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Lead scoring is a necessary tool in modern marketing, allowing businesses to prioritize leads based on their potential to convert. HubSpot has recently taken this to the next level by integrating Amplitude's behavioral insights into its lead scoring functionality.
In this post, we'll explore what lead scoring is, why it's crucial for your marketing and sales teams, and how HubSpot’s latest updates, including the addition of Amplitude insights, can transform your approach to lead conversion..
What is Lead Scoring?
Definition: Lead scoring is the process of assigning numerical values to potential leads based on their behavior and how well they align with your ideal customer profile (ICP). It helps marketing and sales teams prioritize leads, ensuring that the most promising prospects receive the attention they need.
Types of Lead Scores
- Engagement Scores – These scores are based on lead interactions with your brand, such as email opens, website visits, and product usage.
- Fit Scores – These scores focus on how well a lead matches your ICP, considering factors like industry, company size, and job title.
Examples of Lead Scoring in Action
For example, a software company might prioritize leads who:
- Visit key product pages multiple times.
- Attend a webinar.
- Download a white paper.
These actions increase the lead’s engagement score, helping the sales team focus on high-value prospects.
Why Lead Scoring is Important
Current Challenges in Lead Conversion
Many businesses struggle with declining conversion rates and prolonged sales cycles. Without proper prioritization, sales teams can spend too much time on low-quality leads, wasting resources and missing out on high-value opportunities.
Benefits of Lead Scoring
- Efficiency: By focusing on the highest-scoring leads, marketing and sales teams can work more efficiently, leading to better resource allocation.
- Alignment: Lead scoring provides clear metrics for both marketing and sales, improving collaboration and ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
- Impact: Businesses that implement lead scoring effectively often see shorter sales cycles, higher conversion rates, and reduced wasted efforts.
What Are the New HubSpot Lead Scoring Updates?
HubSpot has enhanced its lead scoring system with new features designed to make scoring more flexible, predictive, and data-driven. These include:
Score Builder
The Score Builder offers increased flexibility, allowing you to create custom scores based on a wide array of behaviors and attributes. You can now segment leads more precisely and adjust your criteria as needed.
AI-Assisted Scoring
In the Private Beta for Marketing Hub Enterprise, AI-Assisted Scoring takes accuracy to new heights by using machine learning to predict which leads are most likely to convert. This feature is designed to remove human bias and make lead scoring more dynamic.
Amplitude Insights Integration
One of the standout updates is the integration of Amplitude insights into HubSpot’s lead scoring. This enables you to incorporate product usage data—such as feature engagement and active usage—into your lead scoring model. Marketers can now serve better leads to sales by understanding exactly how prospects are interacting with their product.
Tactical Tip: Use Amplitude insights to track behavior patterns like daily active users or time spent in-app, which can indicate a lead's readiness to buy
Score Reporting
New reporting features give you detailed insights into how your scores evolve over time. This makes it easier to understand which factors are contributing to high or low scores, allowing you to fine-tune your scoring criteria.
Scoring Thresholds and CRM Card
The update also includes Scoring Thresholds that trigger actions once a lead hits a certain score, and a CRM Card that makes lead scores more visible to sales teams, helping them act faster on high-priority leads.
Why These Updates Matter
Strategic Importance
The integration of Amplitude and AI-driven features allowing teams to track not only lead engagement but also product usage. This means you can identify the leads that are not just engaged but also demonstrating buying intent through their behavior within your product.
Competitive Advantage
By leveraging these tools, businesses can gain a significant edge in their lead conversion efforts. With deeper insights into user behavior, marketing teams can craft more personalized campaigns, while sales teams can focus on leads most likely to convert
Future-Proofing
The rise of AI and advanced analytics in lead scoring ensures that your business stays ahead of market trends, enabling you to adapt to changes in customer behavior and industry standards. HubSpot’s integration with Amplitude is just the beginning of a more data-driven, personalized approach to lead management.
Lead Scoring Best Practices
Getting Started
- Set clear criteria for both engagement and fit scores based on your current customer data.
- Use historical data to identify the behaviors and attributes most strongly correlated with conversions.
Refinement
- Continuously adjust your scoring models based on real-time performance insights. The new Score Reporting feature makes this easier than ever.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Over complication: Don’t create overly complex scoring models. Start simple and gradually add complexity as you gather more insights.
- Ignoring Feedback Loops: Always analyze how changes in your scoring affect sales outcomes. If necessary, adjust your criteria based on what’s working and what’s not.
