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WHITEPAPERThe Truth Behind Web Inquiry Management
What Works, What Doesn’t and Where You Stand
WWW.INVENIOMARKETING.COM
WhITepaper
WWW.INVENIOMARKETING.COM
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.
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.
TelemarketingDirect Mail Email Events Web
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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.
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.
TelemarketingDirect Mail Email Events Web
Inquiry Management
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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 informa-
tion 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.
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.
Web
Phone
Chat
43% Web33% Phone20% Email4% Chat
Benchmark Survey Reports
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BEsT PRACTICEs IN WEB INquIRy MANAGEMENT
Several influencing factors can improve your success rate in web inquiry
management, including:
• InquiryResponseTime
• Pre-Qualification,DistributionandRouting
• NurtureCampaignsforNonSales-ReadyLeads
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.
AccordingtotheInsidesales.com/MITLeadResponseManagementStudy,“Theoddsofcalling
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.”
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
31 Hours = average response time for web inquiries
What is the Market Doing?
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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
salesreadyimmediately,50needadditionalnurturingand40arenotafit.Lookingatthese
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.
According to the results gathered in our study, 57% of inquiries/leads are handed directly to
fieldsales,whichaccordingtoawell-recognizedindustrystudy,TheKelloggLeadResponse
Management Survey, may be negatively affecting close rates, by as much as 7.9%.
TheKelloggLeadResponseManagementSurveyonwebleads,revealed,“Companiesthat
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
57% of leads are passed directly to field sales
What is the Market Doing?
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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.
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 pre-
qualification 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. How-
ever, as revealed by the recent survey conducted by Invenio, many of you have areas where
improvements may be needed.
Nomatterwhereyoustand,theinformationprovidedcanbeusedasaguidetoensureyouare
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.
Conversion rates to sales ready leads are
3-4X higher for nurtured inquiriesvs. new inquiries
Did You Know?
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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 busi-
nesses located across the United States. The survey was conducted in June 2009.
WORKs CITEd
Insidesales.com/MITLeadResponseManagementStudy.(n.d.).Retrieved0715,2009,from
Leadresponsemanagement.org:http://www.leadresponsemanagement.org/mit_study
TheKelloggLeadResponseManagementSurvey.(n.d.).Retrieved0715,2009,fromLead-
responsemanagement.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
hasofficesinWinchester,VA,LasColinas,TX,Sammamish,WA,andLosAngeles,CA.Formore
information, visit www.inveniomarketing.com
CONTACT INVENIO
1905-AKramerLane
Suite 200
Austin, Texas 78758
Phone:800-926-1754
Email: Info@inveniomarketing.com
WWW.INVENIOMARKETING.COM
©2010 Invenio Marketing Solutions. All rights reserved.
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