BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - October 3, 2007) - Companies that devote resources to lead
generation marketing practices demonstrate yearly improvements in key
performance indicators, such as lead-to-sales conversion rates, lead
qualification rates and lead-to-sales revenue. A recent survey conducted
by Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks company (
NYSE:
HHS), found that the
Best-in-Class companies utilizing a lead management solution improved
lead-to-sales conversion rates by over 26% compared to Laggards, none of
whom saw an increase in this metric despite having a lead management
solution. Compared to the Industry Average and Laggards, Best-in-Class
companies are 9 times more likely to achieve greater than 100% improvement
in their
cost-per-lead upon implementing a lead management solution.
The need to improve the return on marketing investments was identified by
47% of leading companies as the primary reason for focusing resources on
lead generation. Since top performing organizations have already
implemented formalized lead management processes to alleviate this
pressure, resources are dedicated to supporting, maintaining and improving
lead generation activities. Email Marketing Applications (87%), CRM (77%),
Customer Survey Tools (64%) and Content/Knowledge Management Tools (63%)
are the most common tools used by the Best-in-Class to manage demand
generation.
"The proliferation of marketing channels, particularly with the advent of
the internet, is both a blessing and a curse. New channels allow marketers
to continue to touch prospects in innovative new ways," says Ian Michiels,
a research analyst at Aberdeen. "However, finite marketing budgets are
making it difficult for Average companies and Laggards to make decisions
about the allocation of resources among these prospective channels."
Best-in-Class companies are outperforming all others because they have
developed a robust foundation of organizational capabilities to support the
technologies.
Best-in-Class marketing departments are significantly more likely to
qualify leads before passing them to sales, 86% vs. 58% respectively.
Recognizing that lead qualification is an essential component to superior
performance, Best-in-Class companies are 1.5 times more likely than
Laggards to align their sales and marketing departments. Organizations can
achieve sales and marketing alignment by setting up formalized
cross-functional groups to develop and identify best practices. By working
together to formalize new processes, sales and marketing can gain a deeper
understanding about the complexities of both roles.
The research educates readers on how to increase both the quality and
quantity of leads that enter the pipeline. It also provides results that
Best-in-Class companies achieve over key metrics after integrating lead
management solutions and compares these companies to the Industry Average
and Laggards who have not yet pursued a similar strategy. A complimentary
copy of this report is made available due in part by the following
underwriters: JL Halsey (Lyris), Got Corp (Campaigner) and TargusInfo. To
obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4178.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market
intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more
than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely
positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating
demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment
analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets,
corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions. For
additional information, visit Aberdeen
http://www.aberdeen.com or call
(617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or
go to
http://www.harte-hanks.com.
© 2007 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3112
Telephone: (617) 723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Ian Michiels
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(925) 264-1824
Ian.michiels@aberdeen.com