsibility of the marketing team, which will send them a series of messages in order to bring them closer to the conversion.
- The leads qualified sales (also called "SQL") are at a more advanced stage of the process and are ready to buy. Therefore, the appropriate strategy is to pass the contact to the sales team to be responsible for closing the conversion.
What can lead scoring contribute?
Lead scoring brings multiple benefits to your inbound marketing strategy, for example:
- It helps to correctly segment user profiles.
If our database has been growing organically from different campaigns, we will most likely have a lot of contacts that we don't know how to deal with. Thanks to lead scoring, we can classify all these contacts in different user-profiles and stages, which will help us identify the following steps for each of them.
- It allows us to properly process the information.
"Raw" data does not add much value to the company; it is necessary to organize them systematically in order to obtain valuable conclusions from them. Well, lead scoring allows us to carry out this process objectively and identify the types of users we are trying to attract.
- Improves the measurement of inbound marketing strategies.
Without an established lead scoring system, the only thing we can know for sure is the number of contacts in the database. But with lead scoring, we can know what state they are in and how they are advancing over time. In this way, we can know if our lead maturation tactics are working or if there are any points where they are getting stuck.
- It helps automate marketing and personalize communications.
If we manage to divide our contact base into segments and establish the best communication strategy with each of them, we can establish a series of automated communication flows, thus saving time for the team. And by having more information about the segment to which each user belongs, we can customize the messages to more easily match their interests.
Types of lead scoring
There is no single recipe for lead scoring: each company will have to decide which formula makes the most sense based on its characteristics and objectives. The lead scoring algorithm can be developed manually or automated with artificial intelligence solutions.
One-dimensional lead scoring
One-dimensional lead scoring gives leads a single score, usually from 0 to 100. The higher this score, the closer the lead of the conversion objective will be and the greater its interest for the company.
The one-dimensional lead scoring can be:
- Retrospective: the user's final score is calculated based on the data you have provided us and the actions you have taken around our brand.
- Predictive: the final score of the lead incorporates an analysis of its behavior that helps determine the probability of performing the conversion we are looking for.
Multidimensional lead scoring
Multidimensional lead scoring does not only assign a score to each lead but operates with several different variables. For example, we can take into account the extent to which a user's profile corresponds to our ideal client, what is their level of brand awareness and at what stage of the sales process they are.
Although logically it is more complex, this type of lead scoring allows us to have more precision in determining the steps to be taken with each lead.
How does lead scoring work?
Lead scoring makes it possible to move from a database of leads without ordering a classification that allows you to work on them systematically. Let's see how this process works.
What parameters are taken into account in lead scoring?
To create a lead scoring system, the first important decision to make is the parameters that we are going to take into account to assign points to a lead. Choosing one or the other will depend on our objective. Next, we will see the main types of data that we can collect.
1) Demographic information
Demographic information is very important for brands that target a specific sector, for example, parents of young children. If you ask related questions on the forms of your landing pages, you can use the users' responses to see if they fit your ideal audience. In the same way, you can also discard leads that do not fit or assign negative points.
2) Company information
B2B companies need to know data such as the sector or the size of the lead company, to know if their solution suits them or not. As in the previous case, we can ask these questions in the form to add or subtract points based on the answers. We can also detect business users through their email; If we are a B2B company and the contact has only left us a Gmail, that contact may not interest us.
3) Online behavior
A user's interactions with your website provide a wealth of information about their level of interest in your product. Try to analyze what the leads that finally became customers have done: what content was downloaded? How many forms did they fill out? What pages did they visit before closing the conversion?
Normally we will value both quantity and quality positively. Users who visit pages of great interest (such as pricing) or fill out high-value forms (such as a free trial application), will get more points. In the same way, leads that have visited 30 pages of the site will have more points than those that have seen 3.
Another issue that should be evaluated changes in the behavior of leads over time. If a lead has stopped visiting your page or downloading your content, it may be a sign that you are no longer interested. You can include this factor in your system by subtracting points from leads that have been inactive for some time.
4) Interactions with emails
By itself, the fact that a person has subscribed to your emails does not mean that they are interested in buying. But the opening and clicking ratios can help you get an idea of your level of interest.
If a user has read all the emails in a series or always clicks on promotions, it is likely to be interesting for your sales team. You can also set a special score for some high-value interactions, for example, interact with emails that offer a free trial.
5) Social interactions
A user's level of interaction with your brand's social media channels can also give you a good idea of their level of interest. Clicking on posts, sharing or commenting are examples of behaviors to which we can attribute points.
Another way to incorporate social networks into your lead scoring strategy is to reward the most influential users because if you get them to share your content, they will have more reach.
6) Spam detection
Finally, it is essential that you can identify spam and remove it from your database. Forms filled only in uppercase or lowercase, or with random letters, are an indication that we are not facing a real lead.
How do we decide which elements are more important?
The result of the lead scoring will depend on which elements we choose to evaluate and on which score we assign to each one. To decide, Hubspot recommends taking into account three different factors:
- Your sales team. Sales representatives know what is really happening since they communicate directly with both leads that become customers and those that are lost along the way. Therefore, they know what are the definitive steps on the road to conversion: "every time a customer makes X, it is much easier for them to end up buying." Keep this in mind when developing your lead scoring algorithm.
- Your clients. The opinion of your sales team is very important, but it is also interesting to hear what people who have been in the first person through your sales team think. So do not hesitate to organize a few interviews with customers to find out what factors most influenced their decision and assess them correctly in your lead scoring.
- Analytical. Finally, you will have to study your marketing data to know the whole truth. Examine the steps taken by users who ended up becoming leads and then customers. The closer to the final conversion a user activity is (for example, downloading content or visiting a specific page of your site), the more valuable it will be for your lead scoring.
The next step: lead nurturing
The sense of carrying out a lead scoring strategy is to treat each lead in an optimized way to maximize the conversion possibilities.
Once a lead has an assigned score, it will enter one of our lead nurturing flows. The idea is that each of these flows is optimized for users with a different score, with different profiles or at different stages of the conversion funnel. Thus, each user receives the sequence of messages they are most likely to get converted.
When you have an optimized and automated lead scoring and lead nurturing system, the entire lead generation and feeding process are carried out automatically, so you get optimized communication with customers and multiply the leads that end up generating a sale.
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