B2B Marketing: The Perfect MQL
Recently I have been discussing what the perfect Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) looks like. It’s a complex question and as with many complex questions, it depends on context.
Before diving into the topic, I think it's worth noting that the notion of a 'perfect' anything in business is essentially an ideal that we strive towards, and in the case of MQLs, it's determined by the goals it needs to fulfill. When we talk about MQLs in B2B marketing, we're referring to leads that have shown a higher level of interest and engagement with your business. They are often generated through content marketing, digital advertising, email campaigns, and other inbound marketing strategies. The reason we have MQLs, or indeed any lead qualification process, is to effectively prioritise and manage the leads we receive, so our sales teams can work more efficiently.
If you’re new to the concept of MQLs taking a quick look at the lifecycle of a lead will be beneficial. It begins when someone becomes a subscriber to your website or content. They're just starting to get to know you, and at this stage, their engagement is usually quite low. The next stage is when they become a lead. This is when they have shown interest and taken some action, such as downloading an eBook or signing up for a webinar. The next stage in the journey is when a lead becomes an MQL. This is when they've demonstrated enough interest or intent that they're considered worth passing on to the sales team. After that, a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is an MQL that the sales team has accepted as worth pursuing further. An opportunity is an SQL that is currently being dealt with by the sales team and has a value assigned to it, the final stage is 'won' (a new customer) or 'lost' (a lead that didn't convert).
Let's go back to the idea of the 'perfect' MQL. Why do we work so hard to create MQLs? Is it to hit a quarterly target, is it in the hopes that an MQL will convert to an SQL as most marketing teams believe their responsibility stops there or is it for something else?
The goal of MQL generation is to provide the sales team with high-quality leads that are likely to result in revenue and a positive ROI for the business.
To reiterate, the purpose of generating MQLs is not to hit MQL targets it is to create revenue, ROI and to drive growth for the business.
Does this mean that marketing teams should have revenue targets rather than MQL targets? In some cases, yes, revenue should be the north star guiding the marketing team and MQLs, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and conversion rates (as well as other metrics) should be included in the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) you focus on to achieve the revenue target. E.g. you have predicted that in Q4 you’re going to fall short of your revenue target. You have a few options available to you, one being to increase the number of MQLs meaning that more deals are likely to close. Another is to increase the predicted CLV of your MQL through upselling and cross-selling to hit the target.
In any case as a team, you need to ensure that only high-quality leads get passed onto sales, there are several strategies we can employ to achieve this. For example, nurturing funnels and lead scoring are two key techniques that can be utilised. Nurturing funnels involves a series of targeted communications designed to engage and educate leads until they're ready to become MQLs. Lead scoring assigns a numerical value to each lead based on specific criteria, allowing you to prioritise leads based on their score or to use automation to set them to an MQL once they pass a threshold.
Form priority can also help in this process. For example, if a visitor fits your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and fills out a sales enquiry form, they could be considered an MQL immediately. But if they have only downloaded an eBook, they might still be in the 'lead' stage and require further nurturing.
After all, how many times have you appreciated a call from sales after downloading an eBook…
In addition to this tracking and reporting on MQLs is crucial for continually improving their quality. This involves monitoring key metrics, such as conversion rates and ROI. A true data-driven strategy will also allow you to understand which channels and tactics are the most likely to convert to a highly profitable sale, it goes without saying that these are the areas you should focus your attention on.
In summary, the perfect MQL in B2B marketing is a lead that has a high likelihood of turning into a revenue-generating customer. Remember, while the notion of 'perfection' might be subjective and ever-evolving, striving towards it can lead to better, more efficient processes and ultimately, higher ROI.
About the Author
Jack Hardy is the Head of Marketing at Jam 7, a Chartered Marketer, and an award winning CIM board member with over a decade of experience in crafting B2B growth strategies across various technology platforms and SaaS providers. At Jam 7, he leads a team of Growth Agents by fusing human expertise with AI to unlock ambitious B2B tech brands growth potential.