Upgrade the masses lead generation engine' for Microsoft - Kingpin

The Kingpin Demand Generation Engine

Presentation for the B2B Marketing Summit 2012

Introduction to Kingpin

Microsoft Upgrade the Masses campaign outline and brief

Campaign delivery plan

Campaign implementation

Process flow

Lead conversion rates

Performance and results

Client testimonial / feedback

Questions

Agenda

© 2009 Kingpin Intelligence. All rights reserved


Introduction to Kingpin - Who we are Technology specialist agency established in 1997

Vast experience in running campaigns to all decision making contacts including IT, Financial and Business

High quality demand generation engine designed for and deployed by multiple clients

Proven track record in demand generation campaigns of all types

Proven track record in managing and delivering partner programme campaigns

Understanding of how to sell software / solutions

Excellent reporting structure and campaign management

Proprietary databases of technical, business decision maker and financial decision maker audiences.

All verticals and audiences covered

Focus on quality across all group disciplines ensures low staff turnover (atypical for telephone based services)

Delivery across the UK, Western Europe and CEE


Following extensive research into the market, Microsoft realised that there was a potential need to address thesmaller deal size or “breadth audience” for their developer tools including Visual Studio and MSDN. In the pastthe main focus of their marketing efforts for developer tools had focused on larger accounts with successfulstrategies servicing this space effectively.

Microsoft called on Kingpin to devise a telephone based demand generation programme which would:

a) Generate a strong pipeline of opportunities for Visual Studio 2010 with MSDN within small accounts (1-10licenses)

b) Target both existing Microsoft tool users and non-Microsoft tool users through intelligent data usage

c) Drive awareness of Visual Studio and MSDN within this space

d) Generate feedback and insights into the perceptions of Visual Studio and Microsoft in general from this space

e) Drive key messages to the target audience and educate on licensing issues

f) Engage Microsoft partners (resellers) into the programme to convert the opportunities generated ancomplete the sales process

g) Manage all aspects of the partner follow up

h) Produce clear reporting including ROI figures, partner conversion rates and average deal sizes

Microsoft Upgrade the Masses – Campaign Outline


To achieve the goals as set out by Microsoft, Kingpin designed and implemented their “Demand GenerationEngine”

The demand generation engine is a plug and play solution which has been implemented by a number of clientsover the past 3 years and can be used for direct demand generation campaigns (leads go back to the lead vendor)or for partner led demand generation (whereby the leads go to the partners for follow up). Centred around highquality telephone based lead generation (BANT + qualification), the demand generation engine can include all orsome of the below aspects (highlighted in red denotes activity engaged by Microsoft during their campaign):

- 3rd party data purchase to fuel the engine

- Client or partner data de-dupe and qualification (to add fuel to the engine)

- Generation of warm leads to fuel the engine through online campaigns (e.g. white paper downloads)

- Event follow up

- In bound hotline set up

- Fully integrated campaigns including online planning and placement

- Partner on-boarding (preliminary activity)

- Active partner identification (preliminary research to help identify best placed partners to on-board)

Microsoft Upgrade the Masses – Campaign Delivery Plan

Goal: Generation of high quality leads for chosen resellers to follow up and convert

Microsoft Upgrade The Masses – Campaign Implementation

Telephone Lead

Generation and Nurture

Lead and Partner

Management

Intelligent 3rd

party data purchase

Provision of data by Microsoft

Online Content Syndication

Provision of clear reporting; ROI tracking; Partner performance metrics

Sourcing and purchase of data based on relevant

company size and organisation type etc.

Small online campaign to generate downloads of a whitepaper to help drive

engagement

Trial data, event data and old license data provided by Microsoft to allow follow up

Microsoft selected resellers to be engaged in this

programme based on existing partnerships along with

insights from preliminary research


Microsoft provide Kingpin with contacts at

MS subsidiary

Kingpin set up conference call with Microsoft team to

introducecampaign and process

Kingpin develop central scripting and any other messaging. This will be passed to Microsoft for

approval

Kingpin run test calls with dev tools sales teams to

ensure messaging is correct

Microsoft select resellers and explain goal / outline of

campaign

Kingpin operator calls resellers to intro and explain

campaign processes

Microsoft – and where possible each reseller –

provide Kingpin with a list of customers to call. 3rd party

data purchased

CAMPAIGN LAUNCHStart call downs

Weekly lead report sent to each individual reseller with

overall report sent to Microsoft

Weekly calls take place between

operator, Microsoft and reseller to verify lead follow

up

Monthly calls to take place including all

resellers, Microsoft and Kingpin to report on

progress

Reporting will contain information on number of

leads passed to reseller and their conversion rates

Operators will be working solely on this campaign

Monthly calls to take place between campaign owner

and Kingpin CSD (JT)

Kingpin Demand Generation Engine Process Flow

One important element here is that the engine has to below maintenance both from he clients point of view and that of thereseller. You can see here that the majority of actions are withKingpin allowing the partners to focus on lead follow up andallowing Microsoft o gather the information they require withouthaving to be part of each process.

Lead Conversion Rates

As part of the engine, Kingpin will provide insights and feedback into all areas of campaignperformance. The optimum campaign would involve all aspects of demand generation to enable usto fuel the engine with warm opportunities for the telephone based team to follow up. Thefollowing statistics are based on the first year of the Upgrade The Masses campaign and show howconversation rates can be assisted through prior engagement with a contact:

• Cold data: 1:18 (one lead per 18 connected calls)• This is data that has been purchased or supplied with no intelligence applied

• Intelligently purchased data – 1:11• This is data where we have been able to identify the right verticals, job titles and company

sizes• Warm contacts– 1:7

• This is data of contacts who had downloaded a whitepaper or attended an event• Trial Contacts– 1:5

• This is data of contacts who had trialled Visual Studio 2010 for 60 days already• Direct communication (Hotline) – 1:1

• This is a contact who has specifically called a hotline/customer service line asking forinformation on a product/solution or wanting to purchase



The campaign was due to run originally for 12 months in the UK. This has already now been live for 2.5 years andwill hopefully continue into the next financial year (July). In addition, this campaign has been replicated by otherMicrosoft subsidiaries including Australia, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Ireland and Belgium and thanks to thework of our lead Microsoft client is now seen as Best Practice within Microsoft.

Campaign performance and results include:

- Over 900 leads generated in first year

- Active sale pipeline of over £500,000 based on average order value of £750

- Grading and performance tracker of chosen partners

- Increased partner satisfaction as programme drives engagement and generates partner revenue

- Lighter workload for Microsoft developer tools breadth marketing team

- Insight to help positioning with future marketing efforts

- Consistent pipeline of leads throughout the year

- Better quality of opportunity as long term approach allows internal lead nurturing before hand over

Microsoft Upgrade the Masses – Campaign Performance and Results

Ally Wickham, Commercial Marketing Lead, Technical Audience, Microsoft UK

Developers, more than most audiences, do not like to be marketed too – they want factual information, tounderstand the benefits and make their own choices.

We chose Kingpin because of how well they understand the developer audience.

Key benefits we took away from the project were:-

- Lighter workload for Microsoft developer tools breadth marketing team – we are a small team, the Kingpinteam became an extended resource and we relied on them extensively

- Managing our many resellers – we sell through so many different organisations, Kingpin were the oneconsistent resource and the insight we got into how we different resellers perform was invaluable.

- Insight into what work,s what doesn’t, Kingpin were very willing to take a constant learning approach to theproject. The level of trust we built up as we tried different approaches was a key part of the success of thecampaign.

Microsoft Upgrade the Masses – Client Testimonial and Views

Any Questions?