In the B2B space, purchasing decisions are becoming increasingly complex. Buying processes are designed to minimize risk when making a major purchase decision. The number of people involved in each committee depends on the size of the buying organization and the value and importance of the purchase. Among high-tech companies, for example, purchases between $100,000 and $1 million are handled by committees of four to eight people (according to a 2009 MarketingSherpa and Business Technology Buyers TechWeb survey). The buying team grows as the price of the planned purchase increases.
Expect each individual on the buying committee to score as normal, although in some scenarios, no one on the buying committee has reached the threshold of being ready to buy, but their combined behavior tells a different story. A strong signal from one company that they are ready to close the deal is that they are doing very well.
Account Score groups individuals involved in the buying process and provides the marketer with a group view of purchase readiness. You can use the sum of the scores, the average of the scores, or even a weighted average until the group reaches a sales-ready status.
Effective account scoring should identify which individuals belong to the same account. You can group them by accounts within your CRM or use advanced marketing automation systems to derive ratios based on IP addresses and company names.
Accounting for the degradation of accrued points (Score Degradation)
Setting boundaries for lead scores helps manage the lead’s peru phone number data movement through the marketing funnel. For example, you might want to score early, knowledgeable behavior from 0-30; then introduce a new range of 30-70 as the prospect begins to explore the offer and you need to validate that change in status; and establish a range of 70-100 for those who are ready to convert. You want to offset organic growth at points where it may be accumulating from inactive buying behavior.
Degradation scoring, often referred to as decline scoring or negative scoring, reduces ratings that are too high or decreases ratings when a buyer changes intentions (e.g., exits active buying mode).
You can introduce a degradation accounting mechanism with a recurring score reduction into the scoring system either as a simple subtraction of points or as a percentage reduction.
Another boundary setting tactic is to set a cap on the number of points that can be awarded. In this case, a lead's score cannot increase above a certain level unless certain criteria are met (such as loading a specified asset or interacting with a sales rep).
Demographic scores can be modified by new information that helps qualify or disqualify a lead. These scores are typically based on explicit data, such as job title, but can be pushed back by behavioral metrics. If a lead revisits your careers page, for example, that indicates a change in their profile that requires a lower score.