Many companies now have the opportunity to utilise sophisticated marketing tools to expand the use of their websites. A number of the sites we have built in Kentico, have a wide range of tools within Kentico’s EMS solution, but with so many options it can be daunting and occasionally the basics can be forgotten when people just want to dive in and get on with using these shiny new features!

Taking one step at a time is key, and in this case we’re going to look at the basics of lead scoring. This is a tool that has been around for a while, but if you are new to Digital Marketing then make sure you make time to plan first, no matter what feature you are using.

What is lead scoring?

Lead scoring is all about identifying a leads interest and monitoring their progress in their journey through your site. The aim is ultimately to identify those who are likely to make a purchase or contact you for further information, and recognise those leads who would benefit from additional marketing.

Leads that are of interest are defined by a points system, where points are assigned based on the activities of users on the site. These points are assigned based on a number of rules that are planned out in advance, in order to rank leads and target only those who appear to have a genuine interest in your site. The scores are based on relative sizing, so you score based on a rule’s importance compared to that of other rules. The process is trial and error and realistically for the first few you won’t know what score they should be, but you can size other rules based on those.

What can lead scoring achieve?

Lead scoring can be used for a number of reasons. First of all, it can help you identify and target useful leads. Perfecting your scoring model over time can then also help you refine your sales process and understand your customers better, including what actions are likely to lead to a sale or the lead contacting you directly.

Administrators can be alerted when a lead meets the point threshold which defines them as a key lead. This then gives you the chance to try any relevant marketing activities to help steer that lead to contact you directly or make a purchase.

Do’s

• Think about what you want to achieve. What is your end goal and what determines that a lead is a good lead? Define your user personas and key user journeys to help you with your scoring model.
• Involve the relevant teams within your business, most likely your sales and marketing teams. They can help you to define what your scoring model should be, as they are involved in promoting your business or product already.
• Regularly evaluate your scoring model. Lead scoring takes time to establish, so some trial and error is involved. You need to re-visit your scoring module on a regular basis to ensure that it is still working for you. 

Don’ts:

• Use a lead scoring model because it worked for another company. Lead scoring is fully dependent on your industry, business, and product. It needs to be tailored to work for your company.
• Assign points without carefully thinking it through, just because the rule seems important on the face of it – think about the rules and what they will achieve before assigning points. Don’t be afraid to change these later!
• Stick to a few simple rules. This is a tool that needs to help you define your leads and, while a few rules might be a good starting point, the scoring model needs to be built on the make the most of the tool long term. If you don’t, then you could risk wasting marketing time and budget on leads that are not useful at all.

The key to lead scoring is planning, and ensuring that you refine your scoring model. It is almost impossible to get lead scoring right first time but, by reviewing it regularly, you can develop a useful model to assist your sales and marketing teams in targeting good leads.