New Survey Finds Technology and Automation are Transforming Lead Management

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EXHIBITOR News
New Survey Finds Technology and Automation are Transforming Lead Management

2/4/2020
According to the results of EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2020 Sales Lead Survey, it appears increased adoption of automation and technology is transforming the lead-retrieval, -qualification, and -management process. Marketers representing nearly 150 different organizations responded to the survey, and their answers were compared to benchmark data obtained from the 2010 and 2015 iterations of the same survey.

“The resulting data contained a number of key takeaways,” said Travis Stanton, editor of EXHIBITOR magazine. “Chief among them is the fact that there has been a significant decrease in manual collection methods (such as paper lead forms and business cards) and a corresponding increase in the use of lead-retrieval apps. Similarly, the percentage of exhibiting companies using technology to automatically rank or score leads has more than doubled since 2015 — and the percentage using electronic surveys for qualification purposes has more than tripled in the past five years.”

Automation is also impacting lead follow-up, as the percentage of companies using automated emails as their initial communication channel is up from 19 percent in 2015 to 35 percent in 2020. In that same vein, technology is impacting the lead-management process too, as 75 percent of companies now use customer relationship management (CRM) systems versus just 58 percent five years ago. Technology has also enabled more companies to track leads from their origination at trade shows and events throughout the sales cycle. In 2010, just 28 percent of respondents were able to do that, compared to 35 percent in 2015, and 49 percent today.

Another interesting finding is that marketing departments are taking greater ownership of the lead-management process. In 2015, 56 percent of respondents said that sales reps were responsible for tracking the status of leads and reporting conversion rates. Today, that figure has dropped to 23 percent, as the majority (53 percent) now say that function is marketing’s responsibility (compared to just 32 percent five years ago).

Still, despite the value placed on lead generation, fewer exhibitors are proactively training their staffers on how to qualify attendees. In 2010, 82 percent of respondents claimed they trained staffers on effective lead-qualification techniques, but in 2015, that number had dropped to 67 percent. Five years later, the downward trend continues, as only 55 percent now train staffers on lead-qualification methods.

Results from the survey, along with a sampling of verbatim comments from respondents, are available in the February issue of EXHIBITOR magazine and online at www.exhibitoronline.com/topics/article.asp?ID=2951.

About Exhibitor Media Group
The leader in trade show and corporate event marketing education, Exhibitor Media Group publishes the award-winning EXHIBITOR magazine, a monthly publication featuring best practices in trade show marketing. EXHIBITOR's learning events include: EXHIBITORLIVE, Best Practices in Trade Shows and Events; EXHIBITORFastTrak accelerated learning conferences; and EXHIBITOR eTrak, professional online learning. Exhibitor Media Group is also the founder and sponsor of CTSM (Certified Trade Show Marketer), the industry's only university-affiliated professional certification program. Learn more at www.ExhibitorOnline.com.

EXHIBITOR is a registered trademark, and EXHIBITORLIVE, EXHIBITORFastTrak, and EXHIBITOR eTrak, are trademarks of Exhibitor Publications, Inc. in the USA and other countries. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.

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