Generating more leads and improving those leads to better reach decisionmakers are among the top priorities for b-to-b marketers according to a Forrester Research report. The research company based its findings on conversations with a number of marketing professionals at technology vendors from a cross-section of product and services companies.
The report, called, “Lead-To-Revenue Management Transforms Tech Marketing,” said that having a marketing department bridge the gap between engineering and sales, the two pillars of any tech company, could aid both customer service and revenue throughout a customer’s life cycle, the report said. Forrester recommends that technology marketers realign so that marketing departments accountable for revenue rather than just lead generation, as is often the case.
Revenue, not leads, are the end goal for any CEO, according to the report. Marketing and sales teams must work together to generate revenue and reduce sales and marketing expense. That means the traditional lead generation focus, which emphasizes activity rather than outcome, won’t be sufficient. Forrester recommends a lead-to-revenue management (L2RM) model and approach that defines processes, goals, and service-level commitments spanning the entire marketing-through-sales process.” That approach will also demonstrate marketing’s contribution to repeatable and predictable revenue, the report said.
