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Lead Scoring

Why Throw out the Playbook on HubSpot Lead Scoring Best Practices


It's time to change how we do HubSpot lead scoring because the old Best Practices just don't cut it anymore. Manual decisions and control are no longer enough to keep up. Thanks to new AI tools for predictive lead scoring and engagement analysis, we can work smarter. These tools use data and machine learning to help us pinpoint the best leads based on their actions and intent, past behaviour, contact characteristics and more depending specific on your company, making our job easier and more accurate. It's time to say goodbye to the old playbook and welcome these AI tools to make our lives simpler and our results better.

 

Your Approach to HubSpot Lead Scoring: Rethinking the Traditional Best Practices

As a marketer struggling with which marketing operations will bring you better results, you're likely in pursuit of more Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs). The landscape of marketing evolved significantly, and to succeed, you need to adapt your strategies. In this article, we will provide actionable and practical steps to help you generate more SQLs and optimize your marketing operations. Additionally, we'll introduce and explore valuable tools that can complement your efforts.


Step 1: Reevaluate Your Lead Scoring Model

The first step in generating more SQLs is to reevaluate your lead scoring model. Traditional HubSpot Lead Scoring Best Practices often fail to capture the nuances of today's dynamic customer behaviors. Instead of relying solely on demographic and behavioral factors, consider implementing predictive lead scoring models that leverage AI and data analytics. But what can you do in HubSpot about Lead Scoring? 

One established scoring system, is the two-dimensional scoring model. This combines explicit contact data, such as age, company size, industry or function, and implicit data, such as website visits or form submissions of a contact. There's also the simple HubSpot Standard Scoring, a feature within the HubSpot platform that allows marketers to assign a numerical score to leads based on their interactions with the company. The score indicates how interested a lead is in the company’s products and services, and it can be used to determine which leads should be prioritized in the sales cycle. 

HubSpot Predictive Lead Scoring is a tool that uses machine learning algorithms to score leads based on the likelihood that they will convert into customers. It uses a variety of factors such as website activity, demographics, firmographics, and past interactions to determine the lead score.

Utilizing AI tools for engagement lead scoring in HubSpot can significantly enhance your lead prioritization process. These AI-driven solutions analyze various factors, contact's past behaviour, including email interactions, website visits, content engagement, and more, to automatically assign scores to your leads based on their level of engagement and interest. And even predict the likelihood of a contact engaging with your next email. With AI-powered engagement lead scoring, you can identify and focus on leads that exhibit genuine interest and are more likely to convert.

What to Do:

Take the time to analyze your existing lead scoring model and identify areas for improvement. Consider adopting predictive lead scoring tools like Thalox, that using machine learning can predict the likehood of your contacts engaging with your next email. Leadspace or Infer can also enhance your lead prioritization process.

 

Step 2: Personalize Your Messaging

Personalization is key to engaging leads effectively. Rather than sending generic emails and content to your entire list, tailor your messaging to each lead's specific needs and interests. Today, adhering to HubSpot Lead Scoring Best Practices leads you to personalised your content through tokens and dynamic content. While automation in HubSpot allows for some level of personalization based on predefined rules and criteria, it often falls short when it comes to adapting to the intricacies of individual customer behavior.

An AI-powered audience segmentation tool offers a significant advantage over the automated personalization features available in HubSpot. AI-driven personalization goes beyond basic it can analyze vast amounts of data in real-time to identify emerging trends, customer preferences, and behavioral shifts that may not be apparent through manual rule-setting. This enables AI to create audience segments that are highly responsive to the ever-changing dynamics of your target audience.

Moreover, AI tools can predict future behavior, allowing you to proactively personalize content and offers for each segment. By understanding and adapting to the evolving needs and interests of your audience, AI-powered personalization ensures that your personalization efforts are always one step ahead, resulting in higher engagement, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction.

In essence, personalizing your message through AI-powered tools takes you to a whole new level by leveraging the latest advancements in machine learning and data analysis. It enables businesses to create highly adaptive and responsive campaigns that resonate deeply with their audience, ultimately driving better results and fostering stronger customer relationships.

Personalization ensures that each customer interaction feels tailored specifically to their unique preferences and behaviors, enhancing the overall customer experience.

What to Do:

You can leverage the power of HubSpot's email marketing tools and Thalox's AI-powered audience segmentation tool to deliver personalized content and increase email conversion rates. You can also explore the personalization content capabilities of tools like HubSpot AI Assistant and Lavander.

 

Step 3: Clean Up Your Database

A cluttered and outdated database can hinder your marketing efforts. Regular database maintenance ensures that you are targeting the right audience, enhancing lead quality, and optimizing your resources. It's crucial to establish a routine for cleaning your database, typically recommended on a quarterly or bi-annual basis, to remove inactive or irrelevant contacts, correct data inaccuracies, and keep your records up to date.

Conducting regular audits also allows you to identify and rectify any inconsistencies or duplicates, ensuring that your segmentation and personalization efforts remain accurate. By cleaning up your database, you not only improve the accuracy of your lead scoring but also enhance the overall health of your marketing campaigns, resulting in higher engagement rates and a more efficient use of your marketing resources.

The cleaning up process also includes having a clear plan to organize gathered information and setting patterns for better property filling and data quality. Imagine: If only 1% of your marketing contacts accurately list job titles, and you're creating a list based on it, your target group could be way off.

AI-powered insights can offer valuable predictions and data insights to help you grow your business. Use density charts, dashboards, and AI-powered scores to gain a deeper understanding of your audience's behavior and preferences. 

What to Do:

Schedule regular clean-up sessions for your database to remove inactive contacts and ensure that you're targeting the right audience. For that, you can utilize Thalox to spotlight pivotal contact properties that significantly influence the chances of a contact engaging with your campaigns. You can also create custom data reports in HubSpot and consider using data cleansing tools like ZoomInfo and Clearbit to ensure data accuracy. Additionally, tools like IBM Watson and Google AI can provide advanced AI capabilities.

 

Step 4: Focus on Customer Journey Mapping

Understanding where your leads are in their customer journey is crucial for effective lead nurturing. Map out the customer journey stages, and use predictive analytics to identify where each lead falls in the journey. This enables you to tailor your messaging and content to guide them toward becoming SQLs.  

The customer journey is no longer a linear path, thanks to the digital age. Prospects can engage with your brand across multiple touchpoints and channels, making it challenging to assign a static lead score accurately. A lead who interacts with your content today might be more interested than one who engaged a month ago. Traditional lead scoring lacks the flexibility to account for these dynamic customer journeys.

HubSpot's marketing automation can track lead behavior and interactions, but Consider the journey of a potential customer in the B2B software industry. They may start by reading a blog post, then subscribe to your newsletter, attend a webinar, and finally request a product demo. Traditional lead scoring might assign fixed values to each of these actions. However, the true value of these actions can vary depending on factors like the prospect's job role, the industry they work in, and their current stage in the buying process. A dynamic lead scoring model that takes these factors into account can better reflect the lead's real-time engagement and intent.

What to Do: Create a comprehensive customer journey map and integrate predictive analytics tools like Thalox. HubSpot Predictive Lead Scoring can also help you to score leads based on the likelihood that they will convert into customers.

Personalizing your message through AI-powered tools takes you to a whole new level by leveraging the latest advancements in machine learning and data analysis.

 

Step 5: Optimize Your HubSpot Subscription

If you're using HubSpot, making the most of its features involves a comprehensive approach to data management that can also lead to cost savings. One effective strategy is to review your database regularly and identify inactive contacts. By deleting these inactive contacts, you can not only improve data accuracy but also save money on your subscription costs, as HubSpot pricing often depends on the number of contacts in your database. This pruning of your contact list ensures that you are not paying for unnecessary or unengaged leads, freeing up resources for more targeted and impactful marketing efforts.

In addition to cost savings, optimizing your data within HubSpot includes conducting thorough data audits to rectify inaccuracies, cleaning up duplicates, and enriching contact records with relevant information. Leveraging HubSpot's advanced data analytics tools enables you to gain deeper insights into audience behavior and campaign performance. With a finely tuned database and comprehensive data analytics, you not only enhance lead scoring accuracy but also ensure that your marketing resources are allocated efficiently, resulting in higher engagement rates and a more cost-effective subscription.

What to Do: Activate Thalox's HubSpot integration to seamlessly extract contact data and segment leads, also you can identify your inactive contacts. Other tools for that are Databox and Supermetrics for advanced data analysis and reporting within HubSpot.

 

Step 6: Trust a HubSpot-Certified Partner

When choosing tools and integrations for your marketing operations, trust HubSpot-certified apps that ensure the safety, security, and GDPR compliance of your data, giving you peace of mind while optimizing your operations. 

Beyond tools, certified partners can offer a variety of services that can enhance your HubSpot experience. These services may include comprehensive data analysis, campaign optimization, and strategic guidance tailored to your business's unique needs. By partnering with a certified expert, you gain access to a wealth of knowledge and resources that can supercharge your marketing operations. Whether it's refining your lead scoring model, streamlining data integration, or implementing advanced automation, a trusted HubSpot-certified partner can provide invaluable support to help you achieve your marketing goals with confidence.

What to Do

Prioritize certified HubSpot integrations like Thalox to ensure data security and compliance while harnessing the full potential of your marketing tools. Consider exploring consulting services from HubSpot Partners.

 

As a marketer striving to generate more Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs), it's crucial to adapt to the changing marketing landscape. By reevaluating your lead scoring model, personalizing your messaging, cleaning up your database, focusing on customer journey mapping, optimizing your HubSpot subscription, leveraging AI-powered insights, and trusting certified partners like Thalox, you can supercharge your marketing operations and achieve your SQL goals. With the right tools and strategies, success is within reach. 

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