WHITEPAPER The Truth Behind Web Inquiry Management What Works, What Doesn t and Where You Stand
The Truth Behind Web Inquiry Management Challenges of Marketing In the world of sales and marketing, there is a never ending quest for improved results which range from finding new, more cost effective ways to fill the funnel with qualified leads, to developing strategic processes to move prospects through the funnel quickly to close more deals. Finding the perfect formula to get leads into, and move leads through the funnel to improve your bottom line is a challenge that takes discipline and structure, and starts with strategies focused at the top level of the funnel strategies for new leads. Benchmark Study Introduction The stages within a sales funnel may vary from company to company, however the concept always remains the same. In order for prospects to turn into customers, they must first start at the top of the funnel. Direct Mail Email Events Web Telemarketing With an array of marketing and sales activities in place to generate demand, often times companies find themselves challenged with identifying the best ways to manage incoming leads. Whether it is stemming from the uncertainty of best practices, a lack of standardized procedures or pre-disposed perceptions of the value of leads generated, the chances that they are letting qualified leads slip through the cracks, never making it into the sales funnel, are high.
This benchmark report focuses on the top of the funnel, inquiry management. It contains key industry stats and best practices to help companies improve their odds of converting inquiries to qualified leads. Direct Mail Email Events Web Telemarketing Inquiry Management For this report, Invenio, a lead development and sales outsourcing company, conducted a benchmark study where we surveyed 50 companies to gain a better understanding of their current inbound inquiry trends and inquiry management procedures and then compared those results to industry best practices. This report will provide detailed information and industry statistics on what inquiry management processes have been proven to work, those that should be avoided and insight into where others in the market stand. What is an Inquiry? An inquiry, as it relates to this report, is any inbound contact made via email, phone, web or online chat. Inquires can either be solicited by way of marketing campaigns, advertising or other outbound marketing activities, or can be unsolicited and unexpected, through activities such as web searches, word-of-mouth or referrals. In either instance, an inquiry is a valuable opportunity and should be handled with precision and care. What is Involved With Inquiry Management? Inquiry management involves any step that a company takes to capture, respond and react to an inbound inquiry. A typical inquiry management process would consist of three stages: information capture, response/follow up and lead classification.
Information Capture: This stage is the first introduction that a company has to the inbound inquiry. During this time, critical information is captured, and when possible, preliminary research is conducted to gain a high-level understanding of the company and potential fit. Response/Follow Up: Following the preliminary information capture, this stage involves the initial lead qualification where interaction/communication with the inbound inquiry is initiated to gather more in-depth information, including detailed insights into the prospect s budget, needs and authority to purchase. Lead Classification: The lead classification is the final stage in inquiry management, where inquiries are classified as leads and appropriate next steps are assigned based on the information gathered from previous interactions. In this stage the sales-ready leads are separated from those with longer term potential, or no potential at all. The Significance of Web Inquiries While inbound inquiries can come from various sources, according to a recent benchmark survey we conducted, the web is a significant source of inquiries. In fact, our survey showed that on average, web inquiries represent 43% of the total inbound inquiries each company receives. Benchmark Survey Reports Chat Email Phone Web 43% Web 33% Phone 20% Email 4% Chat With the growth in social media and online marketing activities driving the continuous increase in online inquires, the remainder of this report will focus on inbound web inquiries. It will highlight our findings around web inquiry management as well as industry best practices.
Best Practices In Web Inquiry Management Several influencing factors can improve your success rate in web inquiry management, including: Inquiry Response Time Pre-Qualification, Distribution and Routing Nurture Campaigns for Non Sales-Ready Leads From outlining the right mix of activities and defining the most effective timing, to developing execution strategies and next steps, managing inbound inquiries has proven formulas for increased success. This section of the report takes a look at best practices in web inquiry management for each of the influencing factors. Incorporating these best practices in your company will help improve your web inquiry management process, ensuring qualified leads don t slip through the cracks. Inquiry Response Time What is a good inquiry response time and how will it affect your bottom line? While many organizations would define their web inquiry response time as quick, the ideal inquiry response time will most likely take them by surprise. According to the Insidesales.com /MIT Lead Response Management Study, The odds of calling to contact [and connect with] a lead decrease by over 10 times in the 1st hour. While that number may sound surprising to you, that is only the beginning. In fact the same study goes on to say, The odds of contacting a lead if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 100 times. More so, the study reports After 20 hours every additional dial your salespeople make actually hurts your ability to make contact to qualify a lead. What is the Market Doing? 31 Hours = average response time for web inquiries According to the results gathered by our benchmark survey, the average response time for following up with a web inquiry was 31 hours. Additionally, when looking at the results revealed by the Insidesales.com/MIT study, over 71% of our surveyed individuals could actually
be damaging their chances of contacting an inquiry/lead by having a response time of over 20 hours. Pre-Qualification, Distribution and Routing When an inquiry comes in via the website, what do you do? While you may have a fluid process in place to pre-qualify and route inquiries, is it the right approach to help you close more deals? According to years of client data compiled by Invenio, for every 100 inbound inquiries, 10 are sales ready immediately, 50 need additional nurturing and 40 are not a fit. Looking at these statistics can help shape your inquiry/lead qualification procedures by providing evidence that thorough pre-qualification should be performed before passing web inquiries directly to field sales. Taking this extra step will not only eliminate those web inquiries that may need additional nurturing or are not a fit, but more importantly, will keep your field sales focused on those leads that matter most. What is the Market Doing? 57% of leads are passed directly to field sales According to the results gathered in our study, 57% of inquiries/leads are handed directly to field sales, which according to a well-recognized industry study, The Kellogg Lead Response Management Survey, may be negatively affecting close rates, by as much as 7.9%. The Kellogg Lead Response Management Survey on web leads, revealed, Companies that focus the inside sales process have better outcomes then firms that take a generalist approach. In fact, the study reported that companies where there is at least one hand-off in the sales process had a 7.9% higher reported close rate. Nurture Campaigns for Non Sales-Ready Leads In the previous section, we revealed out of every 100 inbound inquiries, 50 need nurturing. This places additional emphasis on the importance of nurturing programs/campaigns within the marketing mix. For leads that are qualified but not sales ready, keeping your solution at the
forefront of their minds is critical and developing a strategic process to ensure this happens is a must. In fact, through years of collecting data, Invenio revealed that conversion rates to sales ready leads are 3-4 times higher for nurtured contacts versus new inquiries. This impressive reveal reinforces the importance of consistent nurturing campaigns and the dramatic effects they can have on your bottom line. Did You Know? Conversion rates to sales ready leads are 3-4X higher for nurtured inquiries vs. new inquiries Results vs. Reality So, based on the statistics provided, where do you stand? Do you follow up on web inquiries within the first hour, or even better, within the first 5 minutes? Do you perform thorough prequalification on all inquiries to identify budget, authority, need and timeframe before passing to sales closers? What about those leads that are qualified, but not quite sales ready? Are you executing consistent nurturing programs and campaigns to ensure your products and services stay top of mind? If you answered yes to all of those questions, congratulations, you are on the right track. However, as revealed by the recent survey conducted by Invenio, many of you have areas where improvements may be needed. No matter where you stand, the information provided can be used as a guide to ensure you are headed in the right direction. Following the best practices outlined in this report will help you to shape your web inquiry management practices for maximized effectiveness, driving more leads through the funnel to improve your overall bottom line results.
Study Resources About the Survey Audience Invenio surveyed Sales and Marketing professionals at 50 companies to learn about their inquiry management procedures. The companies surveyed span start-ups to Fortune 10 businesses located across the United States. The survey was conducted in June 2009. Works Cited Insidesales.com /MIT Lead Response Management Study. (n.d.). Retrieved 07 15, 2009, from Leadresponsemanagement.org: http://www.leadresponsemanagement.org/mit_study The Kellogg Lead Response Management Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved 07 15, 2009, from Leadresponsemanagement.org: http://www.leadresponsemanagement.org/kellogg_study AboutInvenio Marketing Solutions Invenio Marketing Solutions is a full-service marketing company focused on the lead development and revenue growth of business-to-business and nonprofit organizations. Formed through the strategic acquisition of multiple, forward-thinking, lead focused businesses,invenio is a cutting edge, marketing solutions powerhouse with an experienced team, strong vision, diverse skill set and proven track record of success. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas and has offices in Winchester, VA, Las Colinas, TX, Sammamish, WA, and Los Angeles, CA. For more information, visit www.inveniomarketing.com CONTACT INVENIO 1905-A Kramer Lane Suite 200 Austin, Texas 78758 Phone: 800-926-1754 Email: Info@inveniomarketing.com 2010 Invenio Marketing Solutions. All rights reserved.