In B2B marketing, numbers drive everything. They define lead generation success, they give marketing relevancy within the organization and they drive strategies and campaigns.
Especially in this buyer driven marketplace, marketing’s impact can drastically affect ROI, so the numbers have to be clear and powerful to measure effectiveness and keep efforts on track.
In fact, according to a recent Marketing Performance Advantage report, nearly 40% of 100+ employee companies said that adoption of marketing performance measurement was a top priority.
It makes sense that marketing professionals know the figures to help them measure and optimize their efforts. Traditional marketing analytics did little to help marketers create a picture of current and future success. The newest revenue cycle analytics bring all aspects of lead behavior, campaign effectiveness and sales response into crystal clear view.
To make sure you are hitting all the bases in your marketing efforts, check out the five elements within this revenue cycle analytics overview to see if your revenue cycle management is providing optimal results:
1. Understand. Because some marketing investments can take large amounts of time to bring in results, the optimal analytics system sets up milestones and performance trends to realize how leads are behaving in the cycle.
This helps you take immediate action on what you learn. You can create alerts to check in when leads go stale or trigger automatic reactions when leads move between stages.
2. Define. Defining each stage of the revenue cycle is essential. To build the strongest lead-nurturing program, you need to understand how different types of prospects move through the stages. This allows you to measure the quality of your pipeline and program effectiveness.
Your analytics should provide an in-depth look into each stage by examining:
- Lead flow
- Conversion rate
- Speed
- Cost trends
The better glimpse you have into each stage, the more accurately you can choose where to assign resources.
3. Measure. Your revenue cycle analytics should track metrics that help you measure 3 main areas:
- The number and nature of leads that entered each stage in a given period.
- Conversion and velocity to determine which programs moved leads faster through the sales funnel.
- Program effectiveness by stage and over specified time periods.
4. Predict. Probably the biggest change in new software is the ability to project forward with numbers rather than just rehash what has already occurred.
Your measurements should include the ability to forecast what the pipeline will look like in future months, quarters and even next year.
By incorporating a system that looks deeply into all the information, you can answer questions such as:
- How many prospects did we have at the beginning of the quarter?
- How many prospects moved to qualified lead?
- How do your current lead generation efforts compare to last year?
5. Justify. Revenue cycle analytics is a tool not just to give feedback on marketing efforts but also to justify existence and impact with management.
Use the most effective analytics tools that incorporate enhanced reporting capabilities. Your presentations and management updates will explain the “why” behind the numbers, not just illustrate past performance.
The face of marketing is in constant flux. No longer can companies produce static messages and hope prospects gather at corporate doorsteps. Now, B2B marketers must provide quality content, establish relationships with prospects, offer relevant information to leads and determine how best to move more buyers through the sales funnel.
Be sure your revenue cycle analytics cover the basics and incorporate real time reporting for real time responses. You’ll see marked improvement in the quality of your lead management and a healthy uptick in your ROI numbers – the ones that ultimately matter most.
