Since this is our 100th tip I thought I would blog about something I feel like I have been asked about 100 times. I have been a lead generation marketer since before lead generation was cool and even though we are changing what we call it (demand generation) my job is still to deliver more high quality leads to sales. At ReachForce, 70% of new customers come through marketing, so I guess we’re doing something right.

Here’s what we’re doing to drive lead generation. This isn’t rocket science, just targeting the right role-based buyers in the right kinds of companies. It’s what we talk about all the time here so we have to be practicing it too, right? There’s no one blueprint that works for every business. There are basic principles we all subscribe to but different audiences like to be communicated with in different ways. I will preface by saying that lead generation is all about testing and tweaking, so while this is our basic program today, we’re already in the process of adding new tools and tactics to roll out next quarter. All with one goal in mind – Will the real leads please stand up (or out)?!

For us the obvious starting point is the data. We “eat our own dog food” here at ReachForce so I am able to consistently feed programs with fresh role-based contacts that are in our target market sweet spot. And while the data is very important, content is key. Because I know I’m targeting the right buyers, this enables me to laser focus relevant messages that resonate with my specific audiences. Contacts start in a program based on their department role (in our case either being in sales or marketing) and by decision making role (decision maker, influencer or end user). Each program has tailored messaging highlighting pain points these recipients typically experience. All contacts start in a three touch email marketing program that looks like this:

• Email 1 – Education about the pain points RF solves – since this is the first time they will receive a message from us, we want to educate them about what problem we solve and how/why we are different from the competition
• Email 2 – Education about our space – this is an opportunity to reinforce pain points that they might be feeling (and that we solve). A whitepaper or webcast setting up the current ‘state of the union’ is a good offer here.
• Email 3 – Offer – Now that we’ve educated them about the current market and our solutions, we offer a chance for them to see for themselves via a trial or demo.

Between each email touch, our Sales team follows up with all of the responders, those that open but didn’t respond (to offer the best practice piece from the marketing email), and those that click through but didn’t download or fill out the form. I’m not sure having Sales involved so early makes sense for all companies but our business is relatively transactional and a lot of times it just takes 1 hook to get them engaged.

After the email touch cycle, the non responders then move into a non-behavioral lead scoring survey, a few more good leads fall out of this program. We’re about to launch the next piece of this tangled web next month. We’ll keep you posted on what happens next.

For more email marketing call–to-actions check out Tip #56.