There is a strange similarity between transparency and love.
I find it a little humorous quite frankly, but let me try and explain. I don’t claim be a industry veteran by any means, but for the last 6 years or so I have continued to hear the topic of transparency. Everyone has a different definition of what transparency is, though. I have heard people claim it is only a scapegoat for lack of quality. I have heard buyers claim they don’t get enough of it from their lead sources and vice-versa. In all reality a certain level of transparency is needed for a successful partnership (Partnership = High Quality Leads = Positive Results) to be created.
What is transparency and does it mean different things to different people? Here is what I think buyers and sellers thing transparency means?
Buyers definition of transparency: Knowing exactly what each lead source is doing to generate leads. Knowing what the creative says and looks like, knowing where the ads are being placed, knowing the exact source of every lead (did they come from the another company or were they organically generated), what keywords are being bid on, etc
Sellers definition of transparency: Conversion data (contact rates, app rates, conversion rates, etc) knowing what the Lead management process is.
Let me know if you think something needs to be added to either of these definitions.
So, how does love compare to transparency, you ask. We like to call the relationship between buyers and sellers “partnerships”. These partnerships are similar to interpersonal relationships in that, in the early stages of the relationship, there is a lack of trust. The trust needs to be earned, and it can difficult to earn if one of the parties had been burned in the past. Whats funny is when the relationship gets to a point where both parties clearly care about each other, but both are afraid to be the first to say “I love you”. Neither really wants to stick there neck out there for fear they will get hurt. lol I can’t help but to laugh, because its a silly analogy, but I feel like its exactly what is going on in the lead gen space.
We have been talking about transparency for YEARS! We both want the same thing. Seriously, exactly the same thing! Lets just do it already. Should we plan a day where we say it at the same time, “I love you!” Why are companies simply not willing to share their data? Obviously there is an insecurity about sharing the data.
Do sellers really need all the information they want or are the just “nice to have”? Frankly, I think there are some cases where the requests are just nice to have and others are a necessity, for legal reason. Lets define what is actually needed. Thoughts?
Do sellers really need all the information they are requesting? I think they do. The real question is do they actually do anything with the data. All the data requested by sellers, if applied, can extremely help the performance of a campaign.
Last thought: I think we are making a ton of progress and we are close to standardizing the expectations of transparency. Both parties simply need to take a risk, stick their neck out there and be more transparent. Who knows, maybe you will find that it will strengthen the partnership.
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I would add:
To the buyers defintion: lead mix by source in aggregate; one 800-pound gorilla I am aware of is defining it to be real-time lead level source and sub-source data
To the sellers definition: context for the conversion rates – e.g. reasonable (not best vendor or reach) conversion targets or average conversion metrics
To take the love analogy another step: sellers are wary that after they say I love you (disclose sources) that their partners (buyers) will go behind their back (direct to the source – be it keywords or partners) – or dictate which friends (sources) they can or cannot hang out with.
These definitions are exactly how I would describe the desire for transparency on each side. Only thing I would add is would be to the seller definition where you talk about “knowing the process.” Lead sellers want to know both what the steps in the process are and the timeliness of those steps.
Great post!
@Dad
Can you explain what you mean by “real-time lead level source and sub-source data”.
Also, your are right. Sellers are afraid that the buyers will learn their trade secrets. In fact, I deleted a section out of this post talking about that. When it comes down to it, though, are they really trade secrets? There is a reason why buyers are buying leads. In most cases, with all the information available out there, they simply cannot do it on their own. I could rip all of courseadvisors keywords, but that doesn’t mean I will be able to duplicate their search results. I think lead gen companies need to evaluate their services and come to the reality that they could be duplicated and therefore do something about it. Hiding the info will only last so long.
Just a thought.
@Matt
Do they really need to know the processes? As buyer I did care about the “real-time” factor and the overall idea of how the leads were generated, but ultimately it came down to ROI, everything else was just noise. thoughts?
@Michael
Regarding lead gen services being duplicated, I agree. There really is enough information out there that *most* of lead gen could be initiated by the end users, but it’s too much work, too much time, and too much money. The value that lead gen companies bring is their team of full-timers, dedicated to quality volume production. Outsourced marketing is what it seems to be, more than anything else. And, with lenders struggling to keep afloat, they certainly don’t want to try and bring marketing in-house.
@Michael
I think in education there is a lot of desire for transparency because of the lack of efficiency in the lead market. Sellers want to know the process because it is a way for them to maximize the value of the product they are selling. I agree that the ultimate measure for a buyer is simply ROI – as long as the method of generation meets my standards. I am working on a longer explanation and would be happy to share.
Matt,
Please do share. my email is mike@leadcritic.com. If you are interested in sharing with all the blog readers I would be happy to post it too or link to it.