New study defines best-in-class performance for lead lifecycle management

A new study by the Aberdeen Group identifies how best-practice companies approach lead management and demand generation among 233 organizations. Entitled, Lead Lifecycle Management, Building a Pipeline that Never Leaks, the survey reported that best practice companies share certain characteristics:

• 78% of the companies’ sales and marketing groups collaboratively define a qualified lead, the buying cycle, and the sales cycle (versus 37% of the laggards)
• 49% score and rank sales opportunities in their CRM systems by their intent to purchase (versus 14% of the laggards)

Lead lifecycle management is a strategic view of demand generation that creates a seamless process between marketing, sales, and service to maximize the quantity and quality of sales-ready opportunities.

The report identified three key areas where best-practice companies excel: prospect segmentation and targeting, lead nurturing, and lead scoring.

We’ve begun to see significant interest among our clients in the fundamental elements of lead lifecycle management — particularly at mid-market companies where sales and marketing tend to be more tightly integrated. Lead nurturing programs that include content development and outbound email marketing are relatively inexpensive and generate healthy returns on investment. When combined with lead scoring, these programs enable marketing to generate highly qualified prospects that have a demonstrated intent to buy. Lead lifecycle management helps close the gap between marketing and sales and implants a process that leads to greater demand generation and sales performance.