In our last CRM blog we discussed how to ensure that your list segmentation matches your buyer persona. As we know effective messaging is relevant messaging. This means looking beyond just the demographic characteristics of your buyers and incorporating where they are in their buyer’s journey.
As a concept this widely is understood by most marketers, but in practice it can be hard to define who really is where in the journey.
Combining the lead scoring functionality of a marketing automation tool and an effective CRM management system can help you meet this goal.
Key Milestones
With a complicated sales cycle it can be difficult to pin-point the milestones that matter and segment them accordingly. This chart can work as a starter for which segments you should break out.
| Journey Stage | What it means? | Objective | How to Segment? |
| Unengaged | This is just a name on your list. They have not engaged with your content marketing or with your sales team. | Drive initial engagement with your brand, make them aware of who you are in market. | When using a marketing automation system these are typically leads with a score of 0. |
| Marketing Engaged | These are individuals that have had some engagement with your digital brand, but have not been handed off to your sales team. | Nurture original interest, drive increased engagement with content, and identify content themes of interest. | When using a marketing automation system these are typically leads with a lead score who have not been deemed sales ready. |
| Marketing Qualified | These are individuals who have shown strong engagement with your marketing, but are not engaged with sales. This a hand-off point for outreach. | Drive a conversation with a sales person using calls to action that are aligned with their content of interest. | When using a marketing automation system, these are individuals who have reached a certain score threshold and are not in conversation with a sales team. |
| Sales Engaged | These are individuals who have had conversation with a member of your sales organization | Nurture the sales relationship by providing meaningful content that shows your brand as a leader in market with the understanding that they know who you are. | This is where the list management tool switches from marketing automation to your CRM. Make use of a status field to designate an individual as being worked by sales. |
| Active Opportunity / Consideration | These individuals have expressed an interest in buying and are in an active sales cycle | Marketing support here may only be in the form of content created for your sales team to use, but may also include relevant announcements and how-to guides that reinforce you will be the correct partner after the sale. | Most CRMs have an opportunity function to manage individuals who are in an active sales cycle. |
| Customers | These are your customers! | After the initial sale is over your marketing opportunities are not! Tips and Tricks, Newsletters, Cross-sell, and upsell messaging can keep your clients engaged and informed. | Accounts designated as a client status in CRM. |
Want to learn more? Fill out a contact form and we’ll be in touch. Or better yet. Give us a call at 800-966-3051.
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Author: Chuck Rue
Chuck Rue is the Manager of Marketing Automation. He has developed extensive skills in CRM management, marketing automation, and website development that allow him to coordinate how these essential tools work together for clients and get actionable data to sales reps as quickly as possible.
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As Director of Platform and Content Services, Chuck is responsible for leading the CRM, Marketing Automation, Website, and Content teams to ensure successful sales efforts for NuGrowth engagements. He has developed extensive skills in CRM management, marketing automation, and website development that allow him to coordinate how these essential tools work together for clients and get actionable data to sales reps as quickly as possible.