Commentary

Who's Your MVP?

Want to double returns from your lead generation? It's simple: just identify your MVPs and focus your conversion marketing on them.

Who are MVPs? They are your Most Valuable Prospects. They are like the best customers you have now or the ones you wish you had. They have the highest lifetime value to your business, and getting more of them would mean a major bump in your margins. And with the right blend of segmentation and lead generation technique, you can find them and convert them cost-effectively.

Defining Your MVPs

The first step in selling MVPs involves describing them. Traditionally, marketers have described target segments in demographic terms, e.g., men aged 25 - 54 with $50K income. But quality online lead-gen lets you do better. You might define MVPs based upon the revenue they bring, their willingness to trade up, their frequency of using your product or even their attitude toward the economy. To do this, you simply need to capture information beyond contact data. Let's assume you've identified the three top variables that you feel best characterize your target prospect. Anyone who ranks in the top tier on all three is your MVP.

Once your MVP is defined, the next important step is to quantify their value to your business, and what proportion of that value you're willing to spend to acquire them. That spending target is vital in determining how far you can go to convert an MVP from a prospect to a customer.

Data, Segmentation and Conversion

But how do you get the data? It's all about building relationships. Start by considering the type of education, information or incentive that has attracted your best current customers. Chances are your MVPs will find similar offers appealing.

To get the offer, prospects need to identify themselves and answer a handful of questions based on your top variables. The questions should be integrated into your landing page. Let's figure you are collecting information for a financial services product. You might be most concerned about your prospects' assets, their attitude toward risk and when they are looking to purchase. Develop a range for each of these. For example, assets could be classified as above $1 million, $500K - $1 million, $250K - $500K, under $250K.

Once the prospect's answers are in your database, it is very easy to build out segmentation. In our example, an MVP would have assets over $1 million, want to buy ASAP and also be in line with your needs on risk profile. That MVP should get your best ongoing sales and marketing efforts -- maybe additional incentives to act now, perhaps special "platinum" perks. It just makes sense to be willing to spend more time and money to close a prospect who offers the greatest lifetime value. When an MVP raises their hand, it is an important event. It's not a real exaggeration to say that marketers and salespeople should drop everything, call the MVP and maybe even send flowers, You want their business, so do whatever you can.

But apply the same principle to all segments. A prospect that's second-tier across the board may be worth somewhat less than your MVP, but still warrants greater-than-average attention. Based on what you've set as a conversion budget for each segment, you might decide, for example, to reach other tiers with relatively more email than phone or mail. Or maybe you'll alter follow-up messaging to reflect a different asset level or risk profile.

Making It Happen

Focus on MVPs and tailoring conversion spending by segment can be a relatively simple process if your lead generation is designed for data capture and your sales and marketing teams are able to put disproportionate time against highest value prospects. A growing number of companies have moved to this ROI orientation. It just makes sense when capital is tight and those MVPs are out there waiting for you.

1 comment about "Who's Your MVP?".
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  1. John Faulkner from The Drew Morgan Company, July 9, 2009 at 6:10 p.m.

    I recently reached out to a company requesting a top sales person call me to provide detailed information of their product. I explained clearly I was in the final decision stage, among three competing brands, for making a purchase.

    I never heard back from them other than an automated email reply saying they appreciate my business.

    It appears I am not a MVP to them. Oh well...

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