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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