B2B SaaS lead generation is dead
Here are the four main lead generation practices companies need to leave in 2022 and four to take with you in the new year...
If you’re a LinkedIn lurker like myself, you have definitely come across those posts where sales and marketing people fight about who’s sending bad leads or who’s got 20 qualified leads going cold in their CRM. It’s painful, but it happens because people don’t see eye to eye: sales, marketing, and support funnels are not connected, and team goals are not set up properly. There are multiple ways to ensure that marketing, sales, and support work together.
From my standpoint as a marketer, I can tell you that, as frustrating as it is to spend so much time acquiring and nurturing leads only for them to sit in HubSpot untouched by sales, we’re also not angels, at least not always ;). For instance, marketers need to be careful with what we call a “lead” or an “MQL.” I’ve encountered some CRMs where marketers marked a whole list of tradeshow attendees as MQLs. I’ve also come across an account where yomama@hotmail.com was blindly set up as an MQL and sent to sales. That’s what drives sales teams crazy.
We, marketers, need to do a better job. We can’t report on an increase in website traffic on a monthly basis or “leads,” and that’s it. We need to make sure that we’re focused on the metrics that actually drive revenue. We need to make sure that we look at social impressions and website views as well as pipeline volume, closed won deals, usage rates, churn rates, etc. Since we control the top of the funnel, we control what leads and customers sales and support are seeing. Crap at the top means crap at the bottom. High-quality traffic and educated prospects at the top means sales and support will love you. That’s just how you build a successful, sustainable revenue machine at your company.
There are two types of B2B SaaS marketing metrics that marketers need to include in their reports on a regular basis to ensure alignment with sales and support: leading indicators and lagging indicators. Understanding these two is the difference between a successful, revenue-contributing marketer and someone who will soon be looking for a job when revenue targets are not hit.
Leading indicators are metrics that can predict future performance. They give an early indication of what is likely to happen and allow marketers to change their strategy before it's too late.
Here are some examples of leading indicators in SaaS marketing:
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Lagging indicators, on the other hand, are metrics that reflect past performance. This is historical data you can use to determine, based on your growth goals, what leading indicators you should see. They give a historical view of how well your marketing efforts have performed and can help identify areas that need improvement. Here are some examples of lagging indicators in SaaS marketing:
Smart marketers use leading and lagging indicators when compiling their reports and forecasting pipeline and sales volume. Leading indicators provide insight into future performance, while lagging indicators reflect past performance. Combining the two can help you make informed decisions and identify areas that need improvement. For example, if you see an increase in website traffic but a decrease in conversion rate, it may indicate a problem with the user experience on your site that either one of those metrics on their own wouldn’t show.
Track both your leading and lagging indicators in the same dashboard. Start at the top with website views or impressions and go all the way down to revenue, CAC:LTV, and profit.
Leading and lagging indicators play a critical role in determining the success and growth of your SaaS marketing efforts. Understanding the difference between them and using both in your reporting and forecasting can help you make informed decisions and avoid missed opportunities.
Yusuf is a fractional CMO specializing in B2B SaaS marketing. He builds sustainable revenue engines for companies ranging from MVP to growth stages. With a hands-on approach and a focus on pipeline generation, Yusuf has driven clients to achieve significant growth and navigate successful acquisitions.
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