Worried about Your Lead Generation Program? DMi Partners Unveils the Top Five Mistakes

Feb. 23, 2011 - PRLog -- Thinking about starting – or rebooting – an online lead generation program? DMi Partners today unveiled its list of the five critical errors organizations make when structuring their lead generation programs. According to DMi (http://www.dmipartners.com), the failure to act quickly on leads remains the most common mistake, but many marketers often also neglect to gauge the relative importance of data, or accurately determine a lead’s intentions.  Rounding out the list are inflexible contracts, a poor understanding of lead sources and a lack of preparation.

“Lead generation remains both a science and an art, and for a program to be successful there needs to be careful planning from the start, as well as an ability to modify the campaign and remain flexible as circumstances dictate,” said Fernando Borghese, Executive Vice President, DMi Partners. “Moving quickly on leads is obviously a key consideration, but if the organization does not have a complete understanding of the user experience, or an ability to manipulate all the moving parts of a lead generation campaign, resources can be wasted.”

DMi Partners lists these top five mistakes marketers make in lead generation (http://www.dmipartners.com/services/sales.aspx):

1.   Starting with poor planning. Before any organization launches a lead generation initiative, they should take the time to map out the user experience from start to finish. This process will help determine what types of communication will most effectively move the lead through the sales funnel (e-mail, SMS, phone, direct mail), and ensure that the responsibilities for each step in the process are clearly assigned to the correct party. This extra step will keep critical details from slipping through the cracks, and will help turn leads into sales.

2.   Being inflexible. Because campaigns evolve and change, it’s critical to build flexibility into contract terms.  Negotiating for short out clauses and low minimums provides the ability to adjust the campaign as time goes on. Additionally, negotiating for category exclusivity with the lead source can give your lead gen campaign the extra leg up over the competition.

3.   Getting too much data. It’s critical to find the right mix of questions to qualify leads, but prices tend to increase as more questions are added. It’s all too easy to collect more data than is actually needed. Capturing the time frame for the lead’s intent to purchase is also often overlooked, resulting in companies paying for window shoppers.

4.   Sitting on the lead. The longer a lead goes without being contacted, the less it’s worth. Organizations should make sure that they can accept leads in real-time, and get them into the system as soon as they are generated. When possible, an email auto-responder should also be used, to quickly start a flow of communication with multiple touch points. Finally, many companies neglect to make use of day-parting. If a call center or sales floor is not open, the flow of leads should be stopped. Again, real-time is key.

5.   Failing to track lead sources. For any program using multiple sources to generate leads, it’s critical to track each source uniquely, but too often this important step is overlooked. Implementation of unique tracking links and phone numbers will allow the marketer to make informed analytical decisions to optimize the campaign. When adjusting the program, flexibility is crucial – and that includes the data being collected, the creative being used, and the lead pricing. Tweaking any of those can prove to be a critical step in optimizing a campaign.

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Founded in 2003, DMi Partners is a Performance Marketing Agency that delivers real, tangible results for clients through the development and implementation of digital marketing programs. Whether you are an online college looking to maximize your recruitment strategy, a financial services firm seeking a stronger link with customers and prospects, or any other business that thrives on qualified leads, DMi Partners can help you increase the productivity of your digital marketing program, drive growth and build your bottom line.