Lead Generation Blog

Precision Launches Call-based Lead Generation

January 19, 2009

Precision has been busy re-working about as many things as you can imagine to ensure that the success of our business continues through this economic hardship. I am proud to announce that we have completed our investment portal, www.thebest-investments.com, are almost done with our health portal, and that we are also now able to deliver call-based leads to advertisers.

With pay-for-call (PFC), the advertiser pays only when a call is generated from an advertisement. PFC is a great way to generate leads to businesses that are interested in speaking to customers immediately, rather than waiting for the phone number to be delivered at another time. The calls get forwarded to any number the advertiser provides, and we recommend that a “live” sales person be available during whatever business hours the advertiser decides to post along with the number. The phone number can be a toll-free number or a local number. Of course Precision will continue to collect leads online 24/7 so that you our advertisers can continue to reach consumers/investors at anytime.

Posted by Marcela Shine in Lead Generation | 0 Comments

When Times Are Tough the Tough Get… Googling?

November 10, 2008

Even in this time of economic despair, there seems to be a light of hope for online marketers. I just read a very interesting and reassuring article written by Aaron Goldman on the Search Insider Blog. Goldman discusses the recession and its current effects on Search Engine Marketing. The good news is – the recession is actually positively affecting Search Engine Marketing. FINALLY there is something constructive coming out of this horrible financial state that our country is currently in! A study conducted by OMD’s Snapshots found that, on average, people are spending 87 minutes surfing the web per day during this recession. According to the study, people are spending so much time online in order to escape from their economic troubles. From an SEO standpoint this is great news: People may not be buying anything, but they are spending almost an hour-and-a-half each day searching online. This is very obviously valuable for search engine marketers, and therefore is causing many online marketers to shift their business model toward SEO practices.

Posted by Emily Meyer in Advertising and Marketing | Comments closed

Google Up, SEM Down

October 20, 2008

Just finished reading today’s Search Insider from Media Post. Steve Baldwin cheers at Google’s reported 18% increase in paid clicks over Q3 2007. I know people love to hate Google, but in today’s economic situation, I am happy for any growth news in our industry.

What really caught me about the article (Read the entire article here), however, was Mr. Baldwin’s great closing statements.

Despite this obvious and very real opportunity, I do remain doubtful about whether we in SEM, especially in the SEM agency sector, are doing a good enough job of reaching these spenders and convincing them of the value of outsourcing search to a specialist firm. Frankly, I think that many advertisers have had enough of our pitches… You really can’t blame these people, who are reacting rationally to the “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” scenario. The onus is on us at SEM agencies to prove our case, realistically, free of jargon, hype, and especially over-promising. We need to start acting less like salespeople, and more like serious business consultants. If we can’t be honest and forthcoming about what we can — and can’t — do for our clients… we shouldn’t be surprised when these people slam the door in our faces.”

Advertisers are considering their return on investment now more than ever. They want to reward their valuable (and shrinking) marketing dollars to those of us that differentiate by delivering success, accountability and a high level of account management while managing to their reduced budgets. Simple formula… right?

Posted by Marcela Shine in Advertising and Marketing | Comments closed

Email & Social Networks Go Together Like Peanut Butter and Jelly

October 13, 2008

Email and Social Networks are much like peanut butter and jelly; they are great on their own but are even better together. I stumbled upon an interesting article that discusses the email marketer’s shift to include social networking. As society is starting to live by social networking sites, email marketers are taking the cue and working to integrate both in their campaigns.

The article mentions that many industry experts are predicting that due to spam filter restrictions, and shifts in budget toward social networking, email marketing will lose its spotlight in the Web 2.0 world. That being said, it only makes sense that email marketers would start brainstorming on how to integrate two very compatible sectors that already work hand in hand.

I believe this shift will be very successful for the email marketer. By socializing email campaigns, the email marketer will be able to get to know their consumer better, and personalize their campaign to meet the consumer’s needs. In addition, as mentioned in the article, since there is no competition between the two, there is no need to worry about one out doing the other. It is a win/win situation because they will continue to make the other better.

Posted by Emily Meyer in Advertising and Marketing | Comments closed

Being a Talking Head

October 3, 2008

Being a talking head on an industry panel is pretty cool. You get to share all kinds of cutting edge info about online lead generation and look smart with savvy internet marketers, who are by nature a cynical bunch. Plus you get a speaker’s credential.

So, at OMMA’s (Online Media Marketing Advertising) last panel of the conference on Friday, 09/19 at 4:15 PM I took the stage with industry peers Zephrin Lasker, founder/CEO of Pontiflex and Ryan Suchlike, VP of Media Distribution for Clash Media with finance lead gen Guru Gary Kriessman moderating. Needless to say we all had our game faces on and waxed poetically about optimizing online lead generation ROI.

It was cool because we had a chance to share state-of-the-market tactics with the audience, who were very engaged, given that it was the final panel of the conference as I mentioned. The crowd was served a big heaping expert dish of the following strategy, tactics and trends.

Online Audience Development
Online Customer Acquisition
The importance of content and how to scale it demographics
What are some of the most effective metrics in tracking
Dual advocacy for the users and advertisers to drive engaged traffic
The Comprehensive Online Marketing Mix
The Marketing Lead vs. The Sales Lead
Managing Client Expectations

If I had the editorial real estate to indulge my ego, I would of course engage you, the reader in a full-scale knowledge transfer module on all of the above (I know you want that, since I’ve been on a panel recently right?) LOL.

Seriously though, all of the aforementioned concepts do make an effective branded digital experience for your users and they are definitely worth a search for a white paper.

Posted by David Muhammad in General | 1 Comment

Leads From Under the Bed

June 27, 2008

Question 1: How do you generate leads in a category when your potential customers seem to be hiding under the bed? That’s essentially the question many financial marketers are asking.

Offers that worked for many years have seen much lower response. We’re talking about staples such as primers for investors new to a category or webinars for more advanced investors. Response rates have dropped as the markets have.

So what’s working? Many financial marketers are succeeding by directly confronting the worry that’s in the market today – either by showing there are alternatives or by appealing to the contrarian part of human nature. How does this work? In effect, remind consumers that avoiding the markets doesn’t solve anything. It is better to take some educated action, to try something new, to take advantage of others’ fear. For the contrarian - history has shown that the best time to buy is during the greatest despair. Stake out a position as an alternative and you’ll attract the right prospects.

To make this work well, marketers need to rethink their products as well. Sensitivity to down or turbulent markets is just a band aid if the product doesn’t offer tangible solutions to downside protection or leverage.

Question 2: Why should you care about the plight of the poor financial industry if you’re looking for leads in other categories? Because financial is often the leading indicator for what will happen across the economy. Marketers of discretionary products need to plan how they can change messaging and product attribute to continue to attract new users in a less affluent time. Timeliness – recognizing new realities of consumers’ economic life – shows you get it.

Performance advertising is the ideal laboratory to measure which alternative messages work. What attracts opt-in and makes money in CPL applies to the broader marketing plan.

Posted by Gary Kreissman in Lead Generation | 1 Comment

Things To Know About Maximizing Lead Performance

June 13, 2008

I just read a very interesting article on MediaPost.com: Four Strategies For Maximizing Lead Performance. There are many important things to consider when it comes to optimizing lead performance. First, it is important to realize lead generation providers are not simply money making machines. They may have a very logical and profitable business model in place to generate leads for your business, but an effort needs to be made on both ends. “A vendor can provide the greatest, most eager leads in the world, but if they aren’t responded to quickly and persuasively, they soon begin to diminish in value.” It is important for the advertiser to recognize that publishers use different varieties of inventory which can have a significant impact on the lead quality. Companies should recognize the importance of communicating with the publisher on the lead quality so they can adjust the inventory and placements.

“Some advertisers even score performance by source ID, giving their lead provider granular insight on the performance of their traffic sources.” I believe this statement to be true. As long as vendors provide a source ID corresponding to each lead generated the advertiser should have no problem communicating the lead performance in a timely fashion.

Although this next statement is a cliché, I find it to be an essential strategy to consider in the lead generation business — Timing is everything. Vendors can send the most qualified prospects who are actively interested in a particular product, however you MUST follow up with these prospects immediately. The time sensitivity for follow up communication varies from one sector to another. For example, health offers vs. investment offers have different follow-up timing criteria to optimize conversions. There is a general rule of thumb that lead quality decreases over time exponentially. In my own experiences, I have found this to be true — I had a client whose conversion rates increased by 10% simply as a result of starting to follow up with the delivered prospects immediately instead of the following day. This goes to show how time sensitive the lead quality is to the advertiser. I believe the two most important aspects to maximizing lead performance is effective communication with the lead provider and follow up response time.

Posted by Eric Schwartz in Lead Generation | 1 Comment

Leads: Can’t Live With Them, Can’t Live Without Them

June 3, 2008

As we turn toward tighter economic times, we increasingly see the squeeze on marketing dollars. What started out as a MarCom Mangers’ dream of a media mix is leading toward strict media buys with “guaranteed results.”

CPL/CPA media jargon oozes out of our mouths with the equivocal promise of, “The streets are paved with gold.” Expectations are locked in a vicious circle between sales teams to marketing departments, to media agencies, onto publishers and back to sales teams. The term lead is highly subjective and becomes a convenient foundation of a love-hate relationship. Leads: Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

Lead gen is purchased in hopes that the majority of the output is not only perfect (just short of receiving the respondents social security number and blood type), but will sign on the dotted line upon the first call or email. I know others in the lead gen provider space can agree with me that CPL is just another branch in a media mix. Advertising, by Wikipedia’s and my Marketing 101 professor’s definition, is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers. Name generation is a form of communication in attempt to persuade potential customers with collateral in return for their name (real or pseudo name).

Like other forms of advertising that preceded CPL, this is not an exact science. As we near the halfway point of 2008, it is safe to say that all those using the internet are very well versed. The jig is up and registration pages have lost their shine. Super savvy internet users know the catch behind providing their very sacred information in return for a “free whitepaper.”

This conundrum is plaguing CPL providers everywhere and I say the expectation needs to change from the source. “Hey there sales and marketing teams, lead gen works.” You need leads and we can provide that. We can guarantee that all leads generated were interested, we can assure you that most were just researching, we can speculate that some will give false information to avoid contact, and we know that there are a select few that with the proper sales follow up, will be a valuable customer. We, the lead gen provider, can get you several steps closer than that connectionless banner ad or that Interstate 495 billboard.

Leads: Can’t live with them — Not all leads are going to be perfect.

Leads: Can’t live without them — CPL programs take the prospecting work out. Just like “No PR is bad PR”, I am putting my foot down and saying, “No lead gen programs are bad lead gen programs.” With lead gen, your company name is out there, your offers are out there, and you are getting qualified respondents to follow up with.

Posted by Sharon Joseph in Lead Generation | 1 Comment

Handheld Mobile vs. Computer: How Do You Check Your Email?

May 29, 2008

In the age of the BlackBerry and iPhone, the sky is limit to where you can access your email (and even that will soon be possible). I came across an article on MediaPost that discusses the issue of email marketing in this new era of alternative ways to check your email. The article debates whether email marketers should want their recipients to use handheld mobile devices to read email, or if they should just accept the change in email viewing practices and adapt to it. This is a very important issue to ponder since not all emails can be correctly viewed by a handheld. Therefore, some email marketers argue that they do not want people to open their mail via BlackBerry because they may not see what they want them to see. In addition, since part of the message may be disabled, the user may not be able to sign up for the offer, open an account, or make a purchase which is ultimately the objective.

On the flip side, the counterargument is that instead of fighting the use of handhelds for email usage, email marketers should accept the change, and make all emails compatible with mobile devices. The BlackBerry and iPhone provide it’s users with quick access and convenience. For the person on the go, which many BlackBerry and iPhone users are, checking email via computer can be a hassle. The article states that according to a Marketing Sherpa study, “64% of key decision makers are viewing your carefully crafted email on their BlackBerry’s and other mobile devices”. Therefore, this argument supports the idea that email marketers need to “get with the times” and work around the convenience and lifestyle of the consumer, because in the end the consumer’s best interest is their own best interest.

This article raises a very interesting question: Should email marketers accommodate the changing consumer? Or should email marketers keep what they know works?

Personally, I agree with the argument that email marketers should change with their consumer. With the constant expanding of technology, people have become used to convenience and now expect it. The consumer is out for their interest only, and is not concerned with how difficult a job it may be for the email marketer to get emails out to them. The email marketer needs to accept that fact, and create a strategy around convenience for the consumer. Once that is put into plan, I believe the email marketer will see a positive return from the consumer.

Posted by Emily Meyer in Lead Generation | 2 Comments

What Ad-Network Are You?

May 22, 2008

Since we have really been expanding our efforts in building our network publishing portfolio over the last 3 months, I found this article on MediaPost to be very interesting. It discusses how many of the networks out there today are not and should not be looked as the same. There are many things that differentiate a network and how to determine what network best fits.

Also from a company standpoint as we are possibly exploring the values of moving into our own network some things should be considered… Over the past year over $1 billion in combined value have been used to buyout networks from bigger companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo, and Media Initiatives some of the bigger players in the industry. Obviously this would be the level we would all like to achieve on a whole and moving forward could be useful to what type of representation we would like to achieve as a network and more importantly which one is valued the most.

Most agencies and advertisers have realized the benefit that networks provide for brand response campaigns. It’s through their mass reach, branded sites, and often unique out-of-the-box placements and technologies, that branding and brand response campaigns have been able to be successful using networks.

There are four main components that is determined as an ad-network:

Site Representation Network: these types of networks fully own their publishers inventory and are recognized as mostly brand only campaigns. They deliver a high quality traffic and do not focus on remnant inventory.
Advertising Networks: These Networks have non-exclusive publishers, and are mostly blind networks. The inventory is typically remnant space with mostly behavioral networks which allows for strategic media planning.
Technology Based Networks: These networks fall under the category of retargeting, contextual, and other tech based optimization. This type of network is somewhat effective, with the relevance of contextual users as well as the scalability of retargeting publishers makes a significant difference when determining your best course of action in your media plan. The value of these networks are based on the combined, un-duplicated reach of their network publishers.
Broker and Exchange Networks: These networks use an exchange model to find cheap inventory with low risk factor. They run as a blind network and use other networks and use their advertisers to run on other remnant space. Usually work on a CPA base model where placement is not so much as important as conversion.

As mentioned in the article all 4 are very effective. Its hard nowadays just to try and focus on only one category but to have a little of all 4. I believe to be completely successful in this world of online lead generation that it is important to have a little of all the types of Networks to be a player in the industry and not to completely limit yourself in any way in becoming a full service online media agency.

Posted by Adam DiSilvestro in Advertising and Marketing | 0 Comments

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