When it comes to account-based marketing, nothing is more important than effective lead routing. It’s the process of sending leads to the right people in the right places to convert them into sales.
But what happens if your lead routing isn’t up to par? Do you risk losing potential sales leads and revenue? Focusing on getting more and more leads is fine. But what after having a pile of leads?
You should understand that in this world of fierce competition, your clients have other options too. And research shows that 35-50% of sales go to the company that responds first.
This blog post will explore how lead routing plays an important role in account-based marketing and how you can optimize it for success.
What is Account-Based Marketing (ABM)?
Account-based marketing (ABM) is a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy companies use to manage and prioritize customer interactions. ABM aims to identify and prioritize customers who are most likely to be profitable or consume the most valuable products or services.
One of the key ingredients of ABM is lead routing. Lead routing helps find and target leads from accounts that have been identified as being high-value or low-risk. By routing leads through qualified sales representatives, account managers can increase the speed and efficiency with which they convert leads into customers.
In account-based marketing, lead routing enables companies to focus their resources on accounts that are more likely to result in successful conversions, and it minimizes wasted time and effort.
In addition, lead routing can also help companies protect their valuable assets by funneling leads toward sales representatives who are most qualified to work with them.
What Does Lead Routing Software Do?
A lead routing software will basically automate crucial steps in your account-based marketing strategy:
- Match inbound leads to pre-existing accounts.
- Remove duplicate leads.
- Convert qualified leads into contacts based on the company’s defined criteria.
- Manage employees whenever someone gets promoted into a different position, is on vacation, or leaves the company, including the possibility of assigning their leads to a new employee.
Important Roles of Lead Routing in Account-based Marketing?
Lead routing is a critical part of account-based marketing and helps ensure that leads are directed to the correct team members. The process starts with identifying which channels generate the most leads. After that, lead routing determines which channel those leads are sent through. This can include routing leads through email, landing pages, or social media channels.
Finally, marketing teams can use lead scoring to measure how successfully they convert leads into customers.
Lead routing allows marketers to identify and connect with their target customers more efficiently. By routing leads through channels most relevant to them, companies can ensure that they are reaching the right people and providing them with the best possible service.
Additionally, lead routing can help companies track how successful their campaigns have been in terms of conversions and sales.
Advantages of Lead Routing in Account-based Marketing
- Lead routing enables organizations to focus their marketing efforts on the most likely leads, resulting in a higher conversion rate.
- By targeting leads with tailored messages, businesses can convert more customers from cold lists into warm leads.
- Lead routing also allows businesses to measure their lead generation and conversion rates across channels, which can help optimize campaigns for maximum results.
- Finally, lead routing provides traceability of all customer interactions, so business owners can identify and correct issues early on.
Implementation Tips for Effective Lead Routing in Account-based Marketing
Directing leads to the right salesperson ensures that your clients receive the best possible customer service and can purchase your product or service quickly and easily.
Here are some tips for implementing lead routing effectively into your account-based marketing:
- Make sure your sales team is well-trained in lead routing. They need to know how to identify qualified leads, assess their interests, and create a customized funnel based on those interests.
- Make sure your contact information is up-to-date and accurate. You won’t get as many leads if your customers can’t find you or if the information you provide is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Keep track of your leads throughout the funnel process. This will help you identify which leads are converting into customers and which aren’t progressing down the funnel fast enough.
- Automate as much as possible, making it easy for your sales team to manage and follow through with. This will help them focus on closing more deals rather than running after leads all day.
How to Set Up a Good Lead Routing System?
Here are three tips for setting up a successful lead routing system that will help with your account-based marketing strategy:
- Identify your target market
Your lead routing system should be designed specifically for your target market. Select a specific group of potential customers who are likely interested in what you offer.
If you don’t know who your target market is, you can use industry-specific targeting tools such as those offered by CRM software companies.
- Create lead profiles
Creating lead profiles based on customer data such as age, gender, and interests is important before routing leads. This information will help you match leads with the right sales team members. You can also use profile data to send targeted ads to potential customers.
- Set up automatic forwarding rules
Set up automatic forwarding rules to ensure that all leads reach the right sales team members. This will automatically forward all new leads from your contact form or email campaigns to the appropriate sales team member’s mailbox.
You can also set up triggered forwarding rules that send leads only if certain conditions are met (for example, when a customer makes a purchase).
Summary
Lead routing is integral to the overall customer experience in account-based marketing. For example, when a potential buyer reaches out to your sales team, you must route their inquiry efficiently so that they have the best possible chance of being converted into a paying customer.
By understanding how lead routing works and using the right tools, you can ensure that your customers have the information they need to make an informed decision.
