the truth behind web inquiry management what works, what doesnâ€™t

WHITEPAPERThe Truth Behind Web Inquiry Management

What Works, What Doesn’t and Where You Stand

WWW.INVENIOMARKETING.COM

WhITepaper


The Truth Behind Web Inquiry Management

ChAllENGEs Of MARKETING

In the world of sales and marketing, there is a never ending quest for improved results which

range from finding new, more cost effective ways to fill the funnel with qualified leads, to

developing strategic processes to move prospects through the funnel quickly to close more deals.

Finding the perfect formula to get leads into, and move leads through the funnel to improve

your bottom line is a challenge that takes discipline and structure, and starts with strategies

focused at the top level of the funnel—strategies for new leads.

BENChMARK sTudy INTROduCTION

The stages within a sales funnel may vary from company to company, however the concept

always remains the same. In order for prospects to turn into customers, they must first start

at the top of the funnel.

With an array of marketing and sales activities in place to generate demand, often times

companies find themselves challenged with identifying the best ways to manage incoming

leads. Whether it is stemming from the uncertainty of best practices, a lack of standardized

procedures or pre-disposed perceptions of the value of leads generated, the chances that they

are letting qualified leads slip through the cracks, never making it into the sales funnel, are high.

TelemarketingDirect Mail Email Events Web

WhITepaper


This benchmark report focuses on the top of the funnel, inquiry management. It contains key

industry stats and best practices to help companies improve their odds of converting inquiries

to qualified leads.

For this report, Invenio, a lead development and sales outsourcing company, conducted a

benchmark study where we surveyed 50 companies to gain a better understanding of their

current inbound inquiry trends and inquiry management procedures and then compared

those results to industry best practices. This report will provide detailed information and

industry statistics on what inquiry management processes have been proven to work, those

that should be avoided and insight into where others in the market stand.

WhAT Is AN INquIRy?

An inquiry, as it relates to this report, is any inbound contact made via email, phone, web or

online chat. Inquires can either be solicited by way of marketing campaigns, advertising or

other outbound marketing activities, or can be unsolicited and unexpected, through activities

such as web searches, word-of-mouth or referrals. In either instance, an inquiry is a valuable

opportunity and should be handled with precision and care.

WhAT Is INVOlVEd WITh INquIRy MANAGEMENT?

Inquiry management involves any step that a company takes to capture, respond and react

to an inbound inquiry. A typical inquiry management process would consist of three stages:

information capture, response/follow up and lead classification.

TelemarketingDirect Mail Email Events Web

Inquiry Management

WhITepaper


Information Capture: This stage is the first introduction that a company has to the inbound

inquiry. During this time, critical information is captured, and when possible, preliminary

research is conducted to gain a high-level understanding of the company and potential fit.

Response/Follow Up: Following the preliminary information capture, this stage involves the

initial lead qualification where interaction/communication with the inbound inquiry is initiated

to gather more in-depth information, including detailed insights into the prospect’s budget,

needs and authority to purchase.

Lead Classification: The lead classification is the final stage in inquiry management, where

inquiries are classified as leads and appropriate next steps are assigned based on the informa-

tion gathered from previous interactions. In this stage the sales-ready leads are separated from

those with longer term potential, or no potential at all.

ThE sIGNIfICANCE Of WEB INquIRIEs

While inbound inquiries can come from various sources, according to a recent benchmark survey

we conducted, the web is a significant source of inquiries. In fact, our survey showed that on

average, web inquiries represent 43% of the total inbound inquiries each company receives.

With the growth in social media and online marketing activities driving the continuous increase

in online inquires, the remainder of this report will focus on inbound web inquiries. It will

highlight our findings around web inquiry management as well as industry best practices.

Web

Phone

Email

Chat

43% Web33% Phone20% Email4% Chat

Benchmark Survey Reports

WhITepaper


BEsT PRACTICEs IN WEB INquIRy MANAGEMENT

Several influencing factors can improve your success rate in web inquiry

management, including:

• InquiryResponseTime

• Pre-Qualification,DistributionandRouting

• NurtureCampaignsforNonSales-ReadyLeads

From outlining the right mix of activities and defining the most effective timing, to developing

execution strategies and next steps, managing inbound inquiries has proven formulas for

increased success. This section of the report takes a look at best practices in web inquiry

management for each of the influencing factors. Incorporating these best practices in your

company will help improve your web inquiry management process, ensuring qualified leads

don’t slip through the cracks.

INquIRy REsPONsE TIME

What is a good inquiry response time and how will it affect your bottom line? While many

organizations would define their web inquiry response time as “quick,” the ideal inquiry

response time will most likely take them by surprise.

AccordingtotheInsidesales.com/MITLeadResponseManagementStudy,“Theoddsofcalling

to contact [and connect with] a lead decrease by over 10 times in the 1st hour.” While that

number may sound surprising to you, that is only the beginning. In fact the same study goes

on to say, “The odds of contacting a lead if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 100

times.” More so, the study reports “After 20 hours every additional dial your salespeople make

actually hurts your ability to make contact to qualify a lead.”

According to the results gathered by our benchmark survey, the average response time for

following up with a web inquiry was 31 hours. Additionally, when looking at the results

revealed by the Insidesales.com/MIT study, over 71% of our surveyed individuals could actually

31 Hours = average response time for web inquiries

What is the Market Doing?

WhITepaper


be damaging their chances of contacting an inquiry/lead by having a response time

of over 20 hours.

PRE-quAlIfICATION, dIsTRIBuTION ANd ROuTING

When an inquiry comes in via the website, what do you do? While you may have a fluid

process in place to pre-qualify and route inquiries, is it the right approach to help you close

more deals?

According to years of client data compiled by Invenio, for every 100 inbound inquiries, 10 are

salesreadyimmediately,50needadditionalnurturingand40arenotafit.Lookingatthese

statistics can help shape your inquiry/lead qualification procedures by providing evidence that

thorough pre-qualification should be performed before passing web inquiries directly to field

sales. Taking this extra step will not only eliminate those web inquiries that may need additional

nurturing or are not a fit, but more importantly, will keep your field sales focused on those leads

that matter most.

According to the results gathered in our study, 57% of inquiries/leads are handed directly to

fieldsales,whichaccordingtoawell-recognizedindustrystudy,TheKelloggLeadResponse

Management Survey, may be negatively affecting close rates, by as much as 7.9%.

TheKelloggLeadResponseManagementSurveyonwebleads,revealed,“Companiesthat

focus the inside sales process have better outcomes then firms that take a generalist approach.”

In fact, the study reported that companies where there is at least one hand-off in the sales

process had a 7.9% higher reported close rate.

NuRTuRE CAMPAIGNs fOR NON sAlEs-REAdy lEAds

In the previous section, we revealed out of every 100 inbound inquiries, 50 need nurturing.

This places additional emphasis on the importance of nurturing programs/campaigns within

the marketing mix. For leads that are qualified but not sales ready, keeping your solution at the

57% of leads are passed directly to field sales

What is the Market Doing?

WhITepaper


forefront of their minds is critical and developing a strategic process to ensure this happens is

a must. In fact, through years of collecting data, Invenio revealed that conversion rates to sales

ready leads are 3-4 times higher for nurtured contacts versus new inquiries.

This impressive reveal reinforces the importance of consistent nurturing campaigns and the

dramatic effects they can have on your bottom line.

REsulTs Vs. REAlITy

So, based on the statistics provided, where do you stand? Do you follow up on web inquiries

within the first hour, or even better, within the first 5 minutes? Do you perform thorough pre-

qualification on all inquiries to identify budget, authority, need and timeframe before passing

to sales closers? What about those leads that are qualified, but not quite sales ready? Are you

executing consistent nurturing programs and campaigns to ensure your products and services

stay top of mind?

If you answered yes to all of those questions, congratulations, you are on the right track. How-

ever, as revealed by the recent survey conducted by Invenio, many of you have areas where

improvements may be needed.

Nomatterwhereyoustand,theinformationprovidedcanbeusedasaguidetoensureyouare

headed in the right direction. Following the best practices outlined in this report will help you

to shape your web inquiry management practices for maximized effectiveness, driving more

leads through the funnel to improve your overall bottom line results.

Conversion rates to sales ready leads are

3-4X higher for nurtured inquiriesvs. new inquiries

Did You Know?

WhITepaper


sTudy REsOuRCEs

ABOuT ThE suRVEy AudIENCE

Invenio surveyed Sales and Marketing professionals at 50 companies to learn about their

inquiry management procedures. The companies surveyed span start-ups to Fortune 10 busi-

nesses located across the United States. The survey was conducted in June 2009.

WORKs CITEd

Insidesales.com/MITLeadResponseManagementStudy.(n.d.).Retrieved0715,2009,from

Leadresponsemanagement.org:http://www.leadresponsemanagement.org/mit_study

TheKelloggLeadResponseManagementSurvey.(n.d.).Retrieved0715,2009,fromLead-

responsemanagement.org:http://www.leadresponsemanagement.org/kellogg_study

ABOuTINVENIO MARKETING sOluTIONs

Invenio Marketing Solutions is a full-service marketing company focused on the lead development

and revenue growth of business-to-business and nonprofit organizations. Formed through the

strategic acquisition of multiple, forward-thinking, lead focused businesses,Invenio is a cutting

edge, marketing solutions powerhouse with an experienced team, strong vision, diverse skill

set and proven track record of success. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas and

hasofficesinWinchester,VA,LasColinas,TX,Sammamish,WA,andLosAngeles,CA.Formore

information, visit www.inveniomarketing.com

CONTACT INVENIO

1905-AKramerLane

Suite 200

Austin, Texas 78758

Phone:800-926-1754

Email: [email protected]


©2010 Invenio Marketing Solutions. All rights reserved.

the truth behind web inquiry management what works, what doesnâ€™t

Documents