Online lead generation effective but overlooked

The most effective methods of generating leads are all online, according to a new survey of internet marketers conducted by e-consultancy and Clash-Media, but marketers aren’t taking advantage of them.

by Helen Leggatt

A survey of over 400 marketers, carried out at the beginning of 2007, delved in to how companies use the internet for lead generation, if at all. It found that despite its importance less than half of the respondent’s companies used the internet to generate qualified prospect’s information. Twelve percent of respondents claimed they “haven’t come across this”.

“Lead generation should be an integral part of any marketer or sales director’s budget. But despite its importance for businesses, online lead generation has only recently begun to emerge as a distinct area of marketing,” said Simon Wajcenberg, CEO, Clash-Media in a recent press release.

The survey also revealed that, amongst those companies that responded, the most effective online lead generation methods were paid search and natural search. Just 16 percent of companies stated they used lead aggregators, buying lists of target prospects, and over three quarters said they did not.

Tags: Clash-Media, e-consultancy, lead aggregator, lead generation, natural search, paid search

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Tom Ritter

Many small businesses HAVE invested in the web to grow business at some point.
Most likely either a website, or perhaps even Pay Per Click advertising, but without any real results to instill trust in the concept of online lead-gen.
Now it is a few years later and they are still scratching their head wondering when "the internet" is going to pay off.
The above scenario makes it doubly hard to get a decisionmaker to recognize the online lead-generation potential that truly exists. Face it, they feel like they got burned once already and dont want to fall into the same trap twice. No soup for you!
I have been there. I ran some online marketing initiatives for one previous employer that underperformed significantly.
Reason?
Great ideas. Wrong tools. (my bad)
While online marketing is nothing new, the best in class tools and methodology are a mystery to most businesses. Even when I had 5 or 6 years of online lead-gen experience I did not have the BEST tools for the job.
So now this previous employer has no real investment in lead-gen online. They also have no idea that a website that ties-in/supports their offline lead-gen efforts would make those efforts measurably more effective.
Adding insult to injury......

This particular company sells technology services in a major market. I dont suppose they want to know how many Google searches happen everyday for their services, within their target geographic area.
Many just keep spending in the Yellow Pages in a way that is both behind the curve, and difficult to quantify.
All the while the competition counts online as a primary lead-gen pipeline.

(3 of my previous employers brand competitors are now clients of mine, and I am working on a BIG 4th. Cruel irony.)
Many clients are re-allocating yellow pages budgets to Google. Lead gen is real, and there are case studies in any product or service vertical to prove it.
To paint with broad strokes, it is a two-step process:
#1 Make your site a true resource for prospects and customers alike. If you offer VALUE, and use the right tools, the return will be in the form of leads.
#2 Find a way to drive customers and qualified prospects to your web resources. It will not be a case of "If you build it, they will come." Trust me, they wont.
Dont miss the boat. I have a realtor, a pizzeria, a religious shrine, and over 300 other clients who sell technology products and services. All see the value of the web for lead-gen.
There is no business that cannot enhance itself using the internet.
Find someone knowledgable and trustworthy to help you identify the opportunity. If you cant find someone like that, feel free to give me a call ;-)
Oh, by the way........Start a blog already.

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