The Revenue Marketing Journey
Make no mistake: the time for the Revenue Marketer has arrived. CEOs are looking for new ways to create revenue, heads of sales are asking for help to manage the top of the funnel, and sales continue to demand better qualified leads. If your CEO hasn’t already come into your office and asked what you plan to do about revenue, get ready – it’s coming.
On a recent 14-city speaking tour with Marketo’s Revenue Rockstar Roadshow, I had the chance to test a four-step model of the stages between a traditional marketing organization and a revenue marketing organization. The response to this simple model was overwhelming.
With roughly 40-50 percent of B2B marketers now having some direct revenue accountability, knowing where you are on the journey and where you need to be is more critical now than ever before.
Let’s look at the key stages towards Revenue Marketing.
Stage #1: Traditional Marketing
Most marketers don’t need much explanation of what traditional marketing entails because chances are, they live it every day.
Stage #2: Lead Generation
The first big step towards revenue marketing is from traditional marketing to lead generation.
Characteristics:
- Leads are sent to sales that have a pulse
- Use an email system
- Lots of manual work
- Tens of thousands of companies in this stage
Metrics:
- Number of emails sent
- Number of leads to sales
- Open and click through rates
Stage #3: Demand Generation
The move from lead generation to demand generation is the first significant step to connecting marketing to revenue.
Demand generation is defined as the combined set of activities across both sales and marketing that 1) puts high quality leads into the top of the funnel, and 2) accelerates opportunities through the sales pipeline.
Characteristics:
- Uses a marketing automation system integrated with CRM
- Moving from efficiency to revenue
- Revenue contribution is trackable, but not yet predictable
- About 5,000 companies at this stage
Metrics:
- Number of scored (MQLs) leads to sales
- Number of opportunities
-
Conversion ratios from top of lead funnel into sales funnel
- Percent conversion of MQL to opportunity
- Percent conversion of opportunity to close
Stage #4: Revenue Marketing
The Revenue Marketing stage is the same as the Demand Generation stage with one major exception – RPS, or the ability to create Repeatable, Predictable, Sustainable revenue. In this stage, marketers actually provide a forecast for what marketing will be contributing in the upcoming quarters.
About Debbie Qaqish
Debbie Qaqish is Principal Partner and Chief Revenue Marketing Officer for The Pedowitz Group, a demand generation agency. A nationally recognized thought leader and innovator in revenue generation, Qaqish has over 30 years of experience helping organizations connect marketing to revenue. Debbie hosts a weekly internet radio show, Revenue Marketer® Radio. Her first book, “The Rise of the Revenue Marketer®,” will be published in Q4 2011.
