Defining Sales Campaign Automation How , the Killer App, is best applied to marketing

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1 Defining Sales Campaign Autmatin Hw , the Killer App, is best applied t marketing Summary: Cmpanies tday are steadily adpting strategies and technlgies t reach prspects, custmers, and partners thrugh electrnic cmmunicatins. The use f as a marketing tl has seen prlific grwth ver the past tw years. In its Marketing study, e-dialg reprts that 55% f US marketers plan t increase the percent f their budget alltted t marketing this year. Just under ne-half (48%) reprt that is a mainstream" marketing vehicle fr their cmpany. Cmbine that with banner advertising, cntent-rich websites, and ther direct respnse tactics, and marketers have a well-runded arsenal t divide and cnquer the market. This arsenal has becme distinguished frm ther advertising and direct respnse prgrams, and referred t as emarketing. The market has respnded with a plethra f prducts and services t meet this grwing demand fr emarketing services. Falling under the bradest umbrella f CRM, new breeds f emarketing vendrs have emerged, carving ut specialties such as Enterprise Marketing Management, Marketing Autmatin, and Marketing Slutins prvider all leveraging The Killer App . Primarily, these vendrs ffer sftware and/r services fr the planning, executin, and analysis f emarketing campaigns. S what is Sales Campaigning and hw is it different than emarketing Campaigning? First a brief review the definitins f each: Marketing can be defined as the act r prcess f buying r selling in a market. Sales, n the ther hand may be defined as the exchange f gds r services fr an

2 amunt f mney r its equivalent. T an utsider, these tw functins are cmplimentary. Right? Why then, if yu ask mst any VP f Sales if he r she believes that the sales rganizatin is in alignment with marketing, yu get sme fairly incnsistent answers? The reality is that in mst sales and marketing rganizatins, discnnects still exist in missins, bjectives, gals, and day t day activities. Part f the prblem lies in the expectatins each rganizatin has fr marketing. By tday s standards, the Marketing rganizatin celebrates measures f success like the click thrugh, the pen rate, and the unique visitr. The Sales rganizatin, hwever, cvets just ne leads that generate revenue. And thus the divide between the tw. One s verwhelming success rarely translates int results fr the ther (when was the last time yu read an emarketing case study that mentined direct revenue impact?). The spin that Marketing rganizatins (and Vendrs) have begun t place n marketing campaigning is that f lead generatin. Sftware vendrs have attempted t psitin in this directin as well - t wrk with bth sales and marketing rganizatins in tandem in an effrt t reunite the tw pillars f revenue. Is this the right apprach? Will this strategy wrk? Are current emarketing vendrs cvering all the bases? This white paper seeks t distinguish between that which is Marketing and that which is Sales in terms f emarketing direct respnse campaigns. Furthermre, it intrduces and defines a new categry f slutins, Sales Campaign Autmatin, and explres the pprtunity t autmate the sales qualificatin prcess fr Internet-riginated leads thrugh slutins like emaximatin. Sales and Marketing Redefined First let us define Marketing and Sales a bit differently. What if we were t define Marketing as 1) the prcesses by which Ptential Need fr the firm s gds r services is identified and 2) the activities undertaken t create Demand fr the firm s ability t fulfill that need. And we define Sales as 1) the prcess by which Need is cnfirmed and 2) the activities undertaken t respnd t Demand with the right gds r services t meet that cnfirmed Need. Is this perspective s different? Perhaps nt in thery, but certainly in practice. This mre realistic perspective f current marketing uses depicts the relatinship between Sales and Marketing mre accurately. emarketing has becme the prcess (segmentatin, testing, campaigning, analysis) f identifying ptential need and creating demand. Sales has fulfilled the rle f cnfirming need and respnding t demand.

3 Take nte that we have intrduced the terms Ptential Need, Cnfirmatin f Need, and Demand Respnse int the emarketing paradigm. While these may be addressed, t sme degree, in the marketing prcess, mst fall under the requirement f selling. Fr example, if we start with the right segment fr ur prduct, find the right set f data fr marketing (i.e. ptential buyers), and begin the prcess f campaigning t that data, we cannt expect t fully cnfirm, fully qualify, and fully respnd t demand if in fact it is created thugh ur marketing campaign. Nnetheless, marketing campaigning has its wn merits and shuld nt be abandned. Namely, marketing affrds the ability t test market quickly and inexpensively, create prspect dialgue, and engage in brand building. All f which are necessary. But are we fully utilizing the pwer f the Killer App in this manner? Can we accmplish mre? This is where the majrity f marketing campaigning falls dwn. Segments are identified, lists are acquired, testing is cmpleted, and campaigning begins. Then by a patchwrk f pen rates, click-thrughs, and user sessins marketers g abut the task f assessing results. And mst f the time, we are satisfied with what we see. S What is Sales Campaigning? S what is Sales Campaigning? And hw des it differ frm Marketing Campaigning? Put simply, sales campaigning addresses the transitin frm the emarketing prcess t the sales prcess, picking up where marketing leaves ff. The tw key aspects f this transitin are 1) Ptential Need identificatin and 2) Demand Creatin. Once established, the sales prcess must begin as quickly and efficiently as pssible. Even the firms that understand this transitin usually get it wrng. Fr example, when was the last time yu pted int receive general infrmatin and gt a call frm a telemarketer frm Cmpany A which ffers prducts in yur pt-in categry? Althugh yur ptential need may have been identified and ptential demand created, it clearly was nt cnfirmed and respnded t in the mst apprpriate manner. Human resurces were applied much t early in the sales prcess wasting their time, and yurs. And d yu think yu ll pt-ut f that list at first pprtunity? Perhaps. And perhaps is a chance that few marketers can affrd t take. S what are the alternatives? A review f Sales Campaigning can prvide sme insight int a mre apprpriate way t make the transitin frm the Marketing prcess t the Sales prcess. First let s set the stage fr cases where Sales Campaigning is mst applicable and where it is nt. With a new understanding f Ptential Need and Cnfirmed Need, and Demand Creatin and Demand Respnse, we can better identify where Sales Campaigning is mre likely t be effective.

4 Sales Campaigning is mst effective when: Ptential demand has been created Ptential need has been identified The lead is identified earlier in the marketing prcess rather than later The lead riginated n the Internet There is sme level f qualificatin required t purchase the firm s prduct r service (n simple shpping carts) The eventual sale f the prduct r service requires at least sme level f human resurce interactin At least sme prtin f the applicatin f human resurces may be autmated Sales Campaigning is least effective when: Ptential demand had nt yet been created (i.e. untested list, SPAM, pr list) Ptential need has nt yet been identified The lead enters Sales Campaigning at a pint where Demand Respnse is nt justified There is n level f qualificatin required t purchase the firm s prducts r services The sale can be cmpletely autmated with n human resurce applicatin At the utset, we can see that Sales Campaigning is mre effective when applied t prducts r services that 1) have a higher level f qualificatin prcess and that 2) require human resurces t supprt and finalize the transactin. Therefre, we can cnclude that selling GAP Jeans, fr example, which has few requirements (yu must have $40 t spend and knw yur size) may nt be the best applicatin fr Sales Campaigning. Cnversely, if yu are in the market fr a 7/1 ARM (and d nt understand what this lan actually is), have marginal credit, need t brrw $250,000.00, and live in the state f Maine, these requirements are better suited t Sales Campaigning. In this scenari, the mst effective marketing campaigns may successfully create demand fr a lender, identify yu as being in need f sme type f mrtgage, identify yu as a resident in the state f Maine, and learn that yu lking at hmes that cst between $225,000 and $300,000. At that pint, marketers might call yu a qualified candidate fr the 7/1 ARM mrtgage but are yu really? And are yu really ready fr a call frm the mrtgage brker that just received yur pt-in infrmatin?

5 Where emarketing falls dwn, Sales Campaigning attempts t better qualify Ptential Need and respnd mre apprpriately t ptential demand. Rather than relying simply n pen rates, click-thrughs, and marginal amunts f data, Sales Campaigning ges several steps further in the qualificatin prcess t deliver prspects with cnfirmed need and qualified buying ptential. Cnsider tw distinct tracks that prspective custmers can travel t reach qualificatin, and an eventual purchase (see Illustratin). These are 1) Prspects that respnd t traditinal marketing, and 2) Prspects that respnd t Interactive marketing. Prspect A (Traditinal lead) Intr t firm ffering Prspect initiates cntact - Qualificatin Prcess Begins Fllw-up 1 Qualificatin data is cllected Fllw-up 2 Qualificatin data is cllected Fllw-up 3 Prspect Qualifies fr human interactin Sales agent initiates cntact with qualified prspect Prspect B (Internet lead) When prspects engage in research activities nline, they may wish t remain discnnected frm a specific prduct frm a specific brand, thereby shpping in annymity. When marketing has dne its jb and the prspect pts-in t a particular prduct r brand, sales campaigning may begin. Cnversely, when prspects cnnect t brands thrugh traditinal marketing, ften the initial cntact des nt ccur until much later in the marketing prcess (multiple media expsures), and the respnse may be dne in several ways (phne r walk-in). The gaps in prcess between the tw prspects impacts several factrs in the sales and marketing prcess. The 1-t-1 message received by the n-line prspect is better understd, mre cntrlled, and mre precisely measured fr effectiveness. In additin, the duratin f the marketing prcess is shrtened s that sales qualificatin begins much earlier, accelerating prspects thrugh the sales funnel. The Autmatin Equatin Optimally, Sales Campaigning can be largely autmated s that less human resurce is required t cmplete the baseline prspect qualificatin prcess. In additin, Sales Campaigning mre effectively cllects bth qualitative and quantitative data in a less intrusive manner. Thrughut the prcess, prspects are engaged, entertained, and educated n the firm ffering s that prspects qualify themselves in a graduated apprach ver a perid f days r weeks (r smetime nly minutes), and mre fully qualify when ready fr human resurce interactin.

6 Once the base qualificatin factrs fr suitable prducts and services are understd, ne can determine what infrmatin shuld be cllected acrss the varius stages f the sales qualificatin prcess. Once this breakdwn is established, the determinatin can be made abut what infrmatin t cllect with machines, and what t cllect with humans. Let us turn ur attentin t the infrmatin that shuld be cllected thrugh autmatin. This infrmatin includes basic prspect prfile infrmatin such as Name, , Phne, Address, etc. But, it may als include the key quantitative and qualitative criteria such as 1) physical prximity t prduct r service, 2) ability t purchase prduct r service, 3) authrity t purchase prduct r service, 4) r timeframe f purchase. Sales managers want their peple calling n live prspects. Indeed, great efficiencies can be created where human resurces in the sales prcess are deplyed t prspects that have already met a baseline qualificatin status. Sales agents can spend their time runding ut the picture f the prspect, qualifying them mre fully, r disqualifying them altgether, rather than starting frm square ne. Sales Campaign Autmatin is n the cusp f using , the Killer App, t prvide meaningful impact in the Sales and Marketing Organizatin f many cmpanies tday. Amng thers it has the ability t: Reduce cst f prspect qualificatin: reducing the time, effrt, energy, and marketing csts required t create and verify demand Reduce cst f sale: in reducing the cst t qualify prspects, cst f sales is als reduced Streamline peratinal efficiencies in the sales rganizatin: by autmating the initial 60% f the sales funnel, sales rganizatins can becme mre fcused n prspects with advanced qualificatin status Leverage marketing assets in a selling envirnment: fully capitalizing n pwerful marketing tls by using them in Sales Campaigning Create pwerful alignment between Sales and Marketing: by making lead generatin that creates revenue the cmmn gal, sales and marketing rganizatins can align t create truly meaningful results T learn mre abut Sales Campaign Autmatin slutins frm emaximatin, please visit r call Maximize Sales Thrugh Autmatin, with emax.