Lead Generation - What you need to know
Precision Marketing01-08-2008
Lead Generation is something that many marketers have heard of but few really understand. A lead is not a consumer clicking to try to win an i-pod and leaving their information. It is not a co-registration from a webpage and it is certainly not a name and number from an ancient telemarketed database.
A lead is a piece of information about a consumer who has stated they are interested in a product or service which you provide and given their express consent to be contacted about that product or service. It is not a gift wrapped guaranteed customer ready to sign on the dotted line. However, this person has responded to some form of response-geared marketing precisely because they are in the market for your service. And like any business your job is to grab that consumer, build a relationship and sell them your company and your ability to provide the service they want. In other words, by buying leads you are buying the results of marketing without having to speculate large sums trying to get those sought after responses.
Furthermore, online lead generation should give you access to prospective customers in real-time. That means receiving the information about a prospective customer within seconds of the consumer submitting their details online. Lead generation should also allow the marketer to define exactly what profile of prospective customer they want to target - only paying for each lead as it is received and returning leads which do not match the pre-defined criteria.
Sounds too good to be true? Lead Generation is not a magic solution, and it requires thorough planning in exactly the same way as any other marketing initiative. The hard parts are what you do before and after buying leads. First, get a clear understanding of who your potential customer is but be realistic. Your perfect customer may not exist but try to narrow the profile down as much as possible. Secondly, make sure you have processes in place to work the leads properly when you receive them. Finally, you need to budget and work out what you are prepared to commit and what you need to make to achieve a decent return on investment.
There is of course a valuable place for traditional marketing activities whether brand or response-orientated. But, whether you are a small, medium or large business, Managing Director or CEO, lead generation is the ultimate in Return on Investment marketing and will play a vital role in generating money for businesses in the future.
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