I think we all know that data is the key to successful campaigns. As a lead buyer it is extremely important to aggregate your data to a single location where you can properly analysize the data. From there you can determin what sources, filters or sales persons perform the best. For the lead providers they can determin which marketing campaign is performing the best or the worse. Bottom line, data is the key to a successful marketing campaign.
Taking it a step further, with regards to lead buying, sharing that data amoungst your partners is key too. For most this is sounds like a broken record. Sharing data ranks up there with lead scoring for most popular topics in 2008. Maybe I am alone here, but if I have to sit through another conference session on the topic of lead scoring and how great it is without any applicable information being given, I may have to…I don’t know, somthing horrible. I digress, however it is amazing even the most “savvy” buyers or analyst simply want to put up a fight for data.
Fundamental #1
Give feedback to your provider, good and bad. If you can provide the leads that actually performed well back to the source it will help them optimize their efforts.
You may not see a huge change in your conversion numbers right away, but it will give the lead source indicators to make immediate or future changes that will eventually pay off for you.
.
.
.
LeadCritic,
I am with you here. Any marketing and sales consultant worth their salt will tell you that closing the loop between marketing and sales is the quickest way to get improvement from marketing.
Face it, when you buy leads you are outsourcing your marketing department (in a very efficient way). Why wouldn’t you evaluate your marketing department?
This is a very simple exercise. Regardless of how you are getting your leads there is a “leadid” provided by the lead provider–give them a list of those numbers and their current status and you will get results.
One thing I would add to LeadCritic’s comments–share data throughout the process. Don’t wait until closing data comes in. In a lot of cases contact data is even more valuable and impacting in tuning marketing performance.
Good stuff–thanks!
Bill
Absolutely Bill,
Communication and data should be shared throughout the process. I just spent the last half hour with one of the largest lead buyers in the country and he called me.
Not only does he pick up the phone when he receives calls, but he also picks up the phone and makes calls to his providers. Sometimes just to chat.
This strategy builds a solid relationship.
Maybe leads need built in flight recorders, this is a broken record, good buyers will stay good buyers, bad buyers who flip from source to source and don’t provide metrics will remain for as long as they are in business. My goal is to work with the new verticals and receptive remaining buyers on which metrics matter the most. Flippant but 09′ goal. ??