The Anatomy of Lead Scoring in Eloqua

All leads are not the same. While some may be ready to buy now, some in a few weeks, and others just browsing. Converting leads is a different kind of art that a lead scoring model helps you master.

Most of us are familiar with lead scoring but are we utilizing it to its full potential? Eloqua, one of the best marketing automation platforms out there, offers a powerful lead scoring model. If Eloqua is your preferred marketing automation platform, let’s walk through how lead scoring works in it and what best practices you can implement. Read on!

What is lead scoring?

It is a method for ranking leads to determine a prospect’s readiness to buy. Leads are scored on multiple interests they present through their website visits or engagement with email campaigns, their current place in the buying cycle, and how they fit in regards to your business. With lead scoring, it is easy to sort out the golden goose from the rest.

How does lead scoring work in Eloqua?

Lead scoring lays a foundation for your lead generation by eliminating the guesswork in terms of the interest level of the prospect. Therefore, it should be solid. Let’s understand how Eloqua scores a lead.

• Defining lead qualification criteria: Before you create a lead scoring model in Eloqua, your marketing and sales teams should define both the ideal profile and the qualities of a good lead.

• Establishing scoring criteria: A qualified lead has two dimensions in Eloqua:

1. Profile Score: The profile score depends on the explicit data of an account such as job role, industry, revenue, and helps determine whether they’re the ideal decision-maker. Eloqua’s system scores prospects with A, B, C, or D. The score will tell you if the prospect is a good fit, with A being the best fit.

2. Engagement Score: The engagement score depends on the implicit data about a prospect’s activities, like website visits and email opens, which determine their level of interest. A prospect’s engagement score ranges from 1-4, with 1 being the highest.

Eloqua evaluates a lead against the profile and engagement criteria and combines the profile and engagement score to assign a lead score.

• Combining the fit and engagement: Create a graph and map out the overall rating of a lead based on the combination of profile fit and engagement level. Here’s an example:
  

  A1 is the most qualified lead and a D4 is the least qualified. This will help you better visualize the stage of leads.

• Executing relevant action: Once lead scoring is done, the right follow-up action should be fashioned. For example, lead score B1 is a decent fit and the prospect seems interested. Therefore, the relevant action should be to send it to the sales queue for immediate follow-up. As users move along the sales funnel, their lead scores change accordingly.

How can you set up a functional lead scoring model in Eloqua?

Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of implementing a successful lead scoring program in Eloqua. Here’s how:

1. Program Builder: The Program Builder in Eloqua can accommodate almost any scoring scenario. Lead scoring in the Program Builder is done using absolute numbers, like 5 points for case study downloads or 8 for website visit. This integer-based value approach makes it easy to understand the factors and criteria that produced a particular score.

2. Program Canvas: The Program Canvas is another integer-based value approach with a drag and drop UI that synchronizes all of your contact data between Eloqua and external CRMs. The Listener step in the Program Canvas overviews any changes in contact’s records and adds them to a program. For example, if your contact has a low score you can send them to the initial phase of your nurture campaign or if a cold contact shows renewed interest in your business, you can evaluate them further on the Listener step of a subsequent program.

3. Out-of-the-Box: This is a straightforward lead scoring model. Its ease of use simplifies the understanding of what kind of content and approach work for you and the kind that doesn’t. It’s a percentage-based, weighted model that is tricky while determining the touchpoints but is effective when it comes to reporting.

What best practices must you follow?

Here are the practices to follow for a healthy lead score:

• Define a service-level agreement (SLA) with sales that designates the length of time allowed for follow-up. For example, follow up with the A1 and B1 lead within 24 hours of their fit and engagement score assessment.
• Create a threshold value but after 3-6 months of pilot testing.
• Have progressive profiling on your forms to gather additional details.
• Use automated lead nurturing programs as the lead score changes.
• Distinguish well between the implicit and explicit lead criteria.
• Enable automatic rescoring triggers with each action that the prospects take.
• Analyze closed deals to uncover insights into conversions and backtrack.
• Set up separate scoring models in Eloqua for different products and services.

What next?

While you look at what’s happening in your lead scoring funnel, it’s equally important to keep an eye on:

• Customer scoring: Increase customer lifetime value by analyzing all customer touch-points to identify opportunities and challenges throughout the customer lifecycle to increase upselling and cross-selling opportunities.
• Opportunity scoring: Analyze the behavior of a lead throughout its journey to predict the likelihood of an opportunity closing.
• Content-based scoring: Detect patterns in lead quality that can be directly tied to the content accessed during the buying process.

If lead scoring is done right, it’s the holy grail to achieve lead conversion nirvana and with Eloqua, it’s twice as good!

Are you making the most of your Eloqua lead scoring? Let’s talk!