Lead Scoring Can Identify Customer Interest Likely to Result in a Sale

Lead scoring, a methodology used to identify customer interest that is most likely to result in a sale, can be a huge benefit to companies according to a new survey conducted by Kentico Software.

Survey participants were asked to provide the real-world business benefits they experienced using lead generation along with their original targets. The survey found results were mostly in line with expectations:

42% named measurable ROI on their lead generation program as a main benefit, exceeding expectations by 10%

38% named increased conversion rates of qualified leads to opportunities, exceeding expectations by 6%

31% named increased sales productivity and effectiveness, exceeding expectations by 3%

27% named shortened sales cycles, which 30% of adopters expected

27% named better forecast and pipeline visibility, which 32% expected

19% named the better alignment of marketing and sales efforts, which 22% expected

Most survey participants reported using lead scoring as an integrated part of another marketing solution:

86%: marketing automation

79%: CRM, such as Salesforce

71%: Email marketing

64%: Content personalization and segmentation

36%: Business directory/database, such as Data.com

56% implemented lead scoring using the built-in capabilities of their CMS or CXM solution

36% chose lead scoring as a standalone product for integration with their website

Only 8% used a bespoke solution

The majority of lead scoring adopters (48%) use two-dimensional lead scoring, which combines visitor engagement with data profile to measure sales readiness.

16% of respondents reported benefiting from more than two dimensions while 36% experienced benefits with just one scale.

All businesses use different sets of criteria for qualifying leads. Of those who participated in Kentico’s lead scoring survey, 73% reported using fewer than 30 rules with 19 being the median of lead scoring rules used.

“Our lead scoring survey shows while companies are experiencing real business benefits with lead scoring, a high percentage of them are doing so when lead scoring is part of an integrated online marketing solution,” Petr Passinger, Senior Business Analyst at Kentico, said in a press release. “For best results, it’s critical that lead scoring be used with other marketing activities, such as marketing automation, and with a targeted number of carefully vetted and constantly evaluated rules.”

More than 100 qualified B2B sales and marketing professionals participated in Kentico’s Lead Scoring survey, which was conducted online in Q4 2013.

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