Prevent a Leaky Sales Pipeline With Lead Lifecycle Management


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - August 6, 2009) - A recent study, "Lead Lifecycle Management: Building a Pipeline that Never Leaks," conducted by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), explores how top-performing organizations holistically approach lead management and demand generation. "The data reveals that top-performing companies unify key processes and practices to extract more value from sales and marketing efforts," explains Ian Michiels, Practice Director of Aberdeen's Customer Management Technology Group and author of the study. "The data also reveals that the complexities of nurturing and driving sales opportunities across marketing, sales, and customer service demand a more structured approach to lead management; this approach must address every opportunity for an organization to collect revenue from prospects and customers." The study identifies current trends in demand generation and lead management technology adoption, the necessary organizational competencies to support the technology initiative, and the integrated capabilities that are most valuable to organizations that use lead management tools.

The organizations that are thriving in this economy are more likely to segment and target their customer database and most importantly use this segmentation in nurturing campaigns. There is one important distinction to make: "Best-in-Class don't just deploy lead nurturing campaigns; they have formal 'nurturing programs,'" explains Michiels. "Lead nurturing focuses on the front of the funnel, but nurturing campaigns can be used to drive revenue in cross-selling and up-selling from existing customers."

This research report allows readers to validate their current performance relative to peers and competitors and identify recommendations to increase top-line revenue and lead-to-sales rates.

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part to the following underwriters: Silverpop and LeadLife. Furthermore this research is being disseminated to the market through the support of various media outlets, such as the ECT News network and American Marketing Association. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=6094.

Visit Research.Aberdeen.com for additional access to complimentary Customer Management Research.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is 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.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
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Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
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www.aberdeen.com

Contact Information: Media Contact: Ian Michiels Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (925) 264-1824 ian.michiels@aberdeen.com