Dawn Orr, MD of The REaD Group plc’s subsidiary Scientia Data.
Apologies if the above title sounds sacrilegious, but Online Lead Generation (OLG) certainly seems to be on the lips of every marketer I meet these days. For good reason, as OLG is one of the most cost-effective methods of client prospecting. Why settle for buying simple clicks, after all, when you can meaningfully engage with motivated and interested customers poised to purchase. And in real-time, no less.
With the recession biting ever-harder, one doesn’t have to be Rupert Murdoch to be concerned about monetising your online content wherever possible. But as marketers stampede to secure new customers via any and all online means possible, I’m bemused by the fact that many are forgetting one important fundamental. Namely, that a lead is simply that – a lead. It’s not a guarantee of conversion or purchase. Regardless of whether you’re following up your online data capture with call centres, newsletters, eCRM or good, old fashioned DM, one forgets variables like incentive-, channel- and timeframe-optimisation at one’s peril, in my experience.
As marketers transition from volume- to value-based campaign models, I believe the new ‘holy trinity’ of customer prospecting is quality, price and validity. Whether your data capture is via bespoke landing pages or the likes of online games, surveys, quizzes or social networking sites, the ‘stickier’ and more response-geared these are, the more detailed (and valuable), the leads generated. Price should also be a consideration. Exclusive access to ‘hot’ prospects is no bad thing. Yes, you’ll pay a premium for these, but the increased ROI these prospect ‘diamonds’ can bring will be worth it in the long run. And ensure the validity of any purchased prospect data – particularly those generated on a pay-per-lead basis. In what must surely be the marketing equivalent of battery farming, many agencies are using response ‘boiler rooms’ in far flung places to skew their response rates. Just because OLG is in its infancy is no excuse for unscrupulous business practices. I don’t mean to sound like a scare monger, but believe me – it happens. Long story short: Always buy your leads from a reputable source and make sure the information you receive is properly permissioned and data protection compliant.
As the only marketing channel to see any positive growth in 2008 (up 19.2 per cent, according to the IAB), online is certainly at the forefront of counter-recessional marketing best practice. It’s no ‘magic bullet’, of course, but with OLG currently enjoying 71 per cent year-on-year growth (IDC), you’d have to be Helen Keller not to realise that this is an exciting and profitable marketing trend in the making.
May thine really be the prospecting kingdom. Forever and ever, amen.
Apologies if the above title sounds sacrilegious, but Online Lead Generation (OLG) certainly seems to be on the lips of every marketer I meet these days. For good reason, as OLG is one of the most cost-effective methods of client prospecting. Why settle for buying simple clicks, after all, when you can meaningfully engage with motivated and interested customers poised to purchase. And in real-time, no less.
With the recession biting ever-harder, one doesn’t have to be Rupert Murdoch to be concerned about monetising your online content wherever possible. But as marketers stampede to secure new customers via any and all online means possible, I’m bemused by the fact that many are forgetting one important fundamental. Namely, that a lead is simply that – a lead. It’s not a guarantee of conversion or purchase. Regardless of whether you’re following up your online data capture with call centres, newsletters, eCRM or good, old fashioned DM, one forgets variables like incentive-, channel- and timeframe-optimisation at one’s peril, in my experience.
As marketers transition from volume- to value-based campaign models, I believe the new ‘holy trinity’ of customer prospecting is quality, price and validity. Whether your data capture is via bespoke landing pages or the likes of online games, surveys, quizzes or social networking sites, the ‘stickier’ and more response-geared these are, the more detailed (and valuable), the leads generated. Price should also be a consideration. Exclusive access to ‘hot’ prospects is no bad thing. Yes, you’ll pay a premium for these, but the increased ROI these prospect ‘diamonds’ can bring will be worth it in the long run. And ensure the validity of any purchased prospect data – particularly those generated on a pay-per-lead basis. In what must surely be the marketing equivalent of battery farming, many agencies are using response ‘boiler rooms’ in far flung places to skew their response rates. Just because OLG is in its infancy is no excuse for unscrupulous business practices. I don’t mean to sound like a scare monger, but believe me – it happens. Long story short: Always buy your leads from a reputable source and make sure the information you receive is properly permissioned and data protection compliant.
As the only marketing channel to see any positive growth in 2008 (up 19.2 per cent, according to the IAB), online is certainly at the forefront of counter-recessional marketing best practice. It’s no ‘magic bullet’, of course, but with OLG currently enjoying 71 per cent year-on-year growth (IDC), you’d have to be Helen Keller not to realise that this is an exciting and profitable marketing trend in the making.
May thine really be the prospecting kingdom. Forever and ever, amen.
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