1️⃣ Analysis
(First 30 days)
Let’s take an empathetic look at our target audience and an impartial look at our operations. We want to find out who our best customers are and what we need to do to find more of them.
👨👦👦 Audience
We first need to build a profile of our ideal customer so that we can speak their language and offer value on their terms.
Some initial questions to answer
- Who are our best customers and why?
- How did we acquire them?
- How can we replicate the acquisition process?
- How can we find more ideal customers?
- And where do they hang out online and in person?
⚙️ Operations
Time to examine all channels, process, and technology through the lens of lead generation. We need to understand all aspects of the operational component by performing an analysis.
Some initial questions to answer
- Figure out what's working and what's not.
- Identify areas for improvement and provide recommendations.
- Review revenue goals and establish metrics.
- Identify additional resources needed.
- Analyze existing and past pipelines.
- Determine where to focus engagement efforts.
- Are we getting enough leads but not converting them?
- Are we not getting enough leads?
- Are people responding to outreach at all?
The answers to these questions will help determine how we focus our lead generation efforts in stage two (top of funnel, mid-funnel, bottom of funnel, or the entire funnel).
📂 Deliverables
Ideal customer profile - Conduct research and analysis to create a profile for future prospecting.
Target persona(s) - Conduct research and analysis to determine key personas involved in the purchasing.
Operational summary and action plan - What is the company’s current state and plan to bridge the gap from where you are to where you want to be.
This includes:
- Overall analysis and recommended path forward
- Current state by channel
- Recommended future state by channel
- Tactical recommendations
- Additional resources needed to complete recommendations
- Estimated goal numbers (Contacts, Leads, Opps, Closed)
Lead process review - This project involves reviewing lead management and providing recommendations for improvement if needed. At the end of the project we will have clearly defined marketing lead stages and the criteria for handing a lead off to an account executive.
Lead scoring rubric and scorecard - Developed in collaboration with the sales team, this resource provides a quick way for your teams to evaluate and triage leads. It also helps establish the common language needed to help improve sales and marketing alignment.
2️⃣ Optimization
(30-60 days)
Take what we’ve learned in stage one and begin operationalizing that knowledge to engage and attract the target audience.
Evaluate and optimize technology - Using the lead process review and channel assessment from stage one, analyze how information is currently flowing into the marketing automation, CRM, and related systems and make modifications. The goal is to automate what we can and optimize what we can’t.
Event research and planning - Determine relevant, upcoming trade shows or events and develop cohesive action plan for marketing around them.
Outbound campaigns - Determine target audience and develop multi-touch integrated promotional campaign(s) designed to drive more immediate results and build brand awareness.
Creating content for the target audience - Using the knowledge from stage one, create content which addresses challenges, misconceptions, and other issues for the target audience. Map that content to each stage of the funnel and the buyer’s journey.
Promoting content - Begin engaging target audience by deploying social, email, and digital advertising to promote lead magnet and blog assets.