Designing a Lead Gen Strategy

Finishing Strong in 2016

that Goes the Distance

About LEWIS

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Wholly-owned international network of 27 offices

27Over 600+ staff, fast growing, employee-owned

600+

Founded by a journalist 20 years ago

20Award-winning global communications

Inventive campaigns that drive awareness, demand, adoption, advocacy

You built a plan…

Fresh budget...

A clean slate ahead.

New ideas... Product launch schedules...

Event calendars...

Then life happens.

Now you’re six months in...

Sales is screaming about pipeline...

Your lead actuals are way off your original targets...

The product launch you were counting on was pushed out...

And you need to figure out where you go from here.

You’re at Mile 13.

What makes marketing at Mile 13 different than at Mile 1?

Time is of the essence.

You’re halfway through your plan and your budget

You need to consider the length of sales cycle more carefully

You need to make decisions (and listen to feedback) about programs in process

Use your Mile 13 to course-correct or optimize

TO COURSE-CORRECT…

when you’re not quite where you hoped

TO OPTIMIZE… when you’re exactly where you hoped

Use your Mile 13 to course-correct or optimize

You can’t change the past.

MAKE IT YOUR BASELINE.

Where to start: Separate fact from fiction

Collect the feedback – don’t agree or disagree, just

collect it

Put your own perceptions

aside

Revisit the business goals

Next, do some QUICK discovery

Look at the numbers that matter:

What does our monthly Web traffic look like?

How many total leads did you generate?

How many of those leads converted to opportunity?

What are the revenue targets for the rest of the year?

What does the pipeline look like for the rest of the year?

What does the forecast look like?

How much of that would you have gotten without lifting a finger? (be honest)

Look at the programs you ran

WHAT IF WE MET ALL OUR GOALS?

What was their contribution to those numbers?

Did they perform as expected? If no, why not? If yes, what is the delta? Why is there a

delta – did plans change? Did we not run enough activity?

Don’t forget to talk to Sales

Don’t just pull reports…

Take them through each lead (or a sampling).

Why do they feel the leads are good or bad?

How long is it taking for them to convert?

Where do they think the best leads are coming

from?

Note whether some territories are more in

need than others.

Input from sales can make the difference

Example 1: Database vendor

Original Approach: Email campaigns targeting verticals

Problem: Leads led to meetings, but not opportunities

A-ha: They learned in those meetings of a technical mismatch that would prevent the deal from progressing further

Solution: Adjust the messaging and the targeting to a smaller, more appropriate pool of prospects

Example 2: Firewall vendor

Original Approach: Integrated content campaigns

Problem: Strong response from the campaign, but inconsistent conversion

A-ha: Multiple new sales hires were still in the onboarding process and not up to the productivity of tenured reps

Solution: Couple content campaigns with local field marketing to help new reps create relationships in region

Now, you can evaluate the situation

Be honest with yourself – it’s OK if something

didn’t work

Don’t try to prove what you did right – focus

on where you can improve

Don’t get attached to any one program just

because you’ve always done it

It’s OK to let go

Example 1: IT Integrator

Original Approach: Google AdWords targeting system administrators and DBAs

Problem: Campaign performance diminished over the past 12 months

A-ha: The campaign hadn’t been touched in ages, despite a change in messaging and multiple acquisitions

Solution: Retool the campaign to focus on more relevant terms and update the ads / calls to action accordingly

Example 2: Networking vendor

Original Approach: Participation in conferences and tradeshows

Problem: Exhibiting was expensive and ROI was declining

A-ha: They were getting more leverage from the customer dinners they held at the show than from the booth traffic

Solution: Skip exhibit and hold reception for customers, prospects, and partners

Create your Mile 13 plan

What kind of budget do we have left?

What milestone events are coming up (conferences, sales kickoffs, channel events, product launches)?

What assets do we already have at our disposal?

What resources do you need?

What are the measures of success?

Look to the low-hanging fruit

Specific vertical segments – consider the buying cycles of your target markets (e.g.,

government, education, retail)

Installed base – consider a push to sell professional services, an upgrade program,

cross-selling opportunities

Existing leads and opportunities – implement programs and incentives that can

help provide a conversion pushYour partners – help each other out and run

a joint program to their installed base

Example: Quarterly channel Top Gun program

Client: Network security vendor

Objective:

Generate immediate traction to win business with a key local distributor

Program: “Top Gun Day” on-site at the distributor’s headquarters

October event gave way to a football themed program – reps received a “kickoff package” prior

Introductory email sent week before to agreed-upon set of prospective customers

Kickoff was a ”call day” – reps able to secure meetings were rewarded with cash and prizes

Client was on site to brief channel sales team and coach them through the calls

Throughout the day, we sent “cheerleading” emails to keep reps engaged and enthused

Consistently delivered immediate qualified opportunities for the client and their partner

Consider the spectrum

Net-new targets

Named accounts

Existing customers

Existing prospects

Competitors’ customers

Customers’ competitors

Channel partners

Alliance partners

Industry associations

Vertical segments

Now define your new programs

Get Scrappy Get Focused

Get Integrated Get Personal

Get scrappy: Clever doesn’t have to cost money

Client:

Knowledge management software provider

Objective:

Generate tangible leads from the biggest show of the year, on little budget

Program:

A “Tweet for a treat” exchange at their booth Pre-drafted Tweet content that booth visitors

could customize

Anyone who Tweeted about something they learned at the booth could collect their treat – Pez

Lots of attention on social media… which drove visits from the attendees they cared about most

Traffic translated into follow-on meetings

Get focused: Target the ones you want most

Client:

SAP integrator in fashion and lifestyle industry

Objective:

Educate the market on company’s capabilities and drive leads into the pipeline

Program:

Content marketing campaign to target accounts

Built content and communications designed to introduce client to target prospect list

Built a database of 3,900+ contacts at the world’s leading fashion and lifestyle companies

31% of those targets expressed interest in our content – they opened, clicked, and downloaded

8.3% of those suspects indicated interest upon follow-up from sales

15.8% of those qualified leads generated 16 opportunities, more than $25 million in pipeline

Get integrated: Hit them from all sides

Client:

Networking vendor targeting cable and wireless companies, and service providers

Objective:

Create demand among net-new target companies who may not have considered them previously

Program:

10-week reskinning of the brand and story as lead-up to Mobile World Congress

Rebrand and messaging to transition from cable hardware to ultra-broadband

Relaunched website (8 weeks!) to represent expanded focus on mobile and wi-fi offerings

Combined advertising, email, and social promoting new brand and presence at the show

Debuted new brand at show, including on-site promotional campaign to drive traffic

Executive direct mail campaign to go after specific target accounts

Get personal: Create an opportunity for dialogue

Client:

Network security pioneer with a high-end, multi-application hardware platform

Objective:

Create predictable, consistent pipeline 5X the worldwide sales quota; drive more consistent engagement and revenue from the channel

Program:

Repeatable field-marketing model targeting networking and security professionals

Leverage existing and prospective channel partners

Drove an average monthly pipeline of 8X worldwide sales quota, equal to $600M annually

Helped add all major service providers and most of the Fortune 500 to its customer base

Helped client expand beyond core geographies into emerging markets like China, Russia, India, Brazil, and Mexico

Helped client grow, maintain, and enable an active two-tier channel of strategic worldwide resellers and alliance partners

There are lots of options at your disposal

Field marketing

Email marketing

Direct marketing

Online events

In-person events

Trade shows and conferences

Content marketing

Target account marketing

Installed base marketing

Vertical marketing

Advertising

Content syndication

SEM / PPC

Paid social media

Sales promotions

Adoption programs

Channel and partner marketing

Affiliate marketing

Pick the mix that combines speed and impact

Use the time you have

SUMMER Holiday run-ups

Traps

Doing the same things and expecting different

results

Becoming distracted with requests that take you off

track

Getting bogged down in program autopsies

Responding to the noise versus the reality

Trying to get it perfect – PERFECT IS THE

ENEMY OF GOOD.

We’re here to help

We help companies all over the world with their lead generation challenges, and we’re here to do the same for you.

LISA PAGLIASVP, Global Marketing Services

Tel: +1 781 418 2405Email: lisa.paglia@teamlewis.com

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