A key metric with online advertising efforts is lead generation, or the ability to produce an engaging message for which a potential customer would give their contact information. While generating leads, one really needs to take into account the quality of the leads and how best to utilize them to create a purchase.
Quality leads are necessary for success, because having a large quantity of unqualified leads does nothing more than flood a sales department with a pile of contacts to sort through (many of them useless). This in turn costs the company time and frustration. A best practice to employ when determining whom a lead gets passed along to is lead scoring.
Lead scoring assigns a point value to those that submit their contact information. The scale is generally 1 – 5, and the higher the lead score, the further along in the buying process, which means a greater immediate value to the advertiser. Lower score leads should nurtured rather than dismissed.
At this point, its time to decide which contact is best to work with the lead. Low score leads should go through the marketing team, as this is their chance to begin dialogue through e-mail blasts and newsletters with a potential new customer. High score leads should go to a sales team, allowing them the chance to verbally contact or personally e-mail the lead to begin the conversion process.
We are also able to optimize current campaigns and plan for future initiatives using the lead scoring data. Publishers that produce low score leads need to be evaluated to judge if they have the potential to be nurtured or if they are simply providing bad leads, in which case they should be canceled. Ultimately, the cost on a lower score lead should be less than the high score lead.
Dan Murray, Manager, Emerging Media
